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Thread: BC Hut Trip Reccs/Info
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11-16-2015, 02:25 PM #1
BC Hut Trip Reccs/Info
zzz and I are planning a week long Canadian hut trip next winter w a handful of friends. gonna most likely go the guided/catered route (happy 40th to me). been researching the last few weeks and am a bit overwhelmed with the amount of options out there. most places seem fairly similar w/ regards to price. accommodations also somewhat similar (apparently a sauna is more important than say running water after a day of touring). most boast vast/diverse terrain, gourmet meals, etc.
trying to narrow a list down and looking for first hand reviews/reccs from peeps who've done similar trips.
not sure of our group size yet but seems like it would be ideal to either get enough to book the lodge/hut to ourselves (say 8-10 guys) or have at least 5-6 so we could be in our own touring group if in a lodge w/ other groups??
most places are heli access and have a weight limit on what you can bring (40# not including skis/boots/poles) which I guess isn't a huge issue until you factor in most are also byob
a few outfits we're considering:
vahalla mountain touring
ice creek lodge
powder creek lodge
sol mountain lodge
boulder hut
any tips/info/reccs are appreciated.
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11-16-2015, 02:45 PM #2Registered User
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Burnie hut is about 50 km from here and I spend 2-3 weeks at year up there skiing & doing hut maintenance, its got the big terrain with glacier travel, guided only.
If you are from the USA don't forget the exchange which is really favorable for Americans
As for amenities its got nano hydro/running water (as opposed to walking water) for showers, electricity, sauna, great food, good local guides great food, sat. wifi, you can BYOB or buy booze up there
On the weight issue I think you bulk out before you weight limit out
a good thing to do is come early and ride the lifts a day or 2 at HBM and you don't really need to rent a car cuz the airport is close to townLee Lau - xxx-er is the laziest Asian canuck I know
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11-16-2015, 02:54 PM #3User
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11-16-2015, 04:06 PM #4Registered User
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Lots of things to consider certainly and although most seem similar there are differences.
Do you want big alpine, glaciers, 1000m runs etc? Go to places like Selkirk, Sorcerer, Battle Abbey, SME, Icefall. Want better tree-skiing? Maybe choose a lodge in in the southern part of the area like Carlyle, Powder Creek, Sol, Valhalla, Hilda.
Want a hotel in the woods with flush toilets, running water, wifi, electricity and lots of space? Hilda, VMT and Sol are good options. Prefer rustic and cozy - Valhalla, Ice Creek, and Dezaiko fall into that category.
If you are flying from the States ease of access to the staging area is worthwhile considering as well. Personally I'd aim to book the whole lodge unless you are going to a place that will have two full guides (like SME). Speaking of guides who your guide is can also certainly change the flavour of the trip. If you are looking at booking the whole lodge some places require a smaller group to get an exclusive booking (Ice Creek, Carlyle, Hilda). Other places can need 12-14 people. Weight limits on the flight in can vary from place to place - a lot depends on the type of helicopter that they are using. I've been to some lodges where they were very strict on weight and others where you could bring the kitchen sink. As more places are using A-Stars weight seems to be less of an issue though.
What time of year are you thinking about? Some places have way better north facing skiing if you are considering a March or April trip. Don't discount January trips as can be some of the best snow conditions with decent base (although with caveat that you need a lodge with decent tree skiing and less glaciers).
I've been to 3 of the places you are asking about (and about 15 lodges total I think). VMT was super comfortable and cheap access due to snowcat rather then heli. Was not super impressed with the terrain but we were there fairly early season. Ice Creek has sweet terrain - good fall line and steep. Lodge is cozy and you aren't quite getting the same bang for your buck in terms of accommodations as perhaps some other lodges but can book the whole place with only a group of 8 I think. Sol is one of the nicest lodges, terrain is huge but a bit spread out and benchy. Not the best for split boarders. A lot of shorter 2-400m runs but interesting skiing. Lots of snow - usually the deepest snowpack of all the lodges.
Some of my personal favourites are Hilda (steep fall line skiing, very nice lodge, down to earth owners), Carlyle (nice middle ground - skiing is good, a bit of everything except glaciers, lodge is comfortable but still cozy), and Selkirk (best alpine terrain that I have been too but would not want to be there if we were just skiing the trees).
In the end you'll probably have a good time at any of them. Feel free to pm if you want more details - like I said i've been to a lot of them.
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11-16-2015, 04:18 PM #5Registered User
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Yeah some tree skiing on Tom George and down lower off the loft glacier, it can be big and daunting without a guide but you will have a guide who will usually find you good skiing so I haven't been weathered out too much, weatherwise Burnie is right between the Terrace and Smithers climates, right now Shames in Terrace got 140cms in 3days
You usually gotta fly into a major city and then drive to any BC hut in BC, I believe there are 10 huts out of Golden which is 3-4 hrs from Calgary, I see lots of rental cars in those p-lots the choppers fly from
Yeah you gotta fly into Smithers, you wana stay at the Storks Nest inn where they have a free shuttle, maybe you can tag along on a tour to the Hankin Evelyn, if you wana hit the local hill for a tuneup ski its 20 min up to HBM, take the bus or there is this ski bum who will guide for beerLee Lau - xxx-er is the laziest Asian canuck I know
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11-16-2015, 04:54 PM #6
Would be useful to know the kind of terrain you guys are wanting. I skied Sorcerer last year and thought it was great mix of things. I was egging people on up to the alpine during on-and-off weather, so we got our fair share of misery, but great lines as well. The other guys banged off stupidly deep pillow laps all week long.
When it's snowing, ski right out the door into 250-400m shots of steep pillowy trees which are high up enough to escape most warm storms. If it's been a while since snow, go up from the hut towards the one of three glaciers, you could spend a whole week on the Nordic Glacier alone skiing new stuff. If it's really good and you've got legs, bag the 15th highest peak in the Selkirks. A great variety of things to ski over a huge band of elevation, aspect and exposure, should keep you from getting skunked if a warm storm or weeks of high pressure does come along.
Whatever you do go for, I'd suggest something with variety. Any time of the year can be warm, cold, wet, or dry, and it's a lot of money to put down if you're dealt the wrong weather for the kind of skiing is good in the terrain nearby.
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11-16-2015, 05:04 PM #7User
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Snow quality and terrain are more important factors to me than the cushness of the lodge. That being said, I don't want to stay in a shack and would like enough room to spread out the funk that 7 days of beer drinking and ski touring would produce. My preference would probably be for big, alpine terrain but I would like the option of glade/tree skiing for storm/higher danger days. Ideally this would be an end of February trip.
I think Hilda and Battle Abbey are booked for most of 2017 already. Mt. Carlyle is booked for the weeks we were looking at but I guess we could go before or after. Ice Creek is looking pretty good right now. Sol sounds good except for the short, benchy runs.
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11-16-2015, 07:11 PM #8Registered User
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Second the Sorcerer recommendation. Terrain variety is key, and Sorcerer has it.
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11-16-2015, 09:33 PM #9
BC Hut Trip Reccs/Info
If you are looking for a swanky pad and a variety of terrain you should consider Kokanee run by the acc. Lots of room to spread out. Beautiful lodge and some excellent terrain. Been there twice. Also been to sorcerer and fairy meadows. Sorcerer was great with all the things angry mentioned. I really enjoyed fairy meadows but it's a bit smaller and more rustic than the other lodges you have mentioned. You can read trs on the web for all these places. I've never had a bad time at any of them. Actually that's a bit of a lie. I didn't enjoy my experience at Campbell icefield chalet. If that one creeps up on your radar I'd skip it.
Ps the first fly in trip I was on I weighed all my gear and was worried about getting it in there with the listed weight restrictions. Then I saw the guys flying out with a generator, jerry cans, guitars and a keg. My experience since then has not been a weight issue but pack in small bags and boxes. Essentially bulk is the issue. Need to utilize every inch of cargo space in the heli. So I wouldn't worry about the weight.
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11-16-2015, 09:53 PM #10
go to Japan cheaper and the food is better
off your knees Louie
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11-16-2015, 09:55 PM #11
How about renting an 8 passenger Nordic Tug with a captain and a rigid hull inflatable and cruising out to Glacier Bay for some sea to ski.
$200/person per day
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11-16-2015, 10:10 PM #12Registered User
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I've also been into Dezaiko and David Henry lodge
Been into David Henry 2 or 3 times its a little more lower angle tree skiing and the lodge was a little more rustic, i don't remember a sauna cooking on a gas range, a short chopper ride in and the last time we skied out to save coin, you may be able to snow machine in & out, there is another lodge run by the same people a little more advanced terrain but I haven't been into it
Been into Dezaiko a few times, it has a LOT of tree skiing in any weather, Craig the guide has been there forever like 20+ years so he knows the area, nice lodge with a sauna, Bonnies cooking is amazing, you could probably fly into Prince George which is fairly major as towns go and not need a car, lodge is a 2 hr chopper ride north-east, I was there 2 years ago with a meter of fresh
havent been to any hut down southLee Lau - xxx-er is the laziest Asian canuck I know
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11-17-2015, 08:31 AM #13
thx for all the info/reccs.
any thoughts as to if it's better to be in a lodge w/ say 8-12 vs 16-20+? even though I'm sure all have vast terrain, seems like a big lodge would hammer a lot of the low hanging fruit terrain that much faster?
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11-17-2015, 09:04 AM #14
carlyse kicks ass each time we returned the bomber had improved the
lodge
campbells swank but terrains a lot of wiggle butt meh
blankets glaciers got a great mix of high alpine and great tree skiing lodge is rusticicly ghetto
might still be a spot or 2 on our blanket jan 30-feb 5th
unguided/uncatered"When the child was a child it waited patiently for the first snow and it still does"- Van "The Man" Morrison
"I find I have already had my reward, in the doing of the thing" - Buzz Holmstrom
"THIS IS WHAT WE DO"-AML -ski on in eternal peace
"I have posted in here but haven't read it carefully with my trusty PoliAsshat antenna on."-DipshitDanno
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11-17-2015, 07:07 PM #15User
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So it looks like we're narrowing in on Carlyle. If you had to pick either mid February or Mid March, which would you you go for? We don't ask for much; just deep, dry powder, no wind, bomber snowpack and bluebird days.
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11-17-2015, 07:20 PM #16
Blanket Glacier Chalet.
I only found out about it last year. Great spot, great hut, awesome guiding from Marty Schaffer.Goal: ski in the 2018/19 season
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11-17-2015, 07:30 PM #17
best conditions we scored in 3 carlyses was early jan
presidents shit show week in a alpine huts never a bad call
longer days are nice as there a lot of the drainages require some travel
but skiing down from carpenters in the dark isn't that bad"When the child was a child it waited patiently for the first snow and it still does"- Van "The Man" Morrison
"I find I have already had my reward, in the doing of the thing" - Buzz Holmstrom
"THIS IS WHAT WE DO"-AML -ski on in eternal peace
"I have posted in here but haven't read it carefully with my trusty PoliAsshat antenna on."-DipshitDanno
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11-17-2015, 08:46 PM #18observing free range rude
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11-17-2015, 09:35 PM #19
Selkirk Mountain Experience, North of Revelstoke. Pretty epic, and no one know the mountains better than Rudi
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11-17-2015, 09:57 PM #20
I don't think 20 people could put a dent in it. I've only been to Sorcerer lodge, and we kept using one run to get to where we'd start going up each day, and that got tracked out quite badly, but there was no hope of tracking out a noticeable amount of the good skiing options with just 20 people.
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11-18-2015, 12:13 PM #21User
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11-24-2015, 11:02 PM #22
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11-25-2015, 07:27 PM #23
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11-26-2015, 01:21 PM #24Registered User
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Dave Waag was up last spring and did a piece on Burnie hut in this months Off-Piste for anybody who is interested
If you come hopefully you speak engrishLee Lau - xxx-er is the laziest Asian canuck I know
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11-27-2015, 08:46 AM #25
Subscribing to this thread. Turn 50 in a couple of years, and that might be the time to swing one of these (would prefer a week of heli-skiing, but I don't think that's in the cards, I mean wallet).
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