A few months ago I got a phone call from my friend, Bart Reuling. He told me about a telemark ski trip he was planning to Canada's Selkirk Mountains, about one hour outside Banff, Alberta. He explained how we would be dropped by helicopter to a remote cabin where we would telemark incredible powder slopes and traverse to other cabins high in the mountains.
He was not calling so I'd talk him into it."I'm going no matter what," Bart explained. "You are invited and anybody else who wants to come, but I'm not going to be the group leader in charge of making all the arrangements. If I end up going alone that's fine, but I'm going."
A few weeks later, seven of us - Bart and six converts - flew to Calgary, rented a van (my credit card, not Bart's) and drove about three hours to Golden, British Columbia. We were a fairly diverse group, ranging in age from 33 to 67 years old. Jim Clayton and son Creed, Gale Dick and son Tim, Barclay Bigelow, Bart and me. Four were telemark skiers and three used a randonee ski setup. Randonee gear is similar to alpine skis but the boot is on a plate that hinges at the toe and the heel clamps to the ski when you're going downhill. This allows any competent alpine skier to make this trip. You do not have to be a pinhead.
In the morning we rendezvoused with the staff of Golden Alpine Holidays and met our guides John Thornton and Todd Craig, along with the final component of our group, Canadians Helen Weiss and Mark Zimmerman. We were briefed, financial arrangements were taken care of and we drove to the helicopter staging area.
The smiles started creeping over our faces as the helicopter lifted. We flew over snowcapped mountains and spotted Sunrise Lodge tucked in the basin between Avalanche Mountain and Mountain of Melting Faces. It is hard to imagine a place more beautiful or remote. Sometimes reality doesn't equal fantasy. This wasn't one of those times.
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. A trip like this either sounds like an adventure of a lifetime, or a week of hell. About half the people I tell about this trip ask, "You mean you have to ski up the mountains so you can ski down?" If you don't catch the vision immediately in your mind, this is a trip you probably ought to forgo. In my mind, I was halfway there by the time Bart hung up the phone.
After we settled into the cabin, our guides spent about an hour reviewing rescue procedures with the avalanche transmitters. Before long, each of us could find two buried transmitters within one to two minutes. We were ready for the back country.
By early afternoon we had the skins on our skis and were hiking toward the ridge. The scenery was spectacular. Once on the ridge, we could view a sea of snow-covered mountains with names - like Iconoclast and Serendipity - that spark the imagination. As we skied along, the only sounds were an occasional howl of the wind and the steady thumping of our hearts verifying our existence.
After viewing the panorama we ripped the skins from our skis and carved a few turns down a section called - aptly we thought - "Return to Paradise" and headed back to the cabin - our hunger to ski temporarily satisfied.
One of the real luxuries and perhaps the most important ritual of the ski trip was the sauna. Some of our finest conversations were held sweating around the wood-burning stove. Nothing is quite as exhilarating as working up a good sweat and finishing it off with a roll in the snow and a splash of cold water. The ritual provided new energy at the end of each long and vigorous day.
After our first sauna we stood and watched the Northern Lights. We took this as an omen of good things to come, which proved to be the case.
We had three solid snowstorms during our weeklong stay, and most of the snow fell at night. Waking up to a foot of powder and blue skies ensured excellent skiing and photography, not to mention good moods. On the second morning alone I burned through four rolls of film before we hit the ridge. We skied the entire day in untracked powder on a bowl beneath Paradise Ridge.
We generally started out as one group but later split up to allow stronger skiers to take extra runs and see more terrain while others had the option for an earlier trip back to the cabin.
Our group traversed to Meadow Lodge at midweek, which offered a nice change with a new setting and ski slopes, even if we hadn't come close to tracking out any of the slopes we were leaving behind (probably why they call it Paradise). On the traverse we met another group from Utah heading to the cabin. They were the only other people we saw all week.
Golden Alpine Holidays has three back-country lodges in the Esplanade Range of the Selkirk Mountains. Each cabin sleeps about 14 people with two to a room. The cabins are equipped with gas lighting and cooking facilities, fresh water from the nearby lakes, an out-house and a sauna. The average snow base is about 10 feet with a cumulative snowfall of about 45 feet. The cabins, Sunrise, Meadow and Vista, are about five miles apart and are at an elevation above 7,200 feet. Esplanade means a wide road or walkway and along the top of the Esplanade Range is a high mountain traverse with drainages where the three cabins sit.
One of the pleasant surprises of the trip was getting to know our guides. They are truly Renaissance men. Not only are they excellent mountain guides, choosing safe terrain and routes, but they are superb cooks - fixing wonderful meals including fresh salmon, turkey, lasagna and Mexican dishes. They also served breakfast, carried fresh water, kept the fire stoked, the sauna heated, and they broke trail. Beyond that, John entertained us on the guitar with music by fellow Canadians Neil Young and Bruce Cockburn. Todd amused us with jokes and stories. Every evening they led philosophical discussions where everything and nothing was sacred. By the end of the week they were not acquaintances. They were friends.
At the close of the trip we flew out from Meadow Lodge and drove to Banff, where we spent the night and skied at Lake Louise, one of the best ski resorts in North America. It proved to be anticlimactic. Fighting the crowds doesn't give you the same feeling as having a range to yourself. We missed the trek up, and skiing down seemed too hurried.
I have friends who have heli-skied the neighboring mountain ranges in Canada. They talk about the deluxe accommodations and how many vertical feet they skied. I have no doubt their trips ranked high on the fun meter. By comparison I am sure our trip was rustic and I don't really care to count how many vertical feet I have skied.
But we brought back a memory that will last a lifetime. In fact, in my mind it is easy to drift back to somewhere off Paradise Ridge. I can feel my heart beat, verifying my existence . . .
*****
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
For information
A number of outfitters offer guided backcountry skiing trips in the region. Two of them are based in Golden. They are Adventure Bound Canada, aka ABC Wilderness, (604) 344-2639, Fax (604) 344-5520, P.O. Box 811, Golden, B.C. VOA 1HO; and Golden Alpine Holidays, Box 1050, Golden B.C. VOA 1HO, phone: (604-344-7273).
Trips run from the end of November to the end of April. The cost of the weeklong trip with Golden Alpine is about $650, excluding transportation to Canada.
In summer the area is a hiker's paradise. You can request a free winter or summer travel guide and a list of accommodations from the Golden Travel Infocentre, Box 1320, Golden, B.C. VOA IHO, (604) 344-7125.