A day at the Wallow

Every tea time it happens- you could almost set your watch to it. It’s so impressive that one of the world’s leading animal experts had never seen anything like it. “We’ll be in the front office and see a shadow and it will be a big bull moose, right out our front door,” says owner operator of the Mount Engadine Lodge Chris Williams. “Getting distracted around here is easy.”

Jack and Suzi love rugged environments, they couldn’t have been more at home at the Engadine Lodge found deep in Kananaskis Country, just out the back of Canmore Alberta. “What we love here in Alberta is the mountains, streams, wildlife and incredible people all in one spot. We are really drawn to rugged environments and than being able to see the wildlife” said Suzi Hanna – the co host for the series, Into the Wild.

For a read of the Craig & Canyon's interview with Jack and Suzi, please click here

They were waiting for us upon arrival. As we pulled up a moose was standing there having lunch. This lodge was built 20 years ago in front of a wallow, a pool of enriched mud that offers up cilium, a nutrient moose need to keep up their bone development. The cilium is sucked up by the plant life and therefore the moose come around here pretty much daily. “A visit here is like a one a day vitamin,” says Williams.

“I have never seen this in my life,” as Jack Hanna said just moments after one mighty moose almost charged directly through the make shift TV set. With Cara Luft on the ‘stage”, the camera’s rolled while the four moose made their way through the valley and around the wallow. Luft strung her guitar and belted out some stellar tunes which will be used in an upcoming episode of Into the Wild. She took a Canadian Juno Award in 2005 with her former band the Wailin’ Jenny’s.

Steep Camp Concludes

It's not very often on the slopes that I get to scare myself.
Its those runs that make you go holy sh*t, when you are standing on top of them looking down and the stomach starts to churn. This is what I am looking for on the slopes...runs that will help take my riding to their next level.

This is exactly what Northern Escape's Steep camp is all about. Not only do they get you to the top of these epic runs with views that will knock your boots off, but they give you the education you need to harness those fears and take the abilities to their next level.

And now at its conclusion, I am sure there may be a few of the 15 of us walking away from this five day steep and deep bender just a little disappointed. And there was nothing anyone could have done - avy conditions locked off most of Northern Escape and the Skeena's true potential...however our outstanding guides did manage to make the most with what we had.

And what we had was an epic time, picture it - you swoop in to land on the peak of a powder filled summit, the door opens, the wind is blowing snow is flying, you get out of the chopper, it's chaos, the noice the snow, it lifts off and than it all goes silent, for miles around there is nothing around you but an endless sea of white peaks. The noice picks back up but now its my buddies yipping and yelling cause before us is a big wide open powder bowl without a track in it just waiting for us to launch in and carve it up.

For people who are resort skiers, “steep camp offers the chance to get to your next level. You can expect pillow drops, some shoots and when conditions are right, big lines,” explained our guide Yvan Sabourin. “Steep camp was born out of demand from our guests. They would be up when the film crews were here, asking, well why can’t we ski that?” said Sabourin. Now Northern Escape has welcomed people from all over the world including Germany, Switzerland, Australia, New Zealand, the US and Canada in for the very same reason- to shred some serious gnar.

On our last day out on the slopes, guides John Forrest, Sabourin and others took us out for a ski into the Skeena's- with wide open spaces, glorious powder bowls and an endless sea of terrain before you- this is seriously one of the best places to be on the planet to get out the skis or snowboard and go for a shred. There is nothing like having these wide open spaces, all to yourself!

I can't wait till next year.

Track & Trail is stoked to release its 2010 conference dates to held at the Yellow Cedar Lodge- home to Northern Escape. For full details click here

Steeped in info

A reality of heli-skiing is that there can be down days, ones where the chopper cannot fly due to weather….and today was unfortunately such a day.

In addition to some serious relaxation time, this is steep camp so Northern Escape maximized the day, allowing us to get the in’s on how they pick which lines we’ll ski and pointers on avalanche recovery techniques.

It truly a valued experience to learn from the guides themselves just what goes into the assessment of terrain and the value of a day in the mountains. “Experience is everything when it comes to approaching the mountains," explained long time Association of Canadian Mountain Guide Al Ducros. “It’s not just about firing up the bird, getting on the skis and hitting the slopes. There is a lot of information, analysis and experience that comes into play,” explained Ducros as he worked us through the weather and avalanche reports located in the guide’s office here in the lodge. Twice daily, once in the morning and evening, the guides rally to cross-examine the weather and conditions.

As for when you are on the snow, avalanche safety is crucial and the guides treated us to a scenario and some demonstrations on the art of recovering potentially your buddy from the snow.

The biggest things I picked up where:

When you come close to locating the victim-where the beacon reads to about 1.5 meters or less, mark your boundaries around the burial - you've got to give yourself a road map on where to probe. Actually draw lines or a circle in the snow in and around the strongest signal point.

Use the probe in a spiral fashion, working from the point of the strongest beacon response out by 30 cms, again in a spiral form.

Dig a ramp to the person- coming in at the side to the probe, don't shovel directly over top of them. If you just dig from where the probe hits something, you will just be digging a pit. This will not allow for an effective recovery. “If you were digging and hit a foot, how are you going to work your way through that pit to get the most important part, their head – so they can breathe,” asked Ducros.

“Working as one team is important, stay together and move from there. If you are all spread out its chaos, communication is the key,” explained Ducros.

Even though it’s a bummer that we couldn’t get up in the bird, this education from folks who have 10- 20 years of experience running around and loving life in the mountains is invaluable.