Following a wildly successful trip to British Columbia in March of 2023 (Bow Yoho Traverse), it didn’t take much convincing by Christian & Tom to run a back-to-back program. After a few months of email exchanges and a lot of hype, I woke up bleary eyed on a Friday morning in April and started towards Denver – snatching some precious cargo (Matt & Jackson) along the way – the boys are SO back!

Days 1 & 2 – Arriving at Selkirk Lodge

We arrived in Calgary and started the all-to-familiar shuffle out of town. With several mandated stops in tow and some tense moments sneaking through a “Tax The Axe” road blockage (… do they know we have to go ski powder!?), we managed to break our way into the Canadian Rockies, vowing to never return to the suburbs of Calgary. We debated whether 60 beers was “too much” to bring up to the lodge as we sped along the Trans-Canada Highway and otherwise reveled in our tales and memories from the year before.

A cabin on the east side of Rogers Pass served as home base and our gear staging area for the night. We eyed an early bedtime with the instructions made clear that we not be late for the 8 AM rendezvous with the helicopter, which was still an hour or so farther along.

I didn’t read the instructions quite closely enough to understand that we would be passing into the Pacific Time Zone as we neared Revelstoke… the 5 AM wake up (in Central Standard Time) proved to be especially unnecessary… We greeted the guides and other members of the crew as they arrived to the staging area – none quite as punctual as us – excitement building as the group was rounding out.

With everyone weighed, gear stashed, and groups split, the helicopter started to shuttle us up into the mountains. An epic eight minute ride – up Jumping Creek, over Albert Creek, past Virtue Mountain – and we had arrived at the Selkirk Lodge.

We wasted little time getting started, and after a quick reorganization of gear & supplies, as well as an avalanche safety briefing, it was time to go skiing. Marching up towards Campion Peak, the scale of the terrain became clear – there is no shortage of skiing in the Selkirks!

Conrad and Christian led the way to the summit of Campion. We carefully stepped our way around the east face – with a nice touch of exposure – and down to the top of Campion Bowl. West-facing turns were sloppy and warm, and it was evident that aspect & timing would be an important theme for the week. Staying high, we hugged the top of the bowl and found a north-facing line. I am always surprised at just how much aspect can effect the ski quality in the late part of the season. Powder and fast-skiing galore!

Up and over Toboggan Col (the first of many) and we were quickly back to the lodge. Treated to our first “appys” of the week (to be followed by a delicious dinner, of course… it is all quite luxurious), we were read into the lodge’s history and rules, and quickly settled in for the night. It’s also worth noting that the morning routine is very pleasant; coffee (they even had oat milk), breakfast, guide debrief, lunch & snack rotation – the Selkirk Lodge program is dialed!

Day 3 – Solitude Glacier, Divine Peak, Grizzly Peak

The day began by following an old skin-track up the Solitude Glacier. We pushed a bit farther past the old ski lines, but our climb was ultimately limited by several large crevasses. We skied some mediocre snow back to the base and quickly set out in search of better conditions. A couple of hours later, we were eating lunch on the summit of Divine Peak enjoying the sunshine and calm weather.

We arched wide and playful turns down the east ridge to Divine Col; the dramatic landscape, always in view, kept the psych-level high. The skiing in Divine Bowl – a north-facing shot below the col – was steep and fast. The snow was dry & cold despite the warm April sun.

Not quite done for the day, we set off towards Grizzly Peak. After putzing around the summit, Konrad (our dry-humored Austrian guide… an absolute legend) sniped an aesthetic line down the north-facing ridge and we enjoyed the best skiing of the day as we started to think about the dinner and beers waiting for us back at the lodge.

Day 4 – Bavarian Peak

We woke to unsettled weather – low clouds and relatively warm temps – ahead of an incoming system that was growing more promising day by day. Jackson, Matt and I were lucky enough to have Christian to ourselves for the day (unclear how “lucky” he felt), and it was wonderful to catch up and get some time with our friend. The objective for the day was to summit Bavarian Peak and poke around for some turns. Our initial descent from the lodge (towards the base of Bavarian) made clear that the snow conditions would be challenging.

We moved quickly as a small group, and soon enough we were standing under the summit ridge of Bavarian, scoping options for safe passage to the top. After a few attempts, we punched through a small cliff-band and shouldered our skis to a small saddle on the ridge. Not quite satisfied – as there was additional ground to cover to truly “bag” the peak – Christian set off in search of a route to the top.

And, well, of course he found a way! We followed with bated breath, continuing along the exposed ridge – swapping skis for steps where necessary – carefully placing our ski boots as we rounded the freshly kicked boot-pack to the top.

We enjoyed the summit and discussed our options for descending. Off the north face of Bavarian is a couloir that drops onto Hidden Lake; we figured that sheltered, north-facing terrain was our best bet of finding good skiing. We shuffled down the couloir one after another; the line felt big and the skiing was fun despite the variable conditions.

After lunch on the frozen lake we climbed back up towards Bavarian, but the snow conditions had continued to deteriorate and we ultimately chose to begin the trek back to the lodge. We made some interesting “turns” in the variable snow – breakable crust, hot pow, schmoo (as Konrad would say) – and managed to make our way back without any injuries. Though, my ACLs still quiver at the memory of that descent…

At this point in the week, the group had really begun to loosen up and we were having a great time back at the lodge. I think this was the night that Monica (a new friend of ours from Montreal) turned to the others and whispered “who are these people!?” (referring to the 3 Americans… us) as we swapped stories & jokes — at least we were making a memorable impression!

Day 4 – Powder; Gainer Peak, Oasis, Balls of Chrome

Overnight, the stars aligned, the storm outperformed our expectations, and we woke up to ~8-10 inches of new snow at the lodge. With the storm still raging, we set out in search of powder and protected terrain. At this point, this was a new game for us as we had mostly avoided the trees and favored the high-terrain.

Without skipping a beat, Canadian Conrad set out towards Gainer Peak – a tame, rounded peak on the other side of Albert Creek – and we followed suit. We started down towards the creek (where we would ultimately transition to begin the ascent) and were immediately treated to steep & deep powder skiing – nice! We climbed to the summit of Gainer amidst the poor visibility and driving snow, putting our full faith in Conrad’s memory & skill as we skirted around the (now invisible) cornices.

The skiing was so good we opted for several descents throughout the day – from the summit of Gainer and surrounding pitches – drumming up more than 5,000 vertical feet of skiing (the first “5k day” of many…).

The storm had all but fizzled, our legs were thoroughly worked, and thoughts of appys & dinner began to buzz. A full day of storm skiing, in April, in the Selkirks – and the forecast called for cool, bluebird conditions the following day – we settled in for the evening routine and reveled in our collective powder fever.

Day 5 – Sunshine; Pink & Fluff, Kodak Peak

As promised, the sun came out, the wind all but stopped, and we were treated to a bluebird day. We moved into a new zone, farther from the lodge than we had yet traveled. Up and over the Primrose Icefield and down towards McDougal Creek; we spent the day lapping runs named Pink & Fluff. The terrain was huge. If we were to follow the McDougal Creek drainage, it would be ~50 miles before we would see another human – we were out there!

The skiing was fantastic. We lapped the zone three times; and the runs were massive, thousands of feet of skiing. The sun was out, the temp stayed cool, Konrad would belt his best Austrian yodel as he skied away, we (probably just Matt and I) danced to Dom Dolla at lunch – vibes were immaculate.

The day was filled with a lot of awe, in the truest sense. Moving through this massive & remote landscape, skiing amazing powder with your best friends, laughing & connecting with wonderful new people – it was not lost on me how special this all was.

We climbed out of the McDougal Creek drainage and back onto the top of the Primrose Icefield. With plenty of daylight left, we worked our way to the top of Kodak Peak and enjoyed a final north-facing powder run back to the lodge.

I think this was the night that the rest of the crew coined us “The Three Musketeers” – aptly named for our collective efforts of winning over the hearts & laughs of our new friends.

Day 6 – Justice

We learned over breakfast, during the routine guide debrief, that this would be the day we ventured over to Justice Mountain. Justice, the tallest peak in the area surrounding the lodge, had been a point of discussion & marvel throughout the week. With the conditions finally teed up – it was time to push for an ascent.

We started off skiing Cruiser to the toe of the Albert Icefield. Up and over onto the icefield – we then gained the north-facing ridge that separates the Albert Icefield from the Justice Glacier and leads straight to the summit of Justice. At times, the ascent up the ridge was quite exposed and we opted to travel on the glacier once we were high enough to avoid the crevasses.

We aimed for a notch between the summit and a sub-peak at ~9,200 ft and came over the ridge as we moved through. Once on the other side of the ridge, we continued climbing on the north face until we came to the final ~150 ft leading to the summit. Steep, snowy, north-facing terrain forced a transition to boot-packing and we began to trench our way through the deep snow.

Once we had crested the final steep pitch, we followed Christian carefully to the highest point where we could safely avoid the massive cornice hazard. We dug out a bench, high-fived each other, and settled in to enjoy lunch on top of Justice.

The views were excellent and the weather was perfect. Once we had wrapped up our leisurely lunch, we threw our gear back on and sidestepped over to the start of our descent – a line called Supreme Court. The first few turns were steep & committing – approaching 50 degrees – and then the run opened up. 1,500+ ft of north-facing deep powder skiing; easily one of the best runs of my life.

We composed ourselves after the epic run and continued on with the day, skiing another amazing run down Paradise – appropriately named! We finished the day with an adventurous route, Cowgirl, that snuck us between crevasses and cliff-bands on the east side of Justice – the aspect facing the lodge. Although the snow was not as forgiving, we did our best to arch graceful turns down the line, knowing that the crew back at the lodge was surely watching.

Once at the bottom of the glacier, we dragged ourselves back up to the lodge – our third 5,000 ft+ day in a row – absolutely smoked from the massive effort. With celebratory beers & whiskey to share, we enjoyed dinner and our company as we watched the the sunset over Justice Mountain – our ski lines temporarily etched into the snowscape of the giant beast.

Day 7 – Paradise to Espresso

Our final day at the Lodge. Morning routine. Out the door. Skis on. Wait, no – skins on? No, they said skis! Climb. Ski. Repeat.

We began the day retracing our tracks down Cowgirl with an ascent up the Justice Glacier. Equal parts exhausted & very aware of my dwindling time in the Selkirks – I marched along the skin-track, my thoughts all over the place. One moment I was dreaming of beers and appys back at the Lodge, the next I was skiing steep powder down Paradise. I eventually pulled myself back together and rejoined the rest of the group in mind & spirit – final days on big trips are hard.

After skiing Paradise we crossed the Albert Icefield and attempted to round a col that would ultimately grant us passage to new terrain – a north-facing drainage that spills into South Albert Creek. We encountered some unstable snow on the steep, south-facing approach and kicked off a sizable D2 wet-slab avalanche. Naturally, we adjusted our plans and took plenty of time to discuss what had happened & why – grateful to have avoided injury.

Musing over our remaining options for the day, we decided to close out the week with a line down Espresso – a face off Divine Peak with an aesthetic that rivals that of Justice. The climb was a familiar one, following a track we had set early in the week. We took our time descending – enjoying the views, taking photos, pointing out tracks from earlier in the week, skiing powder 8s.

The day filled with bittersweet moments – these things stay so special because they are so fleeting – we began our final climb back up to the lodge. Attempting to rally the crew for a final celebration on the deck, we learned that our 60 beers were, in fact, not enough!

Days 8 & 9 – The Three Musketeers Go Home

We woke up on Saturday – exchanged info, said our goodbyes – and were whisked off back to the valley. Huddled under the helicopter, exchanging glances with the crew that would we replacing us for the upcoming week, I was equal parts envious and excited to be headed home.

We stopped in Revelstoke & Banff on our way back to Calgary, filling the time before our flight the next afternoon. We walked around town, ate food, drank some beer & ‘tinis and talked about the 34,000 ft of skiing (no big deal or whatever) we had done over the past week. Mostly, though, I think we just enjoyed each other’s company.

We came for the skiing, and oh… how the skiing was good – powder turns, bluebird days, beautiful glaciers, long descents and endless terrain – but, the moments in-between – the slow mornings, breakfast debriefs, afternoon beers, fast friends, late-evening laughs & delicious meals – are what made the week at the Selkirk Lodge one that I won’t soon forget.

Thank you to Jackson Green for the film images.