The terrain at SME is big and glaciated. You are going to skin through icefalls and down mellow glaciers that go on for miles. The Venue is large, and SME has 2 remote cabins to reach and stay at during your week if the weather allows. We got to the newer Empire Chalet during our week. I got to the more remote and awesome Moloch Hut in my last SME trip years ago. Every detail of the structures is kept in pristine condition. You don’t lean your skis against the house for example. And the guides don’t want you in the kitchen, it all has to be done right. Fine with me! I’ll just ski, eat and sleep. We toured through a huge ice cave, we skied fresh tracks all week, and we got on top of peaks. We didn’t ski anything steep, which is typical of BC Canada ski touring weeks. It’s not like the Sierra where the snow sticks to the steeps with good stability. Don’t think you need to be an expert skier to go on a trip like this. Instead, you need to have your boots and clothing dialed to ski in long days and potential stormy weather. My experience skiing in BC is that the snow doesn’t blow sideways at 60mph like in the Sierra. It falls light and shallow, and often. the snow is drier, and the night gets super cold. It’s going to be good! Especially up at the elevation of these lodges. You are higher than Rogers Pass for example. SME gets a ton of snow and has the most majestic terrain.
Gear I recommend bringing to BC Ski Touring weeks are not different from most everyday tours I do:
Ultralight wide rockered skis like my Voile Hyper V8’s. Trust me on this. Don’t bring anything narrower than 107 waists. Mine are 114 at the waist but also have a healthy side cut at 19m turn radius, so I can enjoy sell and medium sized turns in shallow snow. It’s NOT going to be steep, firm, or fast skiing. You will be bouncing around in soft snow and maybe poor visibility at times. Merino wool for all base layers. Socks, underwear, and hooded mid layer with a hood. Very hard to find. We sell it all. This natural fabric breathes as well as any synthetic on earth but retains more heat and dries faster. It also doesn’t smell. You will want the most waterproof bomber jacket that is just a shell, although you may not choose to wear it every day, get one. if it’s snowing, you are still going. I find the temps change quick and more dramatic in BC compared to the Sierra due to more consistent clouds. My down jacket is ultra-light from Rab called Mythic Alpine light. We all have one here at The BackCountry. i can go uphill for a bit wearing it too, as it breathes ok being so lightweight. It keeps me warm and blocks the wind on the descent. And my shell jacket is for the emergency bad or super cold weather. If the weather seems mild, I will leave the bomber 3 ply ski shell at the lodge and bring a less serious shell. I have Toe and Hand warmers in pockets for myself and others in an emergency. So easy. I put the toe warmers on top of my sock, not underneath. Works well and might Suprise you with a better snug fit. And tossing the toe or hand warmers inside my gloves when we start is such luxury. Stash in your jacket pocket later on when you don’t need them anymore, or you hand them to someone else. I keep a lightweight thin merino beanie and ear band in my pants pocket so I can adjust my comfort level without stopping to go through the backpack. I have a baseball hat strapped to my chest harness so I can swap into that without stopping as well. My mid and outer layers always have a hood for the same reason. My helmet is a rock-climbing helmet. We sell ultralight climbing and ski touring helmets. Your resort helmet doesn’t breathe and is way too heavy and overkill for ski touring. I bring a soft foam mat to sit on. Reudi’s place has cushions but most lodges are all wood benches and chairs. Don’t hold the group up. Have your own screwdriver and bits for your binding, a ski scraper to get the rime off before every run, a little paste wax and applicator in a small zip lock bag, Advil, sunscreen, sunglasses and goggles etc…. Bring a satellite communicator device like InReach or Zoleo which we sell, so you can text your family and work.
Bring hut shoes that are ultralight and fast to put on but not super warm. You won’t be standing around in the cold. You can wear your ski boot liners in a pinch if you wanted to go outside for an extended session of star gazing. You won’t though, you are tired and just go to bed and get ready for the next day tour. Most ski lodges have rubber crocs to borrow at the front door. I might bring my own going forward. Fully open with no socks for me. But if it’s snowing it would be nice to have waterproof ankle high pull-on shoes of some sort. The guides keep the path to the sauna and bathrooms shoveled smooth however, so the lightweight crocs seem to work fine for such a short walk.
copy paste from the SME website
The SME winter family
At Selkirk Mountain Experience, our staff lives with us for months at a time. So we feel they are our family; a big extended family. This connection and warmth felt by the staff extends to our guests, who are visitors in our home, making them feel this warm welcome as well.
SME Head Guide – Ruedi Beglinger
Certified Mountain Guide with: Canadian Mountain Guide Association ACMG, Swiss Mountain Guide Association SBV and International Mountain Guide Association IFMGA
- Avalanche Operations Level 3 with the Canadian Avalanche Association, CAA
- Professional member Canadian Avalanche Association, CAA
- Started his guiding career in the Swiss Alps in 1976
Ruedi was born and grew up in the Kanton of Glarus, Swiss Alps. He started skiing at age 2 in Linthal GL, in the Swiss Alps. He started ski-mountaineering at age 6 with his dad, who nurtured Ruedi’s love for the mountains. Ruedi is inspired by remote mountains, adventures into wild places and most of all by his ski and climbing guests he guides in winter and summer. His lifetime goal is to still ski, climb and guide guests at age 90.
SME’s Heart and Soul – Nicoline Beglinger
While Nicoline prefers to call herself a housewife or the food and beverage manager, she truly is the heart and soul of SME. Between raising her children, taking care of staff and guests and tending to Ruedi and Rosie the cat, she rarely gets a day off. Nicoline is the oil that keeps the SME operation running. She makes the beds, does dishes, packs the helicopter, organizes the summer hikes, goes skiing with the winter guests, does the bills, bakes, cleans, rakes the summer trails, shovels snow, does firewood, manages the office, answers emails… Nicoline is the modest warmth of SME. The welcoming hug and the cheerful wave goodbye as you depart on your days adventure.
Nicoline is inspired by her family and by the anonymous donor. Her lifetime goal is to continue having her children spend time with her at the chalet.
SME Lead Guide – Ian Snowsell
- SME Lead Guide
- Canadian Avalanche Association: Operation Level 2
Ian was born and raised in the Canadian mountain resort Banff, Alberta, where he learned how to ski at the young age of 2. Already as a young teenager Ian started to ski-tour in the Canadian Rockies.
Ian is a very passionate mountain person who lives for the snow and the inspiration of mountains. His gentle personality, quiet sense of humour and incredible mountain knowledge is well liked by all ski guests and everybody who knows him. Ian is a genuine friend to all people.
Ian likes guiding for the simple reason of sharing true skiing experiences and the endless mountain environment with as many people as possible.
Ski Guide – Florina Beglinger
- ACMG Ski Guide
- Canadian Avalanche Association: Operation Level 2
Florina was born in Revelstoke, B.C. She grew up and went to school at the Durand Glacier Chalet. Yes, she is an authentic mountain girl: funny and friendly and an absolute joy to spend time with. Florina loves shredding deep powder in mean slopes. Florina completed a degree in film production and creative writing at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver. Her years in Vancouver made her realize that her rightful home is in the mountains. In the winter 2017 Florina came home to the Durand Glacier. Florina now can follow her true passion, skiing great mountain terrain and its untouched powder snow, spending time with people who have the same interest. Living her dream of living in the mountains and sharing the experience with her friends and guests and also continuing writing and filming.
Durrand Glacier Chalet
Elevation 1946 m. / 6384 ft., built in 1985
The Durrand Glacier Chalet is our main lodge. All guests fly by helicopter from Revelstoke to the authentic Swiss style Durrand Glacier Chalet. This beautiful lodge is located on an incredibly scenic knoll at tree-line with a 360 degree vista including the Durrand Glacier to the east and the glaciated peaks of the Northern Monashee Mountains to the west.
Keeping the wilderness civilized!
You may be staying high in the alpine, less than a one hour walk from a glacier. But we still think you should be very comfortable. We are, after all, from the Swiss Alps. What’s more, this lodge is our home, and we like to treat our guests well. That includes Swiss housekeeping standards, private bedrooms with cotton linens, and freshly prepared food with a European flair using local organic produce from the weekly Farmer’s Market in Revelstoke. And of course the afternoon tea-time with homemade tortes that, well, once you’ve had them you’ll never want to go outdoors without your personal baker again. Visitors to our chalet enjoy every possible amenity that you can reasonably expect to find in an environmentally sensitive, remote mountain lodge at 1946 m. elevation; from hot running showers to a large, sunny deck opening out on views you will never forget.
The Durrand Glacier Chalet is where all SME ski-programs start. This lodge is situated in the centre of a large variety of amazing ski runs leaving directly from its doorstep. Depending on the weather conditions all ski programs include Hut to Hut skiing from the Durrand Glacier Chalet to the more high alpine Mt. Moloch Chalet and/or the Empire Lake Chalet. The combination of the three chalets definitely brings a great diversity into our ski week. Each hut offers unique terrain and ski runs and allows us to maximize the powder skiing and ski-touring experiences. There are ski-touring weeks where all tours are based out of the Durrand Glacier Chalet. This is a function of weather conditions which may not allow venturing to the Mt. Moloch Chalet or the Empire Lake Chalet. During these weeks we enjoy the over 150 ski runs around the Durrand Glacier Chalet, enough to keep us skiing fresh tracks for a whole week.
During normal weather cylcles we offer the very popular two chalet hut to hut experience. Since the winter of 2014/15, with the new Empire Lake Chalet, we now offer the three chalet hut to hut to hut skiing program: the Canadian Haute Route.Without doubt skiing at Durrand Glacier is beyond compare. The combination of amazing terrain, professional guiding and the three beautiful, impeccably serviced and maintained chalets is the consummate ski touring vacation.
Location: At the base of the massive Durrand Glacier and at the head-water of Carnes Creek in the Northern Selkirk Mountains, 45 km NE of Revelstoke B.C.
Access: Helicopter only, from Revelstoke B.C. Flight time, dependent on weather conditions, is 15 minutes one way.
Chance that bad weather makes flying impossible: Since 1985 SME has only had to postpone flying, to the next day, one single time due to poor weather-conditions. There might be times when flying is delayed by a few hours due to severe weather conditions. All our pilots are very skilled mountain pilots who have extensive experience in flying in this area and for Selkirk Mountain Experience.
- 3 tree skiing areas with up to 1300 v.m. runs
- 21 alpine peaks
- 10 glaciers
- Highest ski peak: Snow Cap, elev. 2756 meter
- Lowest point to ski: Carnes Creek 1160 meter
- Longest ski-run: Tumbledown Mountain – La Traviata – Jealous Fruits – Carnes Creek, 1590 v. meter
- Private and two-person bedrooms, total 11 pine wood guest bedrooms
- Large reading room
- Sauna
- Hot running showers
- Indoor plumbing
- Satellite guest telephone
- Wireless Internet
- 120 V AC power, self generated hydro electricity
- Fully equipped kitchen
- Canadian and European cuisine
- British Chef
- Freshly prepared meals on the premises
- Daily baked bread and pastry
- European bedding
- Dedicated drying room with boot dryers
- Ski shop
- Powder-Snow rental skis and boots
- Immaculate Swiss house keeping standards
- Indoor ski storage
The Moloch Chalet
Elevation 2205 m. / 7234 ft, built in 1988
The Mt. Moloch Chalet is one of the two deluxe high alpine “satellite” chalets which we use for the two chalet hut to hut skiing programs or the three chalet hut skiing program: The “Canadian Haute Route”.
This “little house on the glacier” is located northeast of the Durrand Glacier Chalet, a full day of most impressive ski-touring and powder-snow skiing, in the high alpine of the Mt. Moloch area. The location of the Mt. Moloch Chalet is truly the most fantastic location for a high alpine chalet: on top of an exposed rock outcropping in the centre of a wild amphitheatre formed by of huge glaciers, ice falls, high granite faces and knife edge granite ridges that reach high into the infinite sky.
Access: Ski-tour, from the Durrand Glacier via Mt. Ruth – Ruth Glacier, Diamond Peak – Concordia Ice Fall, Mt.Fang – Juliana Glacier or Forbidden Glacier – Empress Knoll.
Skiing from the Mt. Moloch Chalet:
- Alpine terrain, large glaciers, steep couloirs, and picturesque ski peaks
- 12 alpine peaks
- 8 glaciers
- Highest ski peak: Mt.Graham, elev. 2967 meter. On rare occasions we ski Mt. Baal, elev. 3009 meter.
- Lowest point to ski: Tangiers Creek, elev. 1250 meter
- Longest ski-run: Mt.Graham – Graham Glacier – Tangiers Creek, 1720 v. meter
The Empire Lake Chalet
Elevation 2185 m. / 6948 ft, built in 2014
The Empire Lake Chalet was designed with 30 years of mountain chalet building experience. Needless to say, nothing is missing. The spectacular location of this charming alpine chalet has views of glaciers in all four directions and is located directly beside the Empire Lake. We use the Empire Lake Chalet for the two chalet “hut to hut” skiing programs or the three chalet hut skiing program: “The Canadian Haute Route”.
Skiing from the Empire Lake Chalet:
- Alpine terrain, large glaciers, steep couloirs, 10 scenic ski peaks, 6 glaciers
- Highest ski peak: Snow Cap, elev. 2756 meter.
- Lowest point to ski: Fang Creek, elev. 1600 meter
- Longest ski-run: Kaleidoscope, 1112 v. meter
- Two and six-person bedrooms, total 3 bedrooms for 10 guests and two staff
- Large day-room
- Full bedding
- Dedicated drying area
- Great meals and baking, prepared by the Guide
- Immaculate Swiss Mountain Guide house keeping standards
- Solar power system and 120 V inverte
Looking for awesome ski and splitboard tours in the Sierras? We’ve got write ups on many common and uncommon tours curated by the owner of the BackCountry, Mike Schwartz.
