{field_banner-alt}

Northern BC is like nothing you've ever experienced - big mountains, rich culture & more bears than people!

{field_banner-alt}

It's big. Much of it is alpine and glaciated. It appeals to stronger skiers.

{field_banner-alt}

Burnie Glacier Chalet is easy to get to - leave Vancouver in the morning and ski in the afternoon!

{field_banner-alt}

A backcountry lodge in Canada that offers all the charm of a European mountain hut - all to yourself!

Advanced Avalanche Skills Training

Dates: TBD

This avalanche course is for experienced ski mountaineers who already have the knowledge of the basic snow avalanche safety course, advanced backcountry travel skills, and some experience. It happens at the Burnie Glacier Chalet, so some very good skiing cannot be avoided.

This six day avalanche course will expose you to the real thing; observation and decision making at a high level.

While many avalanche courses concentrate on delivering knowledge without showing how to apply it, this intensive course does both. Most of it takes place in the field, so there is a lot of skiing! We also have sessions on such important and little known topics as the dynamics of decision-making in the mountains and the limitations of snowpack tests. Come to this course if you are serious about your leadership skills. The course uses the format of a professional guiding operation, involving you in the day-to-day evaluation and decision making that is crucial to backcountry forecasting. We also introduce Werner Munter’s methods into North America. Both recreational avalanche courses are now a pre-requisite for the professional snow avalanche courses of the CAA.

 
 

My husband and I did the second half of the Donjek River route with Christoph Dietzfelbinger of Bear Mountaineering in 2010. This was our first trip with him but not our last, as we intend to do another in 2011. The trip was a complete success thanks to his expertise, organization, and personality. The equipment and food were great, his enthusiasm and experience inspire confidence, and Christoph is a charming and interesting fireside companion. We both unreservedly recommend Bear Mountaineering to anyone wanting guided wilderness travel in western Canada. 

Noni Fenwick-Wilson and Stirling Fraser, Comox BC