Sorcerer Lodge

Price   Date   Meeting Time & Place    Itinerary  Guides & Group Size  Difficulty   Gear & Clothing  Transportation  Accommodation  Meals  Booking Information

Sorcerer Lodge is located in the Northern Selkirk Range 25km north of Rogers Pass on the boundary of Glacier National Park. This is a very impressive area featuring heavily glaciated peaks with big verticals!

As usual the emphasis of the week will be to get out and ski as much powder as possible. Large peaks in the area include Iconoclast and Nordic Mountains, which are close to 11,000 feet high. The skiing at sorcerer lodge offers fantastic tree skiing as well as long glaciated and alpine runs. 

So come and join us for a great week of fun and amazing mountain skiing!

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2010 Dates

January 23 - 30

Price

$1950 CDN includes guiding, use of technical gear, lodge accommodation, cook prepared meals and helicopter flights. Transportation to the helipad is your responsibility. Cancellation insurance is available for $105. GST is extra.

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Transportation, equipment, and gratuities not included.

Meeting Time and Place

The closest town to Sorcerer Lodge is Golden, British Columbia. Because the lodge flights start at 0800 on Saturday morning you will need to arrive there the night before.

We will meet you at the Kicking Horse River Lodge in Golden the evening before the program start date.  We will have a brief evening meeting in the hotel once everyone has arrived, usually around 8pm in the lobby. This is to ensure that you are properly packed and ready to go. We will then meet again at 0600 for breakfast before we drive 55km west to the staging area near Heather Mountain Lodge.

We suggest you plan on flying out from Calgary on the Sunday to allow for any weather related delays leaving the Lodge.

See 'Transportation' section for info on getting to Golden.

Program Itinerary

Friday evening:  Pre meet at Kicking Horse River Lodge (typically around 8pm). We'll check gear and make sure you're ready to go.

Saturday:      We will meet for breakfast at 0600 then drive 55km to the staging point which is west on the Trans Canada Highway. We then shuttle into the Lodge by helicopter (a 12 minute flight). The Lodge is just below treeline at 2040m / 6,700ft.above sea level.

On arrival we move our gear into the lodge then head back outside for an avalanche safety briefing and beacon practice. We'll then be ready to try out the snow until it's time for supper.

Sunday to Friday:    The varied terrain surrounding the Lodge will give us plenty of options for daily ski tours. Weather and snow conditions dictate where we head each day. Good weather will allow us to get above treeline and onto the glaciers, if it's snowing and the visibility poor we can head out in search of trees and glades. Expect to finish each day tired but satisfied from the great skiing!

Saturday:      We start flying out first thing in the morning. We will be back in Golden by late morning. 

IMPORTANT NOTE: As always in the mountains safety is our biggest concern and where we ski each day will be governed by weather and snow stability.

Guides & Group Size

This trip will be lead by Yamnuska's Assistant Director of Operations, Jesse de Montigny who has guided this trip the past few years.  There will be also be an additional certified guide and a cook hosting the program.

There will be a minimum of 10 participants, a maximum of 15.

Difficulty & Prerequisites

Participants should be able to ski in the backcountry at least to an advanced intermediate level as the terrain may be tight in the trees and snow conditions variable (it's often great powder but as much as we'd like to guarantee that, taking nature for granted is not a good thing to do). 

'Advanced intermediate' means that you are comfortable making parallel turns on most terrain at a ski hill and that you have enough ski skills to deal safely with all but the most extreme terrain found at a ski hill (that is to say you can stop, turn around then traverse out of areas you can't handle). You should also have some experience skiing powder. 

You also need to be in good aerobic shape, as you will have to "skin" up everything you ski down. You will get a good workout each day so need to be ready. You will be skiing with a daypack containing your lunch, water and spare clothing. 

No prior ski mountaineering experience needed.

 

Transportation

Participants are responsible for their own transport to Golden which is a 2.5 hour (260km) drive west from Calgary. To make this easier for you we can help to set up carpooling with other participants. If necessary we may have a vehicle going to Golden from Canmore on Friday evening and back the following Saturday.

Frequent shuttles connect Calgary International Airport and Canmore. Greyhound Bus Lines (1 800 661 8747) serves Canmore from points east and west along the Trans-Canada Highway. Call 609 0300, 609 1490 or 609 8897 for taxis in Canmore.

Please indicate if you will need assistance with this when you book.

Accommodation & Meals

The lodge is a three-story wood building located just below tree line by a small lake. On the ground floor is a drying room, the kitchen and a living room plus dining area.

The second floor has four bedrooms with a variety of sleeping arrangements including a room with 2 doubles and a room with bunks.

The loft has several semi-private sleeping quarters. The lodge can accommodate 16 - 18 people.

The lodge is heated by wood stove and propane, power comes from the sun and a generator. There is also a wood-fired sauna in a separate building.

All out-trip meals, snacks and drinks are supplied. We will be flying in regular food items (no freeze dry foods etc). We do cater to regular vegetarians (no meat, dairy OK); let us know if you need vegetarian meals. Please let us know, well in advance, if you have any dietary restrictions.

For accommodation in Golden before the trip, we recommend the Kicking Horse River Lodge (not included). You can call them at 1-877-547-5266 or 1-250-439-1112 or visit their website at www.khrl.com to make reservations. If staying in Canmore after the trip there are lots of options available including hostels, B'n'Bs, motels and hotels! Check accommodation options on our links page for our recommendations. The Alpine Club Clubhouse (403 678 3200) is a good hostel here in Canmore with good facilities and reasonable prices.

Equipment & Clothing

You will need to bring your own clothing, skis, poles, climbing skins and daypack. We have many of these items available to rent and if not can pre-arrange them for you. We supply group safety items (ropes, harnesses, crevasse rescue gear etc).   Rental Gear

You will be able to leave excess gear at our office in Canmore whilst on the trip

The equipment and clothing you bring will have a big impact upon the quality of your experience. Please be sure to bring all items listed.  If unsure about anything please don't hesitate to call and ask us!

Skis

There are two ski systems you can use: System 1 'Alpine Touring' skis are essentially 'downhill skis' with a special touring binding which allows the heel to lift whilst going uphill or across the flats and then 'locks down' to become a regular downhill safety binding. We recommend this system to anyone with a background of downhill skiing who is not already an advanced telemark skier. System 2 'Telemark' skis. These should only be used for this program if you are at least an advanced-intermediate telemark skier with some backcountry experience. This system is more difficult and less forgiving than the other.

Which should you use? If you are a downhill skier then you should use 'Alpine Touring' gear. Only if you are already an advanced 'Telemark' skier should you bring 'Telemark' gear.

Both types of gear can be rented in Canmore prior to the trip.

Equipment List

You need to bring:

• Skis We recommend a short (160 - 185cm) wide ski designed for powder

• Climbing skins 'Stick-on type'

• Ski Poles

• Ski boots

• Avalanche beacon rentals available

• Snow shovel  rentals available

• Collapsible probe  rentals available

• Daypack (large enough for spare clothes, lunch & equipment - about. 30-40L) rentals available

• Sunglasses and ski goggles

• Thermos flask and water bottle

• Sun block & Lip Cream

• Pocket knife

• Large Duffel Bag or similar (to bring all your stuff up to the lodge)

• Small Flashlight or Headlamp with fresh batteries

• Small Blister & 1st-Aid Kit

• Camera

• Personal Toilet Items

• Ear Plugs (optional)

• Family FRS radio (short range, multi frequency) (optional)

Rental Gear

Optional Equipment

Yamnuska supplies but feel free to bring anyway:

• Harness, crevasse rescue gear (1x 120cm sewn sling, 2x 5m Prussiks, 2x non-locking biners, 2x locking biners)

Clothing List

We suggest bringing light clothing of varying thicknesses that can be 'layered' to achieve comfort and versatility. The most important consideration for clothing is the ability to regulate temperature as you change from periods of activity to periods of rest.

• Synthetic long underwear (top & bottom)

• Warm pants (softshell pants are best)

• Medium weight fleece sweater

• Soft Shell Jacket

• Light insulated jacket or vest

• Waterproof jacket with hood (Gore-Tex or nylon)

• Waterproof pants (Gore-Tex or nylon, with side zippers)

• Socks (wool outer & polypro liner), several pairs

• Wool or fleece hat

• Waterproof ski mountaineering gloves or mitts

• Neck tube (optional)

• Sunhat

• Casual clothing to wear in the lodge

• Sauna wear

• Hut Slippers/Sandals

All bedding is supplied by the lodge, so no need to worry about brining sleeping bags, liners, or extra sheets. 

Rental Information

Skis, Boots, Skins & poles can be rented from:

• Canmore: Gear Up - (403 678-1636)

• Banff: Mountain Magic -  224 Bear St.  (Tel: 403 762-2591)

• Calgary: Campus Recreation, University of Calgary - Phys-Ed Building  (Tel: 403 220-5038)

• Calgary: M.E.C. - 830-10 Ave. S.W. Calgary (Tel: 403 363-0122)

Yamnuska has avalanche beacons, shovels, probes, sleeping bags and backpacks for rent  Rental Gear

Insurance 

Should you need to be evacuated you may be liable for this cost. It is wise, to ensure that your health plan will cover you in this case or in case of illness or accident whilst here. Obtain extra coverage if necessary.

Booking Information   

Please book as early as practical to avoid disappointment. We require a $717 deposit at the time of booking.  The balance is due eight weeks before the program start date.  To avoid unnecessary cancellation penalties we suggest you take our cancellation insurance for an extra non-refundable $105, this must accompany your deposit.

For detailed booking instructions and conditions, click here.

Please note that you will be required to sign our waiver before commencing the program. Please view our sample waiver copy.

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PLEASE DON'T HESITATE TO CONTACT US IF
YOU NEED TO KNOW MORE ABOUT THIS PROGRAM!