Joffre Lakes Group Mountaineering
Joffre Lakes are north of Whistler, in the heart of the southern coastal mountains, lie the Duffy lake area and some of the finest mountaineering peaks in BC. We will spend three days climbing the majestic glaciated peaks of the Joffre Group: Matier, Slaylock, Hartzel and Joffre.
Snowboarding Mount Curry
Last week in the Whistler area was all time!! One of the best weeks of skiing i personally have ever had! Great snow, good stability, perfect weather (except the few times we got stuck in a cloud on a summit…) It cant really get much better.
Keiths Hut Overnight Trip
This year we donated 2 days of ski guiding to the Whistler Ski Club fundraiser. Brain and Christy from Vancouver where the lucky purchasees of the trip! After an almost 2 meter storm we headed up to the “Keith Hut” at the toe of the Anniversary Glacier for 2 days of skiing. With marginal weather but perfect snow we managed to sneak in some terrific runs off Vantage Peak.
Mt Habrich
Mt Habrich is a fantastic alpine rock route right in the backyard of Squamish and Vancouver. Mt. Habrich is reached buy using the new Sea to Sky Gondola. Mt. Habrich is an excellent location with amazing views and bigger mountains than expected. With the Gondola to take away the elevation to get into the Alpine it makes for an excellent day.
Blackcomb Backcountry Circuit
Ill admit it im a bit of a creature of habit. I often like to ski the same old circuits out ski touring. I like to see the same terrain in different conditions through the season and years, i find you have a greater appreciation for the terrain. You get to know it intimately.
I had a client this week for a day of ski touring, it was his first time ever in the backcountry but said he was an “expert” skier, conditions where pretty much perfect so i was hoping we could manage a big day touring into the Blackcomb backcountry. We ended up skiing about 2000m over 4 outstanding runs.
Whistler Backcountry Couloir Skiing Video
Yesterday myself (ross) and ski partner Paul Cordy took this quick video of skiing a couple couloir in the backcountry of the Blackcomb mountain in Whistler BC. Always blown away how accessible the backcountry is from the Whistler resort. We didnt start the day until 10am, and hour later we are skiing awesome couloirs and big glaciers. I love this place.
Traverse d’entreves video
Came across an old video Ross made of one of his favorite Chamonix rock ridges. This video was shot out on a personal day with another IFMGA mountain guide Mike Bromberg.
The Traverse d’entreves is often done as a warm up climb during our Mont Blanc weeks. Wild exposure right on the France/Italian border. Not to be missed
Ice Climbing in the Rainforest
Every so often the Ice Goblins visit the fjordlands of the Pacific Northwest and desperado ice climbers in Squamish get a little taste of the goodies. The early weeks of the month graced us with an arctic outflow that served up a sweet four day window of ice climbing at the Pet Wall, Smoke Bluffs…
Bugaboo Rock Climbing
Home to North America’s most amazing alpine rock: Bugaboo, Snowpatch, Pigeon and the Howser Towers, this place has to be experienced to be believed! From the Beckey-Chouinard (V 5.10) to the West ridge of Pigeon (II 5.4), there is something here for everyone!
Mexican Big Wall Climbing With Honnold and Stanhope
Altus Guide Paul McSorley just returned from a great session down in the Mexican Big Wall mecca of El Gran Trono Blanco last week. The team consisted of ace photographer Andrew Burr and young rock masters Will Stanhope and Alex Honnold. Our crew managed three ascents of the highly featured granite monolith with Will and Alex freeing the Pan Am and El Giraffe routes at V 5.12+ and V 5.13 respectively.
What is Backcountry Skiing?
Do you have a craving to ski on ungroomed, all-natural snow in some of the most beautiful wilderness mountains' have to offer? If your answer is yes, then backcountry skiing can provide the adventure you're looking for.
Backcountry skiing generally occurs in sparsely populated areas outside designated ski resorts - truly making it an adventure. Human power is frequently the means of access and ascent, but some adventures may require helicopters and ski lifts may be used so long as the land accessed is backcountry.
Types of Backcountry Skiing
According to Wikipedia, backcountry skiing can include:
- Frontcountry: off-trail within ski area boundaries where ski lifts and emergency services are close at hand.
- Slackcountry: terrain outside of the ski area boundary that is accessed from a lift without having to use skins or bootpack. Usually this also includes area with access back to the lift as well. For purists, this could also include where people use a car as a shuttle.
- Sidecountry: terrain outside marked ski area boundaries yet accessible via ski lift. Typically sidecountry requires the skier to hike, skin, or climb within ski area boundaries to reach or return from the sidecountry area, or both.
- Backcountry: skiing in remote areas not within ski area boundaries. Ski patrol, marked ski runs, grooming, snowmaking, and ski lifts are absent.
Want to Try Backcountry Skiing?
Give Altus Mountain Guides a call to start your adventure today +1.604.848.8543
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Altus mountain guides is a group of motivated professionals dedicated to providing our clients with outstanding quality in the mountains with safe adventurous trips. From our base in Squamish and Whistler BC we provide you access to the most amazing mountain experiences the West Coast has to offer. Our exciting itineraries showcase the Coast Range but reach beyond to the interior ranges of the Selkirkʼs and Purcellʼs and onto the Rockies. We also offer trips internationally from the historic and classic European Alps to the windswept wilds of Patagonia.