Level-Up Ski Touring – Fernie

This is a great opportunity to gain local terrain knowledge, as the primary objective is to find good skiing! All aspects of ski touring will also be coached, such as techniques for managing your gear and comfort, what to pack, route-finding, track setting, techniques for difficult ascents, and more.

About the Course

All participants must complete a waiver acknowledgement before making a booking.

Curriculum: On-mountain mentorship from an experienced, local, ACMG Ski Guide. The day will start off with an avalanche safety briefing before heading out for a full day of ski touring. This is a great opportunity to gain local terrain knowledge, as the primary objective, after remaining safe, is to find good skiing! All aspects of ski touring will also be coached, such as techniques for managing your gear and comfort, what to pack, route-finding, track setting, techniques for difficult ascents, and more.

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Each ski touring day is given a rating based on the skill level needed by the participants.

🟢 Green Circle - this relaxed day of touring is perfect for those who have been out 1 or 2 times before and looking for coaching on movement techniques, transition tips, and can climb roughly 600m of elevation through the day.
🟦 Blue Square - a more goal oriented day of touring with participants having the ability to climb at least 1000m through the course of the day. You should be experienced at transitioning gear efficiently and be okay with a few sections of steep up-tracks. We can help you manage more difficult switchbacks.
🔷 Black Diamond - a summit bagging day that requires participants to ascend roughly 1500m and have good, efficient movement and gear management skills. You should be stoked with quick breaks, difficult up-tracks, and challenging weather conditions. Efficient movement and gear management skills are a must!

Equipment List

Required Items: Please bring the following items to the clinic

Lift Ticket or Season Pass may be required depending on location (TBD a few days before the clinic): You can purchase a single-ride lift ticket from Mountain Addicts ($35)
Lunch & Snacks: Bring a variety of small snacks to eat on-the-go, such as bars, jerky, cheese, as well as a sandwich is recommended. We don’t often have the time/weather for a lengthy sit-down lunch
Water/Tea: A warm thermos of tea/hot chocolate as well as 1L of water, hydration packs are not recommended due to cold freezing the tube
Digital Avalanche Transceiver
Avalanche Shovel: collapsible & metal
Collapsible Avalanche Probe: longer is better
Skis: ‘Alpine Touring with touring bindings’ or ‘Telemark’. Please practice transitioning your bindings from ski-mode to walk-mode and back again. Mel Makepeace loves the Icelantic Nomad Lite for ski touring performance.

Split Board: with split board skins. Please practice transitions from touring mode to riding mode at home before the field day

Snowshoes & snowboard
Ski Poles: recommended for all modes of travel
Climbing Skins ‘Stick-on type’ (only required if using skis or split boards)
Boots: appropriate for your mode of snow travel
Day Pack: large enough for spare clothes, lunch, shovel and probe. 30 liter minimum size recommended.
Sunglasses and/or Ski Goggles: we recommend both as high output activities will fog up your goggles. Goggles with multiple lenses are especially handy; XSPEX Goggles “Chaos”
Sunscreen

Optional Equipment: Not essential, but feel free to bring

Chemical hand warmers& toe warmers packs
Snow Saw
Snow Study Kit
Field Book & Pencil
Compass, Inclinometer

Mountain Addicts have limited gear available to rent. The Guides Hut in downtown Fernie have touring and safety equipment available to rent.

Field Day Clothing

During the field day there can be longer periods of inactivity in cold temperatures. To maximize your learning experience, be sure to bring lots of extra clothing so that you can focus on the course and not the cold. Bring clothing of varying thicknesses that can be ‘layered’ to achieve comfort and versatility. Cotton clothing is not appropriate as it causes rapid heat loss when wet. You may have heard the expression “Cotton Kills”.

Below is a recommended clothing list:

Base Layers (top and bottom): Wool or synthetic materials preferred, such as Rab® Forge Leggings and Top
Water Resistant Jacket: A quality hardshell for staying dry when it’s dumping is an essential piece of ski touring kit. Our guide’s use the Rab® Khroma Kinetic Jacket.
Water Resistant Ski Pants: Waterproof pants help keep you warm in the powder. Pants with ventilation that you can open and close are ideal. Check out the Rab® Khroma Kinetic Pants.
Warm Mid-Layer Shirt, Sweater, or Fleece such as the Rab ® Alpha Flash Jacket.
Insulated Jacket or Vest: A feather down or Primaloft™ insulated jacket is essential for staying warm while taking breaks or when the weather gets really cold. Don’t be afraid to double down! The Mountain Addicts love the Rab ® Neutrino Pro Jacket.
Socks: wool or synthetic, no cotton.
Wool or Fleece Hat that covers the ears.
Buff: great for protecting your face in cold and windy conditions. Mountain Addicts have buffs for sale.
2 Pair of Gloves: we always recommend ski touring with at least 2 pair of gloves. One pair for sweating in, and another pair for keeping your hands dry and warm. Check out these options: Rab ® Pivot GTX Glove and Rab ® Khroma Tour Infinium Gloves.
Ski Helmet: recommended for skiers and riders. We love Pret helmets!

our Instructors and Guides

The Mountain Addicts team is obsessed with safety. All of our guides are members of the Association of Canadian Mountain Guides (ACMG). The ACMG is the only internationally recognized professional association of trained and certified mountain guides and instructors in Canada. Our guides come from a variety of backgrounds and experiences and Mountain Addicts will find your perfect match.

Mel Makepeace

Ski Guide & Owner

Mel is the owner of Mountain Addicts, an ACMG Ski Guide and Professional Member of the Canadian Avalanche Association. She began her career as a ski patroller in 2008 and now travels the world ski touring and heli-ski guiding. Mel particularly loves facilitating mountain travel confidence in women.

Greg Inman

ACMG Ski Guide

Greg Inman grew up skiing on Poley Mountain in New Brunswick. After graduating from Acadia University with a degree in Recreation Management, Greg moved to Fernie to become a ski guide. With a background working as a heli-skiing guide in northern BC, and ski touring almost every range in BC, he now spends most of his time guiding at Island Lake Catskiing while raising a young family in Fernie.

Steve Kloepzig

ACMG Ski Guide

“Big” Steve Kloepzig has over 20 years of guiding experience in the Elk Valley and is one of the most requested guides at Mountain Addicts and Island Lake Catskiing. To say that Steve is passionate about sharing his mountain wisdom would be the understatement of the year.

Tyler McMillan

ACMG Ski Guide

Tyler started his career as a ski patroller in Fernie almost 20 years ago, before moving on to become a well rounded ski touring, heliskiing, and catskiing guide. He loves finding good snow and interesting terrain, and watching guests exceed their abilities in the backcountry.

Corin Lohmann

ACMG Ski Guide

Corin loves sharing the mountain experience and the connections that are made while learning and exploring in the backcountry. Since 2011, Corin has been guiding ski trips in the mountains of Western Canada. He lives in Fernie with his family and spends his summers running icewalks.com ; a glacier guiding business in Jasper National Park.

Level-Up Ski Touring – Fernie

About the Course

More Info