High Pressure Pow

Well, the high and dry has set in up north in British Columbia, which means it has been dumping down south. I don't mind so much, because it means its time to get back into the alpine and ski the BIG lines in more stable snow. When things set up right, you can really tuck your way up into the mountains inhospitable nooks and crannies, and do some amazing skiing.

Here is a video from last week of me and a bunch of skiers from the Reno area...enjoy!



If you are really wasting time on the internet you can check out the rest of my posts at evanstevens.blogspot.com

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Storm Diaries

While the coast has been getting rain of biblical proportions, the interior of British Columbia has been getting pounded by METERS of snow. We have had avalanches run that have not run in anyone's living memory. Up at Valhalla Mountain Touring, we have been braving the weather in the safe tree skiing right out our door, and not stepping any further away. Making ski decisions in times like this in the backcountry is easy, avoid anything even remotely close to avalanche terrain at all costs! The clear weather is here, so now we will get to see what kind of damage mother nature has caused.

Here is a bit of a video diary from last week, enjoy!



You can check out the rest of my posts at evanstevens.blogspot.com

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Snowed In

I can't really say that I have been snowed in before at Valhalla Mountain Touring. We have so much safe tree skiing close to home, that even when the avalanche danger is High, we can still get out and have fun safely. But the pineapple express has something to say about that right now. Just a few hours to the west, the coast is getting pummeled, and people are building arks, leading their animals 2x2 to safety. At just under 6,000' feet of elevation, we are weathering out the storm as all snow, and with night falling, we should just squeak it out as all frozen precip.

However, since we finished our ski day yesterday, it has snowed almost 45cm in about 18 hours. Strong winds have been afoot as well. Waking up this morning with the warm temps and big dose of 'Sierra Cement', we knew we were in for some interesting times. But when you are at a ski lodge in the backcountry, what else are you going to do, post to your blog? So being the good troopers that we are, we set out, at an exceedingly slow pace, but eventually made it up 1200' vertical to the top of some glades right above the lodge. I don't think we could have done it with out puppy power though. My 1 year old mutt has been genetically engineered (read cross breeding) with long legs and big webbed paws, and he has lots of energy to burn. So with our old skin track just barely visible, I gotta give Benny credit for breaking about 60% of the track. At least someone earned their kibble.

On the way down, it was point 'em straight and lean back, and leap frog each other's tracks. And that was on 30 degree slopes. Anything steeper would have been too sketchy! At least it has been an amazing last 2 weeks of non stop cold smoke, and now we have a super fat mid-winter snowpack. The cold front is coming, and we should get some nice fluff laid down on top of the heavy stuff. I guess right now we have too much of a good thing. It's like eating a few too many nachos, time to sit on the couch and digest...

Here are some shots from the last stint of cold smoke to keep you psyched! Thanks to backcountry.com's Tommy Chandler for the shots!

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Where's the Snorkel?

It might sound like a joke, but lately the snow has been coming in by the foot, not by inches. The storm hose is pointed right on British Columbia, and the cold smoke just keeps piling up at Valhalla Mountain Touring. We are in full swing here, with the 3rd straight week of operations, and this week has a bunch of friends from UT and CO up here to ski the pow. But instead of ranting and raving, and storytelling, I will let the pictures from the last 2 days do the talking.

Get up here! We still have some spaces for this winter!

All photos by backcountry.com's Tommy Chandler.

Me checking out the snow as the season starts, keeping it safe

Jasmin testing out the snow on yet another storm day.


Lindsay Yaw asks for the snorkel.


Me trying to get above the snow, but that is hard to do right now!

Jonn Webb taste testing the snow.

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Cold, cold smoke

The arctic air mass has taken over British Columbia. I know what you're thinking. It's Canada, you all live in igloos and it is cold all the time. But alas, no, SW BC is actually quite mild in the winter, and that is what makes skiing here so great-it's not frigidly cold! Right now it is so, so, so bitterly cold here that we can't even really ski on shady slopes. The snow is so cold that your wax just doesn't work.

It has made for some interesting plan changes for me this week. Originally I was supposed to be skiing in Roger's Pass. We did two days there, and it was literally some of the coldest outdoor recreation I have ever taken part in. We skinned up to treeline one day, only to met by 25km/hr winds at -24 degrees Celsius. For you math majors out there, that equals a -40 degree celsius wind chill (and -40 is where farenheit and celsius are the same!). This artic front also brought with it heinously strong winds, jacking all the snow at treeline and in the alpine.

We decided to pull the plug and head a bit south to the family's lodge in the Valhallas. A bit of protection from the wind and slightly warmer temps tempted us and Valhalla Mountain Touring has delivered yet again. We have just spent the last 2 days tracking out the cold powder, first a bit in the trees, and then today in the blazing sun. I gotta tell ya, it might be freezing cold out, but that is the bet time ever to ski the pow in full sun, the snow just stays as cold smoke all day long!

So, a video here to keep you psyched, and some photos from today as well...

Benny and Jas racing for the freshies!

Richard heading towards sunny powder on Rugged Peak

My Karhu Storm's getting psyched for 2 grand of cold smoke.

Richard steals some of Benny's powder

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Finally, WINTER!!!

Living on the coast of British Columbia has its pluses and its minuses. The rainy fall, when the snow line hasn't lowered down, can be quite tough. I have spent the last two weeks desperately trying to find some winter outdoor recreation: 3 skiing attempts, and 1 ice climbing attempt. Actually, the 2 days of clear and dry weather were some of the best days of bouldering I have had in Squamish!



But quietly in the interior of British Columbia, winter has started, and about a meter to a meter and a half (3 to 5 feet for the yanks) has slowly started to pile up, and just this last storm cycle a good half a meter has just been added. I did all that I could in the face of more rainy weather on the coast and packed up my truck to drive to the interior.

As my friend pointed out today, I luckily married into a backcountry ski lodge in this zone, and guide their full time in the winter. So I took advantage of that with my wife, father-in-law and dog to go test out the ski legs in our own private backcountry ski paradise at Valhalla Mountain Touring. I shot some video of the day, so I will let that speak for itself. Winter is in full swing here, and the powder is dry and fluffy. Besides we have to start training our new puppy for his winter of ski touring - as you can hear from his yelping in the video, he was having fun.

Come join the fun! We still have a few spaces left on trips this winter...

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Get into the Backcountry!

Blogger after blogger on this site shows you the craziest adventures in the coolest places around, myself included. But is it time to actually get out and do these things yourself? One of the reasons I post here is to inspire more folks to get out and enjoy these amazing persuits; I mean if we all did these things this world would be a way better place!

Getting the Goods at VMT! Tommy Chandler Photo

So, has anyone out there been intimidated by learning how to get into the backcountry? For me when I started, it was one of the scariest things I could imagine. Avalanches, gear, weather...it all adds up to be a lot to think about. So if you are really wanting to get into backcountry skiing, I am running some week long trips at Valhalla Mountain Touring in British Columbia. January 4 to 11 and March 8 to 15, $1700 Canadian/person gets you lodging, meals and guiding and instruction from an IFMGA Mountain Guide in one of the most amazing ski touring locations in the world. Fresh tracks every run, gourmet meals, saunas at night...sounds like fun.

Backcountry Bliss. Tommy Chandler Photo

So if you want to join us up at VMT to get into the backcountry, drop a line via www.vmt.ca or find me on my blog at evanstevens.blogspot.com. I'll help you get into the backcountry from start to finish so you can find your own untracked lines!

See you in the backcountry!

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A Typical Week in British Columbia Powder Paradise

Last time I checked in, I was recollecting the previous high pressure cycle in BC, and how it was ending with some storms which were creating a sensitive snow pack. The last week has brought some great weather and skiing thanks to last Monday's 40-50cm of cold smoke. I couldn't believe it on the first run Monday, when I dropped in to some incredibly fast deep powder, choking on snow flakes every turn.


Needless to say, the avalanche danger was High that day and has stayed heightened for quite a few days. Lucky for us at Valhalla Mountain Touring there are tons of 1000-1500 vertical foot gladed shots right out our door. We spent Monday and Tuesday skiing lap after lap of deep fast snow, smiling all the way, and dropping into the lodge for a hot drink and soup every now and again.

Wednesday dawned clear, with beautiful fresh snow every where, and tons of fresh avalanche debris on the usual suspect slopes. No need for rocket scientists when the snowpack is like this-we just tracked down safe terrain, keeping our slope angles mellow in the big wide open spaces, our tracks away from big scary slopes and ripped around the steep trees. Lucky for me, I have about 25 square miles of terrain to find the perfect places to go no matter what the weather and snow. As you can see here, we took advantage of the blue bird days to sneak in and around the big alpine terrain of Shannon Lake:


We finished off the week exploring the amazing powder in the alpine areas, having a blast, and skiing fresh tracks everyday. The week even ended last night with a little bit of a show from Mother Nature...the first appearance of the Norther Lights for the season. At 9pm, after another great meal, we all stood around staring at the waves of green in the night sky, tired and happy from another great week in this British Columbia Powder Paradise.

This week I am going to expound on one of my new theories...consuming one calorie for every vertical foot skied!

You can read about the rest of my adventures at: evanstevens.blogspot.com

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The High Pressure Set Up

A lot of snow junkies out there might dread the winter forecast that spells the end to fresh powder. Two little words puts your next fix in question: HIGH PRESSURE. I must say though, that I do love a good week or so of high pressure every now and again. Being up here in the heart of snow country, in British Columbia, it sometimes feels non-stop, and you ask yourself, when was the last time I saw the sun? Now that I have escaped the sun-drenched and snow starved former stomping grounds of the southwest, I feel the need for a good week of sunshine every now and again.

And now we have it. The last 4 days have been crystal clear blue sky, calm winds, accompanied by a settling snow pack letting us venture out a bit further and ski a bit more aggressively. Last week, we had a few storms to track, as my assistant guide Jonny Simms and I lead our group of skiers around this corner of the Valhallas for a total of 40,000 feet of ski touring in 6 days.

Jonny checks out the snow at the end of the last storm cycle

As of Sunday, we have a new group of 13 skiers to show around, and we have already done 20 grand of skiing, but its not the same old operating procedures, because those two words are with us, high pressure. So we have been going big, hitting summits, skiing in the alpine and staring down the spine of one of the most impressive and uninhabited mountain ranges accessible to most of us in North America, the Selkirks.

Looking down our skin track to Shannon lake, with the main spine of the Selkirks in the background. Where is everybody else? There is no one else here...ahh...the Selkirks!

This range is unbelievable, and it is really the home to some of the best skiing in the world, hands down. The mountains and snowpack add up for a perfect combination. It is an 'average' winter here, and the snow pack is a well settled 3m/10'. Just the other day we were looking down the bowels of a 6,500' foot descent that maybe 2 people have ever done. Today we were looking out at the Bugaboos, confronted with the 3,000' granite west face of the North Howser Tower, and off behind it the seldom climbed alpine big walls of the Battle Range. This place goes on and on and on. I feel like every mountain range I have been to in the lower 48 states has a limit to its mountain vistas...it is never 360 degrees; humans and their impacts are always visible. But up here, it's different, and it makes you feel good about how much adventure there is to be had so close to home.

And today was a day to check out some of those places so close to home. Even after three years of being up here at Valhalla Mountain Touring full time, there are so many runs I haven't gotten to do. Today I took the group down some 40 degree powder shots, with 15 to 20' pillows around to play on...I have been eyeing the line for 3 years and I finally got to do it now that the time was right...and it was so good, we did it twice!

Well, time to rest up for another big day of high pressure tomorrow. Maybe I will get to ski these lines that have never been done:

The group skins up to the summit of Cariboo Ridge, with the unskied north and west faces of Pyramid Peak, right in my 'backyard'

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Another Day at the Office

For those of you who have been coming back to this blog regularly, you may have noticed that I have been away from work for a few weeks, playing down in Salt Lake City, skiing the amazing snow cycle in the Wasatch.

Well, now I am back to work up here at Valhalla Mountain Touring, tucked away in a secluded powder skiing paradise. Getting here wasn't with out its adventures though, so here is a bit of a recap, and an insight look into the guide's life.

I flew in to Spokane, Washington to pick up my car, and make the 4 hour drive north via Rossland, BC. I must have brought the snow with me from SLC, because it stopped snowing there and started dumping up here, which is all great and dandy, unless you have to drive at night through it. I know you have all been there, trying hard to get to your destination, but being hypnotized by the Millenium Falcon hyper speed snowy night driving. Luckily in this part of the world 1 car passes you in the other direction every hour!

Night Driving BC Style - should I be on a snowmobile?!?!?

I made it to my destination safe and sound and unloaded my gear on to the snowmobile for my 'commute'. A little bit later I am back at the lodge, my office if you will, unloading, unpacking and getting ready for the next 28 days in a row of ski touring guiding. At an average of 5,500' vertical of touring per day, I am glad my fitness level is high, and that I have been resting for a few days, and eating as much as humanly possibly-kind of funny that I spend my days off sometimes resting and eating...

1 pm and the new group of 12 skiers are at the lodge. The frenzy begins: unpack, eat lunch, beacon practice, rescue drill, and a quick 1,200 foot lap of powder bliss out the lodge's front door to whet the appetite for things to come. Everyone is psyched, the snow is good, and more is on the way, time to ski!

Luckily with this job I don't have to fly solo, and I have an ACMG (Association of Canadian Mountain Guides) Assistant Ski Guide with me - Jonny Simms. He is also one of my good friends and climbing and skiing partners. With our level of training and certification and high amount of trust in each other, it is easy to keep safety as priority number one. And right now there is a lot on our plates in that department. 6 am and we are up talking snow and weather observations for the day to come. The snowpack in British Columbia is plagued by some persistant weak layers right now, and we need to map them out and keep track of their relative strength all week. So while one of us is up front route finding and trail breaking the other one has their nose in the snow, digging pits, poking around and radioing the other guide with the latest scoop on conditions. Decisions have to be made about where and what to ski, as we try and track down the best and safest runs we can all week.

Skinning up amongst the BC snow ghosts

Jonny and I work together to keep each other in check and make sure neither of us are missing the million little things we need to watch in the snowpack, weather and terrain to make the right decisions. But after all, that is our job and that is what we love to do: be out in the mountains and make it happen for these folks skiing with us.

Delivering the goods-25cms of boot top cold smoke

Today we woke up to 25cms of new snow with a bit of wind. Up here there is no avalanche bulletin to check out, or at least it covers an area the size of Utah, and is only updated every 3 or 4 days-we are our own avalanche forecasters. So, we venture out to see how the snowpack is acting and figure out what we can ski. More pits, some ski cuts, and careful poking around lead us to the goods, as we skied 6 grand today in boot top cold smoke. Jonny and I even found time to sneak in a few pillow lines and 20 foot cliff drops with the stronger skiers in the group.

Pillows - so soft and nice

Ho hum, another day at the office...

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Chronicles of a (Slacker) Mountain Guide

I've been invited to start sharing some of my adventures on this blog, and I can only hope that everyone who reads them, doesn't begin to hate me...I am more thinking along the lines of inspiring a few folks to get after it, much like TC and powstash have been doing on this blog.

TC posted a bit about skiing with me up at Valhalla Mountain Touring 2 weeks ago, catching me in the middle of a 3 week stint of guiding at the lodge based in the heart of the Selkirks of British Columbia. The Utah crew caught it pretty nicely up north, skiing the ridiculously deep powder in an area about a third of the size of the central Wasatch, but with only 13 other people to compete with for freshies. With the week before they came, and the week after they left, I ended up tallying about 100,000 vertical feet of backcountry skiing all for work (see this is where you start to hate me). Life is tough being an IFMGA mountain guide, but I have to make my living some how!

Thankfully I am back in Utah as of Sunday for 3 weeks of down time before heading back north, and my timing couldn't be better. Monday morning the wife and I woke up to a good dose of new snow and fresh off the plane we headed out to Mill Creek to enjoy the deep stuff.But the wife has no remorse so I had to chase her around for 8 grand of touring...luckily she turned me on to her Canadian ways of using the ultra-light and bomber Dynafit bindings instead of tele skiing a few years back and I can keep up.

No rest for me though...Tuesday dawned and I still had yet to unpack, the phone rings and its time to climb some ice, as the Wastach are not only having a banner snow year, but the cold has kept the ice in good shape. So, I hook up with my photographer friend Andy Burr and my best friend's wife Caroline George to go climb Storm Mountain Falls in Big Cottonwood Canyon. It is in good WI 5 shape, catches a bit of sun, and is only 3 pitches long, so what the heck, unpacking can wait until tomorrow.

So I get home Tuesday night, but the whip is cracking and the wife insists its time to go to the climbing gym. A couple hours later I am on the phone, scheming about today's (Wednesday) plans...conditions are good, so time to grab the skis again. Today's mission: East Couloir on Kessler Peak, booting back up and skiing out God's Lawnmower. A good choice for a half day morning tour, and definitely fuels the adrenaline needs, skiing some big steep faces...however, the light and fast nature dictated that all parties forgot their cameras, so you are just going to go see what they are all about your selves...

Now I am home after the AM mission, and it is only 3 days since I have been back, but I just finished unpacking, so now I have the time to begin chronicling my adventures.

I told you that you were going to start to hate me.

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VMT Pow Report - P3 - Operation: Cold Smoke

I love a good road trip. Especially these days when the demands of the 8-5 life can make you so locked into your normal daily routine. It takes a day or two to escape the vortex, and to remember that your world won't stop while you are gone. I'm fairly busy these days, so I didn't break free completely. I was shooting, editing photos, a blog post here and there, but at least I was out seeing and doing new stuff. Now that I'm back I'm as busy as before, and missing the slightly (for me) more simple life of waking up, eating and throwing the skins on the skis and heading out for a day in the deep snow, with frost soon to be on my beard.


I know I missed an epic week in the Wasatch, but it wouldn't have been the same. Something would have kept me from skiing seven days in a row, all day. I know the snow was deep here, but damn, it was pretty deep up in the Valhallas too. It snowed about every day, with no wind, so it just piled up light and fluffy like.


Skiing seven days in a row will test, and solidify your gear/ski kit. I've got it pretty dialed; Dynafits on older BD Verdicts, my trusty synthetic puff from Patagonia (maybe the most key piece of clothing I take on a day touring.) Even when I thought the zipper was going south on me, it keeps on working. I was pleasantly surprised with some of my new Backcountry.com items. The Merino wool shirt, which I wore every day to ski, and most nights to hang out in, was pretty sweet. The Rime pullover was nice for the skin up, before the puff gets put on at the top. I had a stash of Pro-Bars, which were almost as good as my friend Evan's espresso brownies. And they stay warn and chewy if you put them in the Rime's chest pocket.


It was an eye opening trip in a few ways. For one, I'll be going back to Canada. It's a new frontier for me- close by- for skiing in the winter and climbing in the summer. And it demands a good solid 10 day or more road trip, which everyone needs on a regular basis. I also gained a newfound stoke for skiing. I guess that's what it takes once in a while- to get out there and live the life, away from daily responsibilities, to really tap into that sense of freedom. It's a good thing.

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VMT Pow Report - P2-Gettin' the Ski Legs On

Ok folks, blogging from the lodge on a satellite connection -way out in the Valhalla Mountains. Gotta love modern technology...

The lodge is run by Evan Stevens, who is a Backcountry.com sponsored guide. His wife's parents own the lodge (yeah, he married up), and as an IFMGA Guide, he's the lodge manager and lead guide. We loaded up a snowcat with a weeks worth of food, 13 people plus gear, and took a hour and a half ride into the hills.


Before this trip, I'd only been ski touring twice this season, so it's safe to say the legs weren't exactly in shape.


After 2.5 days days and 12,000 feet, I'm sure they are getting there, but it doesn't matter because I am worked. The snow is great, about a foot of cold smoke, and a sorta sketchy avy danger, so we'll be sticking to trees and lower angle glades. The forecast is calling for more cold and snow for the rest of the week. Here's a photo of Evan skiing above Shannon Lake on our second day...


Here's some helmet cam footage of Evan skiing one of the signature lines at the lodge. It is a tree lined, 2,000' vertical gully called 'Big Momma'...enjoy!

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VMT Pow Report-P1-The Road to Nelson

Ari sportin' some stylie GOAT WEAR.

The drive from SLC to Nelson, BC is long. No two ways about it. Along with three friends, I left SLC on thursday afternoon headed to Canada for a week of backcountry skiing out of the Valhalla Mountain Touring lodge, just north of Nelson in the Selkirks. Not an especially eventful drive, which is always good, but we did stop over in Missoula to sleep, and our friends there made us an amazing waffle breakfast before sending us on our way. Then on to Spo-Compton (aka Spokane). Hit the Costco with more of our crew and while waiting for STFUJ to fly in from Boulder we found the Ming Wah, a great old school 70's Chinese-American restaurant. It was a lucky score, and the food was great and cheap.


From Spokane we were on our way north. My first trip to Canada and I got to drive the snowy/rainy last shift. Now in Nelson waiting to take the snowcat into the lodge tomorrow, we've been checking out the town, hanging at the Osa Negro looking like the tourists we are and feeling dumb about not skiing at Whitewater today.


The forecast is for snow, snow, and more snow, plus some sick skiing and picture taking. We're kind of excited. Stay tuned...

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