Powder Creek Lodge Week

March 22-29th, 2009

For years we have enjoyed spending weeks at the many backcountry lodges of British Columbia. In the land of deep snow, big mountains and heli accessed backcountry solitude, its easy to get hooked on these trips. After a fantastic trip last year to Valhalla Mountain Lodge, we knew this would have to be an annual event. Based on some wholehearted endorsements of the lodge and the terrain, we booked the Powder Creek Lodge.

Powder Creek Lodge is located in the Purcell Mountains of southern British Columbia, Canada, 18 km east of the village of Kaslo. This comfortable, modern, high-country ski lodge is situated in a remote, breathtakingly beautiful alpine basin overlooking the Powder Creek drainage. The area is blessed with an average snowpack of over 3 metres (10 feet) and an unlimited variety of treed and open terrain suitable for all ability levels.

Powder Creek Lodge is a roomy 2 1/2 story wood frame building nestled in a picturesque alpine basin overlooking Lise Nicola Lake and Powder Creek Valley. This new, beautifully-built, spacious lodge has pine paneling, exposed beams, and bright colors throughout. It is heated with a combination of propane and wood, and lighted with electricity generated onsite. The lodge also has 6 private rooms making it ideal for couples on the trip.

The Purcells are truly a skiers paradise. One of the best ways to enjoy and explore this range is from the base of a backcountry hut. Flying a caterer into the hut allows us to focus on skiing all day long. We then return to the hut tired, hungry and thirsty and are greeted by the smell of dinner, appetizers and cold drinks! This is how life should be...

Due to the large number of options available on this tour, we will keep our itinerary flexible to adapt to conditions and the groups desires. The general flow of the trip will look a lot like this:

Day 1 ~ Fly into hut. Unpack gear, get familiar with lodge and spend several hours on Avalanche rescue training. Short afternoon ski tour.

Day 2 ~ Wake up, eat a large, scrumptious breakfast, ski tour all day. Options include long tours, yo-yoing sweet powder shots, playing in the trees, etc. Guides will decide each day's itinerary based on weather, snow conditions and groups skills and interests. When we return to the hut, we are typically greeted by warm appetizers and whatever cold refreshing beverages we have flown in with. Dinner, sauna, stretch and relax before bed to wake up and do it again.

Day 3 ~See day 2.

Day 4 ~ See day 2.

Day 5 ~See day 2.

Day 6 ~See day 2.

Day 7 ~ Sadly after a week of gluttonous powder skiing and eating beyond frugality, its time to pack up and fly out.

In our experience many folks will take a day off at some point during the week. This could be a full day when the wind is blowing, or a couple of half days when the legs can't hold up anymore. Some people can ski hard for 7 days in a row and these folks can often wind up skiing in excess of 40,000 vertical feet in a week.
 

Skills Required

Participants should have some previous backcountry skiing experience and should consider themselves advanced to expert skiers. While much of the terrain is fairly moderate by resort standards, it is possible to encounter a wide range of snow conditions. It is important for skiers to be able to comfortably ski black runs at a ski area in any conditions. Further you must be able to perform survival turns (hop turns, stem christie etc.) down steeper terrain and in very difficult snow conditions. Skiers should be adept at using skins, performing kick turns and skiing with a day pack.

Good aerobic fitness is also helpful on a trip like this. The guides will set a comfortable pace to allow you to ski full days, but the more fit you arrive, the fun you will have and the more your legs will have for the descents.

All requisite avalanche skills will be taught at the beginning of the week and we will offer tips for touring and skiing as we go.

We will meet in Nelson the night before the trip to get to know eachother and to go over specific details about the next morning. For more information about getting to Nelson, lodging options etc., click here.

If you have any doubts or concerns about your abilities or skiing skills, please don't hesitate to call and address them. We will gladly offer training advice or we can arrange for some pretrip training to insure your skills are up to speed before embarking on this trip of a lifetime.

NCMG highly recommends skiers purchase trip insurance through a reputable company such as Travelex, or AIG travelguard prior to the trip. This will insure you receive a refund if you get injured, have a schedule conflict or for whatever reason, cannot make the trip.

 

Powder Creek Lodge Week Fees

Are you getting excited?

• 8-10 Skiers with 2 Guides - $2350 per person

• March 22-29

• Hut lodging fees
• Fully catered Breakfasts, lunches and Dinners
• Helicopter transport in and out of Hut
• Use of avalanche transceiver, shovel and probe
• 6 days of guided skiing with IFMGA certified guide Larry Goldie and another NCMG ski guide.

• Travel to and from Nelson,BC
• Any alcohol you want to bring to the hut
• Lodging before or after the trip
• Trip insurance