Glacial Skiing at Mistaya Lodge, BC, Canada
Not so steep, but ever so sweet...
Giving over the reigns to a guide was a new experience for me. As I looked up at all the eye candy hanging over Mistaya Lodge and the glacial valleys, I couldn't help but ask our guide if we would have the chance to ski some of couloirs and steeper sections. Unfortunately, the snowpack was not set for travel in such terrain, but who was to complain about what lay below where skiing would be safe, soft, and fun!
Getting to Mistaya Lodge can be done under human power in a day, but, the helicopter ride is the way in. Departing from Golden, BC, Canada, the flight is quick and scenic; the final approach is especially unique as the landing is an ascent to the edge of a hanging valley where limestone cliffs with frozen waterfalls line hanging valley where the lodge is located. Once back on the ground, it's just a one hundred foot walk to Mistaya Lodge with stunning views of the glaciers that feed Wildcat Creek.
Mike Schwartz, owner of The Backcountry bike and ski shop in the Truckee/Lake Tahoe area, arranged this trip as a Manager's meeting. Having worked for Mike many years ago, he graciously invited me and my good friend Baldwin Goodell to join the crew. The extent of my overnight backcountry adventures have mostly been those where the luxurious accommodations involved double layered air mattresses in a 2 person Bibler tent. The level of service at Mistaya was amazing--the super chill atmosphere, family run and operated, was welcoming and easy. To our luck, @chefjennibunyan prepared the most sumptuous meals for our hungry team of 16!
After picking roommates and rooms, we were off on a tour to a nearby shoulder which offered tree'd gullies and forested runs to help stretch the legs and inflate the lungs. The winter of '22/23 wasn't spectacular for the peaks surrounding Mistaya, but there was plenty of snow--enough to keep the sharks submerged. As per typical Canadian guide standards, the skin track and switchbacks were pro and helped keep our legs under us while we accumulated thousands of vert day after day.
The weather came and went in mystical waves of clouds closing in our views entirely and then opening up vignettes and windows to the stunning walls and features that had been obscured above. Every so often one the lead guide would extend his probe and sink it in measuring resistance in order to assure that our path or resting spot wasn't above a thin snow bridge. Most days, we skied in harnesses as a precaution that would aid a quick recovery in case someone fell. With the inclement weather came small accumulations of snow each day and night--enough to keep turns soft and not so deep as to slow some of the low angle terrain down to slogging.
As the last day of skiing arrived, the weather and snow gods granted us visibility and great snow all day long. We returned to the daily norm of appetizers and beers on the porch until the temps dropped warranting our move indoors to continue the festivities.
