Burnie Glacier Chalet is located near Smithers in northern British Columbia. It has spectacular, rugged alpine terrain with beautiful ski runs that range in nature from gentle glacier runs that can be done in most conditions to steep tree runs for high hazard days, to incredible ski mountaineering trips high into the alpine.
Book Now – limited space! The most exotic guided ski touring trip possible: backcountry ski touring and sailing along the west coast of Spitsbergen in the Greenland sea, 1000 km north of Norway, in the Svalbard archipelago of over 60 (mostly unpopulated) islands. It is a wild and remote place, and at a latitude of greater than 78º, high in the Arctic, it is level with Canada’s Ellesmere Island, or the northernmost end of Greenland. Yet it easy to access — with three-times daily flights from Oslo — and offers the supreme comfort of a luxury sailing yacht.
I know what you’re thinking — Tom, it’s summer… the Wapta traverse? Well it was a lot more pleasant than my experience 6 months ago leaving Bow Hut in the dark at 8:00 am with -35°C temps and clouds and wind. And the snow was pretty good too — from Sunday to Tuesday it was great spring ski touring conditions.
We are the Wapta Deluxe experts. For over 20 years we have offered the very finest Bow Yoho traverses. Our clients have confirmed that this is the closest you’ll get to a luxury Euro-style traverse in Canada and certainly on the Wapta. Find out why! Book now!
One of Canada’s very best ski touring lodges, Burnie is surrounded by towering glaciated peaks with epic 1500 m runs, and 700 m tree skiing behind the hut!
Sunrise Lodge is located at the headwaters of Wisted creek and offers stunning views of Rockies to the west and Purcells to the south. Sunrise is the southern gateway to the amazing Esplanade range, including Meadow, Vista and Sentry Lodges. Consensus among those who’ve spent time at all four Esplanade Range Huts though is that Sunrise is the best: best terrain, best for storm skiing, and best snowpack of the bunch!
Svalbard, or Spitzbergen as it is also known, is made for skiing. Countless ski peaks rise 500 to 800 m or more directly out of the ocean, blanketed in snow and rugged glaciers as far as the eye can see.
Ski and Sail Spitzbergen – 22 May – 1 June, 2018 – $7330/person – FULL. This is a truly exploratory ski…
Today I completed a week-long guided Bow-Yoho traverse from Bow Lake to Field, my 3rd and final Bow Yoho of the season!
This winter I ran a ski camp out of Nirvana Pass. Located just a short distance from Mount Waddington, Nirvana is a hybrid between Coast and Chilcotin terrain. The glaciers are massive and tumbling, but the relief is not as severe as the neighboring peaks. And, while there’s a ton of snow, it’s not as intense and the weather is generally better than further west.
I just spent a week at the unbelievable Valhalla Mountain Lodge, where we had over 140 cm of storm snowfall with very little wind. Needless to say the skiing was perfect, day after day after day. The only day was the snow shoveling to keep the lodge and sugar shack from disappearing!
Today I did three Burnie runs I’d never done before — Mystery Rib Left and Right, and Thataway Far Right…
At Burnie Glacier Chalet, or anywhere for that matter, what’s better than tree skiing on a powder day? Well, nothing,…
That was my best powder day in years. We hit Tom George hard. Heavy trail breaking slowed things down but the ski quality… wow. Deep dry powder in -15° temps meant face shots every turn top to bottom. Nothing like 700 m tree runs with a beautiful lodge to warm up and refuel in between.
Yesterday a temperature inversion meant +1°C. This morning we woke to more snow and -4°C. Throughout the day the temperature has been dropping and by the time we returned from our day of skiing it was -14° with 10 cm new fluffy snow on the ground and still falling! Today we skied up the ultra classic Solitaire Ski Peak, which offers a 1200 m run directly back to the hut. Half the group, despite the challenging visibility, decided to do a hot lap on The Pinörkel, which one of the guests noticed strongly resembles the run down from Sapphire Col at Rogers Pass. Of course here there are no crowds, and no tracks in this vast wilderness apart from those left by our own group of 13.Another 20-30 cm in the forecast for tonight and tomorrow. Let it snow!
The weather cleared for an uneventful flight into the Chalet. Well not quite uneventful — after takeoff the passenger door on the A-Star popped open twice so we had to return for a quick repair. An inversion today meant -6° in a Smithers and +1° at the Chalet. Moist snow is forecast to freeze into a thin crust with tonight’s colder temperatures, -10° by breakfast!
Today I’m flying to to Smithers for two weeks of skiing. In the past two weeks they’ve got well over 200 cm of storm snow and it’s forecast to keep coming down hard this week. High Avalanche hazard, storm, crazy amounts of snow! But I’m stoked, I’ve worked Burnie in all conditions and the beauty of the area is that it has always delivered a good week of skiing, every time. That’s saying something — I’ve skied and guided there almost every winter since 2004.
Today we did a short ski tour up onto the East facing Molars, the backcountry accessed off Kicking Horse Mountain…
Wow what great ski touring conditions at Rogers Pass this weekend. The avalanche situation is still tricky but the ski…
I spent this past weekend in Rogers Pass finishing the second part of an AST-2 class. We had a great…
The best of both worlds: lift accessed powder backcountry skiing at Sunshine Village! January 4th I headed out with Rohan,…
I completed a 4-day Yoho Traverse yesterday with a very hardy group of Saskatchewaners. We experienced very cold temperatures, ranging from -35C to -17C. Face protection in the form of buffs and goggles were essential at times, especially on the glaciers, and toe warmers helped keep things as comfortable as possible.
On my birthday I like to go for a ski with the family. This year on December 23rd we headed…
Hero’s Knob is a super popular destination for classic loops and powder backcountry ski touring descents, both moderate and fairly…
Today was a multi-sports day for me. I spent the bulk of the day teaching an AST-1 field day at…
THIS COURSE IS FULLY BOOKED You have taken your AST 1, you have solid experience in the backcountry and you…
Owen Short, looking out towards the Septentrion Spires. April 12, 2010. Photo: Conrad Janzen Nirvana Pass Ski Camp March 9-15,…
THIS TRIP IS FULLY BOOKED The Wapta Icefield is an incredible destination for ski mountaineering. Really, it has it all:…
THIS TRIP IS FULLY BOOKED The Wapta Icefield is an incredible destination for ski mountaineering. Really, it has it all:…