BC’s West Coast Ski Buffet: Backcountry & Heli Mix

Things to know

• What’s included?

  What you get on this adventure:

  • • An experienced, ACMG Certified Guide with extensive knowledge of the area
    • 3 or 4 days of backcountry skiing in British Columbia’s West Coast
    • Accommodation (Cloudraker Chalet in Squamish)
    • Helicopter flights for heli access
    • Group safety equipment

  What’s not included:

  • • Technical backcountry ski touring equipment — can be rented
    • Avalanche safety equipment — can be rented with your guides
    • Accommodation before and after the tour — your guides can help arrange it
    • Transportation to the meeting point
    • Food and snacks
    • Guide gratuities — optional
• How fit do I need to be?

  To enjoy this backcountry skiing adventure on BC’s West Coast, you need to have at least some backcountry skiing experience. Participants should feel comfortable skiing on various types of terrain and have a good understanding of the basics of backcountry skiing. Other than that, your ACMG-certified guides can accommodate almost any ability level, help you with your skills, and coach when things get a bit more difficult.

• What if I’ve never backcountry skied before?

  To participate in this tour, you need to have at least some previous backcountry skiing experience.

  If you’re looking for a day-long adventure suitable for beginners in BC, check out backcountry skiing in Duffey Lake.

• What do I need to bring?

  For technical backcountry ski touring gear, you will need to bring:

  • • Alpine touring skis, telemark skis or splitboard with skins (can be rented)
    • Touring boots and poles (can be rented)
    • Avalanche safety equipment (can be rented):
    • Digital, 3-antenna avalanche transceiver or beacon
    • Lightweight snow shovel
    • Avalanche probe

  For personal items, we recommend bringing:

  • • 20-30L daypack
    • Helmet — optional
    • Sunglasses and goggles
    • Sun and lip cream
    • Camera — optional, but recommended
    • 1L of water or tea
    • First aid kit
    • Food you can eat on-the-go
    • Thermos with a warm beverage — optional
    • Repair kit and Leatherman for your equipment (can be shared between several people)

  This is a list of clothing we recommend you bring:

  • • Gloves and hat
    • Wool and/or synthetic socks
    • Mid-insulation fleece or puffy jacket
    • Wind and waterproof shell jacket with hood (Gore-Tex recommended)
    • Warm outer puffy jacket
    • Ski pants (Gore-Tex recommended)
    • Down jacket or vest
    • Synthetic or wool base layers, underwear and socks
    • Face mask
    • Toque — wool or synthetic
    • Brimmed cap
    • Face warmer — scarf, neck tube, face mask, buff, etc.
    • Light gloves and insulated gloves or mitts
• Can I rent equipment?

  All mandatory gear can be rented if you don’t have your own. You can rent avalanche safety pack, including a backpack, beacon, shovel and probe with your guides in the booking process.

  You can rent alpine touring or telemark skis (or splitboard) touring boots, and poles in Squamish from Urban Alpine, Spicy Sports, and Evo. As Squamish is an outdoor hub, there’s a multitude of more rental shops to choose from.

  Ski rental locations are in Squamish 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 age requirements

  Group sizes and prices:

  • • For this West Coast backcountry skiing adventure, the group size is made of 4 people. That is also the minimum number of people for this tour to run.
    • The cost is per person and doesn’t decrease as the group grows.

  Backcountry skiing in BC’s West Coast can be arranged for larger groups. Contact us to make arrangements.

  Min. age requirements:

  • • If you are older than 18, you’re good to go.
    • Minors may be permitted to join private tours on a case-by-case basis.

  If your group has skiers under the age of 18, contact us prior to booking to make arrangements.

• Getting there and meeting location

  To get to Squamish, most people fly into Vancouver International Airport (YVR), 1 hour from Whistler. From there, you can rent a car or take a shuttle service.

  Accommodation is included for the day prior to skiing, so make sure to check into the Cloudraker Chalet in Squamish and have a good night’s rest. Your guide will meet you there and review the plan for Day 1.

• Covid measures in British Columbia

  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, their guides, and the communities they’re traveling to. For more information on COVID-19 measures in British Columbia, please refer to BC Centre for Disease Control COVID-19 advice.

  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!

• Deposits and cancellation policy

  For regular dates, a $750 deposit is due upon booking. Final payments are due sixty (60) calendar days prior to the departure date. Failure to make this final payment by the deadline will result in forfeiture of the trip and deposit. If booking a trip within 60 days of the departure date, full payment is due upon booking.

  • • Deposits are non-refundable, but transferable at the discretion of your guiding company as long as the cancellation is made more than sixty (60) days prior to the trip or is initiated by your guiding company.
    • Cancellations to trips made thirty (30) or more days before the trip departure dates are transferable to another trip or course or refundable with 15% admin fee.
    • Cancellations to trips made less than thirty (30) calendar days prior to the departure date for any reason are non-refundable, but potentially transferable to another trip or date at the discretion of your guides. Any such transfers are subject to a 25% administrative fee and recovery of any sunk costs. No more than one transfer will be offered. Your guiding company will accept a substitute guest should you not be able to attend, provided they meet the skill level requirements for the trip. Your guiding company reserves the right to determine if the substitute guest meets these requirements. Any such substitutions are subject to a 10% administrative fee.
    • Your guides reserve the right to modify or cancel a trip at any time due to unfavorable weather conditions, injury/illness, or other reason without penalty. Clients will be notified as soon as possible and refunded less any sunk costs. If the weather doesn’t permit flying into the hut / lodge, the client would not be refunded for the day. However, the guides would still take clients skiing somewhere. On the other hand, if the weather doesn’t permit leaving the lodge on schedule, the client would not be charged for the extra lodge day.