Chris Tatsuno is the Ultimate Ski Bum! Follow him on his three month journey along the Powder Highway as he enjoys free access to all eight resorts, sixteen days of snowcat and heli-skiing, free accommodation and wheels to go wherever the powder is falling.
Chris will be sharing his adventures, telling stories about the places he visits and the friends he makes along his incredible journey.
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A week of skiing at Panorama Mountain Village can be fun enough for any group that heads into the Purcell mountains. But, if you’re looking to spice it up a bit and get your powder legs out, head just across the narrow valley to RK Heli and ask them about making some turns outside the resort boundaries. Most groups that ski with RK book for either one-day or three-day packages with a three runs being standard for the day. There is an option to upgrade to five runs if you’re up to the challenge, and I think most guests find themselves wanting those extra runs. I mean, more powder, and please!
After a very cordial conversation over the phone, Sandra from RK Heli lined me up with a group of Germans who had already been skiing with RK heli for a couple of days. She warned me that they were a fast group of skiers, and being the ski bum I am, I took her up on the challenge. I arrived the next morning at 8:30am to sign the release forms and enjoy the complimentary breakfast served in Choppers Landing Restaraunt & Lounge. A plateful of bacon, eggs, toast, and yogurt with granola later, and my belly was stuffed; good thing though, as those extra calories came in handy after a few runs in the heli!
The requisite safety briefing, including avalanche transceiver training and heli etiquette, took place just outside the log and granite heli-plex. Our guides for the day, Rod and Graham, went over everything we needed to know for getting in and out of the helicopter, as well as what do do in case of any emergency. For most of the guests on this day, it was a refresher course, but for anyone who is new to backcountry style skiing, there is some really good information to hear.
RK Heli’s terrain is located right smack in the middle of the Purcells and Bugaboos mountain ranges. This means, that even if the snow hasn’t quite made its way to Panorama, there is a good bet that powder, and lots of it, is just waiting a few km away. Our pilot, Bruce, flew the Bell 212 helicopter smoothly to the top of our first ridge, leaving the 10 of us in our group and the two guides way up in the high alpine. The skies were brilliantly blue and there were only a few clouds off in the distance, leaving the sun to sparkle brightly on the snow’s surface. Avalanche danger at the time was pretty moderate, so Rod and Graham opted for some 25-30 degree slopes that wound our way through some spectacular couloirs around some massive cliffs. There was one glacier we stopped below that had to be hanging 400 ft (ok, 120 metres!) above the bottom of the cliff band…insane!
Graham, on one of our runs, pointed out a cross placed right at the tip of a rocky peak. He explained to us that they filmed part of the movie “Alive” right there; luckily, we weren’t dealing with a felled plane and were just about to rip some smooth pow turns all the way to the valley floor. A much better deal than those poor Chilean soccer athletes who had to turn to cannibalism back in 1972 just to survive.
I couldn’t believe how much good snow we came across, even a few weeks after the last reported storm on the Eastern side of the Kootenays. It seemed like Rod and Graham were able to find some really fun lines without having to cross any old tracks. And, after three long runs from the high alpine all the way to the gladed trees near the valley floor, everyone was amped up enough to go for the extra runs. High fives were tossed all around, and we loaded up the heli for what we called victory laps before heading back to the heli-plex for some apres beers.
A big thanks to the fine staff at RK Heli, and to all the great skiers/riders I had the chance to rip around with. The day in the heli definitely added to my experience at Panorama, and I’d suggest it to anyone who finds themselves inclined to get inclined.
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If you’re looking for a place to stay, contact High Country Properties to see what they have to offer. They have everything you need from on-mountain accomodations to great condos down in the town of Invermere, only a 15 minute drive away. Pick up your gear at Backcountry.com…this ski bum has some suggestions too, if you need.
The Purcell Range
Every powder skier dreams about hopping in a helicopter and flitting up to the top of a snow covered peak, only to step into their bindings and slash turns in perfect snow all the way to the valley floor. I’ll admit, I knew I was going to go heli skiing at some point in my life, but with a meager income from raft guiding during the summer months and living out of my van to cut corners on bills, I didn’t expect my first flight to happen anytime soon.
Thanks to the Powder Highway, my first flight in a ‘bird’, as it’s known in the industry, came much sooner than I could ever wish for. On January 19th, 2010, with recent snowfall and decent conditions in the backcountry, I found myself driving East on the Trans-Canada Highway towards the Purcell Helicopter Skiing heli-plex near Golden. Only a ten minute drive from Golden’s city center, Purcell Heli is a good option for skiers visiting nearby Kicking Horse Mountain Resort and looking for some untouched powder turns.
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Here’s the first of four podcasts about the Powder Highway Ultimate Ski Bum to be played on a dedicated player at Freeskier.com. The first one is about Revelstoke and captures the vibe of the mountain during the Canadian Freeskiing Championships, which are part of the Freeskiing World Tour. Big thanks to POC and General for sending a good buddy of mine to come and document the whole experience. Enjoy!
A happy ski bum
Only 40 short minutes outside of Golden, BC lay the answer to any ski bum’s vertical challenge: Great Canadian Heli-Skiing. I chose to drive in, but flights arrive daily into Calgary, AB or Cranbrook, BC. Easily accessible off of Highway 1 near Roger’s Pass, GC’s tenure claims terrain in both the Purcell and Selkirk ranges. This means lots of options to find good snow, even weeks after a storm.
I checked in and dumped my gear in the comfortable hotel style room located in a separate building. It’s only twenty yards from the main lodge and dining hall, and in this day and age, it was a pleasure holding a real room key again. Accommodations were more than this ski bum would ever need, with two queen beds and a great view of the terrain to be skied the next day. … more
The buckin' bronco
Kicking Horse Mountain Resort played host to the second annual Wrangle the Chute freeski competition held on CPR Ridge off the top of the mountain. Saturday brought bright blue skies and lots of sun; perfect conditions for the competitors and spectators that gathered to celebrate some western vibes. The KHMR Big Mountain Centre even had the venue roped off all week prior to the event to preserve the snow. Doing that makes for happy competitors and a much better show for the spectators. … more
Where's Tats going next? Check back here at PowderHighway.com/Blog to find out!
Tats with Katy and Ben, Ultimate Lifties on the Powder Highway
Awoke this morning to a few cm of freshies outside, on the car. After a quick email session to catch up on friends across the open road, I grabbed my gear and followed my buddy Justin up to the hill here at Panorama Mountain Village. Our car was a little emptier than when we arrived last night, as we moved a bunch of our gear into the new pad at Windermere Pointe. This place has three beds, couches, flat-screen TVs, full kitchen and laundry in as many rooms; certainly not ski bumming, more like riding the wave. Needless to say, the little Nitro had some get-up as we trekked up to the resort, laughing all the way.
The ski hill is about a 20 min drive from the junction at Hwy 93 where our pad is located, and it’s an easy trip. … more
Ready for another pow run.
I had a late start to the day this morning thanks in part to all the festivities that were in town this weekend. Rossland was going off with all kinds of rail jams, ice garden beer tents, and bar parties. With the Canadian Open Freeskiing Championships here at Red Mountain Resort in its 9th season, the resort was bustling with armored and helmeted athletes mingling with the families on vacation. The athletes let a little steam out at the afterparty held at Rafters last night, and after joining them for a hearty pasta meal and some beers, Justin and I headed back to our hotel to party with our neighbors at the Rossland Motel.
Needless to say, the eggs and bacon brought to me in bed didn’t help me start moving around any quicker. The kitchenette in our two bedroom pad here at the Rossland Motel has been a godsend on our trip; finally we have a full refrigerator and a oven/stove to cook some meals. Such a slow start to the day had me worrying that I wasn’t going to make it to the hill, but then something just clicked. It must have been the 70’s figure skating movie that was on TV that finally provided just the right push to get out the door. In all seriousness, I watched a highlights edit of the Freeskiing World Tour stop in Revelstoke, and that got me pumped for the day. … more
Skiing makes me thirsty.
I piloted the little red Dodge Nitro up through layers of fog and snow into Rossland, BC in the early evening yesterday. We rolled directly into the Rossland Motel stoked on an epic mini-road trip through the Columbia River Valley.
Upon our approach to Creston, BC, we happened upon a stunning view of the sun as it crept its way down the backside of the mountain pass ahead. We stopped for a bit, and Justin pulled out the 7D to capture some the of the event while Julie and I hung out in the TatsVan. Yup, that’s right, the TatsVan hit the road to Rossland with Julie at the helm and now with her departure we have two vehicles to deal with. I’m thinking about renting out the TatsVan to a Canadian Freeskiing Open competitor-in-need up at the resort…heh heh. Oh the life of a ski bum!
More to come soon…I’ll be blasting out a picture album of the tour thus far on my blog (christatsuno.com). Follow me @christatsuno on Twitter to catch up on that and other ski bum news.
Just met up with Chris Tatsuno as he passed through from Golden on his way to Rossland. Ooops, I mentioned that he’d have to pass by the Kokanee brewery in Creston. Hope he doesn’t get sidetracked for too long. Anyway, sounds like Rossland will be crazy this weekend with the Olympic torch coming through on Sunday, the CDN Open Freeskiing Championship at Red Mountain Resort, Winter Carnival, Pond Hockey Championships, and more. Thanks to the Rossland Motel for putting up the Ultimate Ski Bum on such a busy weekend!
