Pure Canada

Complete Wilderness

Setting out from Calgary in Alberta, Canada’s largest province, we drive around 260km westwards to Golden in British Columbia, a town situated along Highway 1 and right in the middle of the Canadian Rockies. Golden is bordered by the confluence of the two great rivers Columbia and Kicking Horse, and is surrounded by no fewer than five national parks: Yoho National Park, Banff National Park, Jasper National Park, Glacier National Park and Kootenay National Park.

Our base for the week, the Vagabond Lodge, is situated at high altitude, adjacent to the legendary freeride resort Kicking Horse. This gives us endless ski touring opportunities, either in the peaks around Kicking Horse itself, or via a short drive, in the nearby Rogers Pass or Lake Louise. We have six skiing days in this mountain paradise. Our time of visit, February, is pretty ideal, and should offer us bluebird days with pleasant temperatures. We’ll typically cover between 1,000 and 1,200 vertical meters each day, maximising the amount of downhill. The skiing itself will be a mixture of wide, open, untouched powder slopes and sparse conifer forests. The snow itself around here has a justified reputation for top quality, and with a bit of luck we’ll be able to enjoy the so-called “Champagne Powder”. We’ll stay on the mountain for as long as the light allows and every day finishes with a three-course dinner and a few well-deserved drinks back at the lodge.

See map

Pure Ski Touring only hires IFMGA Mountain Guides

What is a Mountain Guide?
A Mountain Guide is a specially trained and highly experienced professional who is certified by authorities or mountain guide associations. They are considered experts at a high level and are hired to instruct or lead individuals and small groups in mountain environments that require this advanced expertise. The profession of mountain guide originated in the mid-19th century when alpine climbing became recognized as a sport.

IFMGA Certification
The title IFMGA Mountain Guide is reserved for individuals who have received full certification through their country’s national mountain guide association, whose curriculum and training are approved by the International Federation of Mountain Guides Associations (IFMGA). Certification is obtained through a rigorous examination process that includes rock climbing, alpine climbing and ski mountaineering. Certification usually takes between three and seven years to complete.

Swedish Mountain Guide Organisation
The Swedish Mountain Guide Organisation (SBO) is Sweden’s only professional organisation for mountain guides. SBO trains and examines guides and offers further training. The organisation promotes the interests of its members nationally and internationally and administers information, fees and meetings. The requirements for authorisation are high and include technical skills, teaching and leadership skills. SBO cooperates with other organisations and is a member of the International Federation of Mountain Guides Associations (IFMGA), which gives Swedish guides the right to work internationally according to the federation’s standards.

Our IFMGA Mountain Guide at Pure Canada is

Aaron Enns

Aaron Enns is a fully certified Mountain Guide and member of the Association of Canadian Mountain Guides (ACMG), the International Federation of Mountain Guiding Associations (IFMGA) and the Canadian Avalanche Association (CAA). He lives in Golden and has been with us earlier years at Pure Canada. Aaron has incredibly good local knowledge for skiing and has been in the mountains since childhood.

Golden

Golden is a town with around 4,000 inhabitants along Highway 1, around 260km west of Calgary. It’s surrounded by two major mountain ranges, the Purcells and the Rockies, and lies right at the confluence of the Columbia and Kicking Horse rivers. The town itself is cosy and has a very genuine feel to it. It boasts several restaurants, an arts gallery, two pubs and even an artisan craft brewery, Whitetooth Brewing. The best burgers in town are served up at The Wolf’s Den, and we’ll certainly try those out during our stay.

Accommodation

We’re staying in our own lodge, The Vagabond lodge, close to the Kicking Horse Resort, which is nestled amongst the many peaks of the Purcell range — an Eldorado for ski touring. The lodge, and the rooms themselves are of a typically Canadian design: wood panels abound, with high ceilings and plenty of open spaces. Vagabond Lodge is a very pleasant base with a perfect location for ski touring in the area. Breakfast comes in the shape of a buffet, with bacon, eggs any way, porridge, toast etc. We make up our own lunch packs from the breakfast buffet every day. We eat our dinners in the various restaurants in town, or we invite a local chef to the lodge itself to cook for us.

Travel

We start our Canada trip in the morning from Stockholm, Arlanda Airport. We fly to Calgary, Canada, landing in the afternoon after a stop in Frankfurt. We drive our own cars from Calgary Airport to our lodge in Golden, with a pit stop along the way for some snacks. We retrace our steps a week later. We leave Vagabond Lodge after breakfast and drive towards Calgary, stopping in Banff for lunch and an exploratory wander around the town to stretch our legs. Our flight departs around five pm, and we’ll arrive back at Arlanda, Stockholm the following day. We can also arrange flights from Gothenburg, Malmö and London etcetera on request. Contact us on info@pureskitouring.se for more details.

You can also make your own travel arrangements if you prefer, in which case we’ll meet up at an arranged spot. We’ll adjust the cost accordingly, of course.

We’ll cover somewhere between 1,000 and 1,600 vertical meters every day. Our days will be split into several runs, and there will be options to sit some of them out if your legs can’t hack it. We’ll ski a mix of high alpine slopes and tree runs with endless choices at our disposal. There may be some steeper or exposed passages to negotiate. We run to a maximum of 6 guests per guide.

Very good fitness is required, capable of sustaining an ascent rate of 400m/h
Capable of off-piste skiing in all conditions, on slopes of up to 35-40 degrees
Well practiced in ski touring technique and equipment, how to walk and kick-turn with climbing skins
Age limit 18 years old (16 years old if accompanied by legal guardian)

Mandatory Equipment

Skis with touring bindings
Climbing skins, contour-cut to your skis
Ski boots
Ski poles with baskets of a diameter of at least 6cm
Avalanche transceiver (not analog), shovel, probe. Check batteries.
Helmet
Avalanche backpack with inflatable airbag, 25-40l capacity
Shell jacket and trousers. Wind-, and waterproof.
Mid-layer in wool or fleece
Insulated jacket. Synthetic or down. Alternatively an extra fleece.
Base layer, top and long-johns. Wool or synthetic
Ski socks, wool
Underwear, wool or synthetic
Gloves or mittens, one pair of thick, one pair of thin
Hat and balaclava or Buff to cover your face
Sunglasses and goggles
Sun cream
Water bottle
Head torch
Passport and money
Travel insurance
Hand sanitiser
Personal snacks (chocolate, nuts etc) for touring

Canada Specifics

Skis with at least 95mm under foot
Plug adapter

Good to have

Thin windproof/soft shell jacket
Soft shell trousers
Extra base layers
Extra underwear (wool/synthetics)
Extra ski socks (wool)
Day wear/civvies (to be left in the hotel)
Normal shoes (to be left in the hotel)
Thermos
Camera
Mobile phone and charger
Toiletries bag
Ear plugs
Blister tape

Always aim to minimise weight when packing.

If you’re missing some of the equipment listed above, we’ll be happy to help arrange equipment hire or purchase. Contact us on info@pureskitouring.se for details.

Reserve

Package, excluding travel
- Part in twin room
- 48 500 SEK
- Estimated 4200€

Included

6 days’ ski touring with Canadian IFMGA mountain guide
Avalanche safety training with certified IFMGA mountain guide
Ski touring technique skills with certified IFMGA mountain guide
Equipment orientation with certified IFMGA mountain guide
Guest lecturers
Personal account access to Pure Ski Touring’s website
Pure Ski Touring’s goodie bag
Accommodation at Vagabond Lodge, Golden BC, 6 nights
Breakfast, lunch and evening meal, 6 days
Bedding, towels and cleaning on checkout
Lunch in Banff on departure day
Air travel, Stockholm – Calgary return
Checked luggage, 23kg and carry-on 8kg
Sport equipment luggage, 23kg (skis, poles and boots)
Return transfer, Calgary Airport – Golden BC

Saturday, January 18
- 09:05 Departure from Stockholm, Arlanda for Calgary, BC
- 15:55 Arrival, Calgary Airport
- We have our own transfer to our lodge in Golden
- 20:00 Check-in, and time for a shower and change before dinner
- 20:30 A hearty, Canadian meal served in the lodge
- Preparation and sorting ourselves out for tomorrow’s tour.
Sunday, January 19
- 07:30 Breakfast served in lodge
- Our guide Aaron Enns will join us for breakfast
- 09:00 Head off for our first ski tour of the week
- We have lunch on the mountain
- Aaron will conduct an avalanche training session
- Return to lodge, shower, sauna and change in time for evening dinner
- 19:30 Three-course meal served in lodge
Monday-Friday, January 20-24
- 07:00 Breakfast, Canadian style: eggs any and every way, bacon, breakfast muffins, pancakes, freshly baked bread, yoghurt, fruit, porridge – you name it.
- We all make up lunch packs from the breakfast buffet
- 08:30 Gather in the lobby and head out for today’s tour
- Lunch on the mountain
- Dusch, bastu, ombyte och tid för lite egen vila innan kvällens middag
- En kväll kommer en från "the locals" och berättar om staden och bergens historia - en superhärlig och inspirerande person
- 19:00 Middag på lodgen alternativt på restaurang i byn - vi varierar oss!
- 21:00 Vi får en kvällsuppdatering från Aaron inför morgondagens skidåkning
Saturday, January 25
- 07:00 Breakfast. We make up a lunch pack
- 10:00 Check-out
- We load up our cars and drive towards Calgary with a stop in Banff for a break
- 17:50 Departure from Calgary Airport. Arrive at Arlanda Airport the following day (Feb 14th) at 14:25.