Purcell Mountain Lodge Day One
Even better than I hoped for - Untracked powder from a remote mountain lodge
The idea started by trying to put together a group of 6 or so guys to rent a backcountry yurt in the Tetons. I could not get 6 guys to commit. Plan B was to research backcountry lodge operations in Canada where everyone can pay their own way and join others from across the country. I started the research in spring of 2021 and was shocked to see that many of the lodges were booked for the 2022 season. The lodges varied considerably in amenities but all seemed to have great terrain. They were all helicopter in access and the costs were not trivial, even the spartan ones. Spending thousands to use an outhouse in the winter didn’t appeal to me no matter how great the terrain is, so the choice quickly became Purcell Mountain Lodge. Two of my friends bit so we three were in. (Unfortunately my son Ryan had an unplanned job change so he was not able to make the trip.)
The two friends are Gary and Russ. Gary is a long time friend from the sailboat racing community here in Minneapolis. Gary is an adventurer, so no surprise he went all in despite having never back country skied before. He is an expert Alpine skier who typically skis every season at Jackson. Gary is almost 10 years younger than me and has worked hard the last couple years getting and staying in shape. If you are an expert downhill skier with some powder experience, backcountry skiing is not difficult. It is ALL about your level of fitness.
Russ is the nephew of my brother in law who lives in Idaho Falls. We have skied together several times at resorts and once in the backcountry. Russ is a real mountain enthusiast with way more backcountry experience than me. Russ tips the age scale almost 25 years light of me (I was 65 when this trip happened.) He is the strongest skier of the three of us.
We converged in Golden BC late afternoon the day prior to flying in. The town has grown since I was last here five years ago. It is smaller than Revelstoke but still plenty of things going on with many bar and restaurant choices. Kicking Horse resort is a short drive up the mountain from the town. I have skied Kicking Horse twice. Super fun, especially on a powder day. We had a nice meal and then visited Whitetooth Brewing, the local brewery and a must-visit if you are ever here. One more beer in Gary’s hotel room and we went our separate ways to sleep. Gary in the hotel, Russ in his pick up camper and me in the camper parked at the airport.
The next morning we visited the local bakery for breakfast and then headed to the airport. The procedure is to wear your ski gear (including boots) for the Heli flight to the lodge. It is always exciting to get back on a helicopter; I have not done it since Heli-skiing 20 some years ago.
After arriving a light breakfast is served and we are oriented to the lodge. Beacon training is done right outside the lodge where we practice our rescue skills. Beacons are buried in the snow and teams are formed to locate the buried beacon. Of course the object is to NEVER get in an avalanche and have to do this in real life. By the way, I have never skied with a guide whose group was caught in a slide. Not to say that it can’t happen, just say’n.
After completing the beacon drill our first run was an easy 30 minute climb to the run, “knee grinder”. Kind of an ominous name but a great run for the guides to check out the group. Mellow pitch and wide open. Untracked shin deep powder, wide open with no trees. Fortunately the group is reasonably strong so we will not have any limitations on terrain selection. When skiing backcounty the practice is to pair up with a buddy. The idea is to keep track of your buddy and support each other from a safety perspective. The most common buddy assist is finding a ski that released and or helping your buddy dig out of deep snow. Russ and Gary paired up so I latched with one of the young guns. Nice young man who was kind enough to let the old man (me) go first and pick up the pieces should I crater.
After the first open pitch we stopped before entering a tree glade and did a safety talk/demo about tree wells. I don’t have stats but I’m pretty sure this is a much more realistic danger than an avalanche. By the way, it is exactly the same danger at a ski area when skiing glades. The below picture is a small tree poking maybe ten feet above the snow. Even this small tree swallows up the entire guide when he jumped feet first in.
Big tree wells can often be 20-30 feet or more. If you fall into a tree well head first it is a serious situation. Getting a ski off when it is 5 feet over your head is super challenging, sometimes not really possible unless you are an Olympic caliber contortionist. Suffocation is a real danger. The lead guide’s advice is to avoid the uphill side of the tree. If you blow it and get too close on the uphill side DO NOT just “superman” into the tree well head first. Your buddy and the others in the group need to haul your sorry butt out of the hole. So whether back country or resort skiing, it’s really a bad idea to tree ski alone.
From the bottom of this first run we started the climb toward a peak called Copper Stein. The rout is a slow grind back and forth up the slope through trees. It was very pretty even though there was really no view. After 90 minutes I’m not seeing the beauty much anymore. This is more uphill than I have done in my life before. After 2 hours we finally break out of the trees and look up to a mountain peak that seems impossibly far away. Now I’m getting crabby. This is day one, is he trying to kill me? We continue the climb, now out in the open. Thankfully we come to a stop prior to the peak and once more look down on a wide open untracked slope. This time the pitch has increased and it is deeper; sublime. We stop and gather before the glade portion of the run starts. When I stop my buddy is nowhere to be seen? Then I look up to see him and his two buddies come down at warp speed. Adrenaline is pumping and everyone is in full stoke mode. The pain of the last 3 hours has been forgotten and forgiven.
This next pitch is even steeper and trees are tighter. I tell my buddy it is time to dial it back. The lead guide is going with some of the less strong skiers so we are given instructions not to go hard right where that part of the run is “not open”. Whatever that means in this situation. My buddy lets me go first and we make our way down. It gets even steeper as we progress. I am picking the line and perhaps I get a bit too far to the right. A super steep gully opens up in front of us and we both agree this is too much. Time to cut left a bit to get to the group. Now there are HUGE tree wells we have to traverse past, I can see at least 30 feet down. Don’t look at the hole Scott…get on the downhill side and find an open spot to jump turn to the right and start down the hill again.
No mishaps; we get our rhythm going again and meet up at the bottom. I’m writing this 4 months later and can still remember some of the turns, especially the steep gully we took a pass on. In the steep parts it is bottomless with the snow over your knees. Magic.
Later that day I asked the guide why he took us there. Seemed like a big climb and some super steep stuff. His answer… “I knew the group could do it and and I knew the conditions would be fantastic.”
The downhill skiing was now over for the day but we still have to climb up to the Lodge. It is an hour and I’m one of the last to make it. This slope is called pump house since at the bottom there is a pump house that spins a rotor to provide electricity for the lodge. Later in the week we look at it and I will show a few pictures. Pretty amazing for these folks to run off the grid based on generating their own powder from a small stream.
Here is Gary in the boot room after this bone crushing, but amazing, first day.
Nicely written Scott
An adventurer to remember
“Avoid the uphill side of the tree.“ - words to live by (pun intended).