Fast, secure, risk-free booking guaranteed.
January and February
Nelson, BC, is 20 mins away from the lodge; Spokane, WA, is 3 hours away
4 or 8 days
Intermediate to advanced
Get ready for heli-accessed snowy wonders at the Ymir Lodge! This all-inclusive Level 2 Avalanche Education Course is designed for backcountry skiers, riders and winter alpinists who often come into contact with avalanche terrain. Learn how to lead a small travel group and develop a travel plan without adequate resources. Apart from helping experienced backcountry adventurers gain new skills necessary to make decisions in complicated situations, this course will give you ample time to ride the powder-laden slopes around the Kootenays. Located at 6,250 ft, Ymir Lodge offers stunning views of the surrounding mountains covered by the perfect combo of fluffy Rockies powder and Coastal snow. Enjoy wonderful food, experience the magic of lodge-based backcountry touring and find out why Ymir Lodge is the perfect classroom!
Practical education in the Kootenay powder sections
Immersive avalanche course combined with the luxuries of a lodge
Located at 6,250 ft, the lodge offers stunning views of the surrounding Kootenays
Take a deep-dive into the Level 2 Avalanche Skills Training curriculum and spend 3 days studying and applying the risk-management framework in the deep Kootenay snowpack. Enjoy your stay in Ymir Lodge with great food, helicopter in/out, and a sauna for a relaxing evening after a day of learning. Commit yourself to the avalanche education process and learn about gathering field obs, identifying terrain, planning tours, mitigating risk by taking safety precautions.
Prerequisites: Participants must have the ability to travel in avalanche terrain. An AST 1 Course (strongly recommended) or equivalent Level 1 training is required. A winter of practical experience after the Level 1 course is highly recommended before taking the AST 2 course. AIARE or AAA-approved one-day Avalanche Rescue Course.
On Day 1, you’ll meet your guides at 8:o0 am at Kootenay Valley Helicopters (KVH 250-505-2150). Then, it’s a helicopter ride to the Ymir Lodge, where you’ll get situated and have a safety briefing. Your guides will go through the curriculum and explain the schedule for the duration of the course. Each evening your group will discuss goals for the next day. When the day is over, relax in a sauna and enjoy a warm meal!
Each morning, you will head out for classes and exercises in the field. Some of the things you’ll learn about are:
The best thing about this setup is that this is an avy course where you actually get to spend your time skiing… a lot! Classroom part of the curriculum will be covered in the mornings and evenings, giving you full days on the untouched slopes of the Kootenays.
This longer-format course allows you to fully grasp the curriculum and gives you more time to apply skills in the field. You get a more in-depth knowledge of how to read into a new snowpack and a new backcountry destination and gives you a chance to explore more skiing objectives in the Kootenays’ powder—right from your lodge! More days also ensure a completely fuss-free experience, maximizing all the fun parts of the tour.
Prerequisites: Participants must have the ability to travel in avalanche terrain. An AST 1 Course (strongly recommended) or equivalent Level 1 training is required. A winter of practical experience after the Level 1 course is highly recommended before taking the AST 2 course. AIARE or AAA-approved one-day Avalanche Rescue Course.
On Day 1, you’ll meet your guides at 8:o0 am at Kootenay Valley Helicopters (KVH 250-505-2150). Then, it’s a helicopter ride to the Ymir Lodge, where you’ll get situated and have a safety briefing. Your guides will go through the curriculum and explain the schedule for the duration of the course. Each evening your group will discuss goals for the next day. When the day is over, relax in a sauna and enjoy a warm meal!
Each morning, you will head out for classes and exercises in the field. Some of the things you’ll learn about are:
The best thing about this setup is that this is an avy course where you actually get to spend your time skiing… a lot! Classroom part of the curriculum will be covered in the mornings and evenings, giving you full days on the untouched slopes of the Kootenays.
Brent put together an absolutely phenomenal AST2 trip and his crew Jay and Shabaz took great care of us. He always puts safety first and helped us to learn both experientially and with theory throughout the day. We had 2 vegans in our group and the food was fantastic and accommodating for everybody. If you want to ski some challenging, fun lines while constantly learning, definitely choose Peak Strategm – I would strongly recommend.
Personable, great guide to work with. Guides you into becoming your own problem solver. He gives you the right tools and instruction to think critically about your decision-making in the mountains. That’s a skill more valuable than any athletic or technical skill. And they’re a hoot to boot! 😉
Ive been out with Brent and team on several trips, and courses. Brent brings a high level of training to all of his programs, preparing the recreationalist to take more steps on their own. It’s been a pleasure to learn from him, and, hang out in the backcountry.
57hours is committed to providing safe outdoor adventure experiences. We require all guides using our platform to have a COVID-19 safety plan and to make the details of that plan accessible to travelers. In most cases, group sizes will be reduced, guides will avoid overcrowded locations, and other safety measures will be met depending on the location and activity.
We also expect clients to respect local regulations and take measures to protect themselves, guides and the communities they’re travelling to. For more information on COVID-19 measures in Nelson, BC, please refer to the Province of British Columbia website.
Please contact us if you have any questions or require further information. We are happy to provide you with the most up-to-date information!
What you get in this all-inclusive adventure:
What’s not included:
In order to enjoy this backcountry adventure, you need to have an excellent level of fitness. You will be on your feet for a full day. While there is terrain for all skill levels, this course is for intermediate to advanced skiers only. You will need to manage controlled descents in variable conditions. All participants should feel comfortable on challenging black level resort runs and be able to carry a loaded daypack while skinning up variable degrees of terrain.
This course is not for fist-time backcountry skiers. You should have several seasons of touring experience, have completed a level 1 avalanche course, and have strong fitness/movement skills. Participants must have the ability to travel in avalanche terrain. An AST 1 Course (strongly recommended) or equivalent Level 1 training is required. A winter of practical experience after the Level 1 course is highly recommended before taking the AST 2 course. AST or AAA-approved one-day Avalanche Rescue Course.
For technical backcountry ski touring gear, you will need to bring:
For personal items, we recommend bringing:
Your guide recommends bringing the following resource materials that you should have received on your AST1 course: Avalanche Skills Training Handbook, Floyer/Robine, Avaluator 2.0
All mandatory gear can be rented if you don’t have your own. You can rent:
Ski rental locations are in Nelson, BC, and should be picked up the night prior to your outing. If you need to rent gear, let us know and we can help make arrangements.
Group sizes and pricing:
Courses at Ymir Lodge and around Nelson, BC can be arranged for larger groups. Contact us to make arrangements.
Min. age requirements:
If your group has skiers under the age of 18, contact us prior to booking to make arrangements.
A 30% deposit to secure your place is due upon booking. The remaining amount is paid 60 days prior to departure. For bookings within 30 days of the departure, full payment is required.
Once the trip is confirmed by the guide, the cancellation policy stated below applies.
For this adventure, your guides cannot refund trip payments, including deposits, as they are committed to expensive bookings like helicopters, lodges, and vehicle transfers. We strongly recommend trip insurance for these bookings.
To get to Ymir Lodge, you can drive from Calgary (about six hours) or Vancouver (about eight hours), but most people fly into Spokane International Airport, WA. From there, you can rent a car or take a shuttle service. Drive time is approximately three hours with a border crossing.
You will meet your guides at the staging area at Kootenay Valley Helicopters in Nelson, BC (KVH 250-505-2150) and from there take a helicopter ride to the Ymir Lodge.