Trip of a Lifetime

Sorcerer Lodge Provides Unforgetable Backcountry Skiing

By Chris Hansen, 3-21-08

	Sorcerer Lodge sits at the base of the Nordic Glacier in the Selkirk Mountains and provides backcountry skiers a comfortably home base for a week of fantastic skiing. Chris Hansen photo.

What do you do for vacation when you live in one of the best ski destinations in the world during one of the best ski seasons in many years? Go skiing, of course.

I just returned from a fabulous week of backcountry skiing at Sorcerer Lodge in the Selkirk Mountains of British Columbia. I’ve been planning this trip since last April and have wanted to return to BC since I had two fantastic back-to-back trips to Golden Alpine Holidays and Powder Creek Lodge nearly ten years ago. One thing’s for sure: I’m not waiting that long again.

Sorcerer Lodge is situated at 6660 feet, in the Ventego drainage of the Selkirk Mountains on the northern boundary of Canada’s Glacier Park, just north of Rogers Pass. The terrain is mostly alpine and very glaciated. It is spectacular.

I had looked at several huts when planning this trip last year, and the vibe I got from the hut owner, Tannis Dakin, and all the positive signs just said, Go for It! So I did. And after ten months of planning, several unexpected turns in the road, and a week of great skiing, it’s all over. I’ve got the back-to-work blues about as bad as the last time I went to Italy for two weeks. But oh, was it worth it!

We started the week with some marginal skiing, which was further encumbered by some weather moving through. The problem with skiing in alpine terrain is that when the light is flat, you can’t really ski it. Throw in some crevasse danger and you really don’t want to be up high when you can’t see. Fortuitously, we had two very good guides to show us around.

Assistant Guide Randy Heppell wasn’t sure if he was on his 95th or 100th week at Sorcerer, but it really only mattered to him at that point. And Lead Guide Larry Stanier is reputed to be one of the top ten mountain guides in Canada. Say no more. Between Larry’s unparalleled experience and Randy’s local knowledge, we really couldn’t go wrong.

While the first few days offered up only marginal skiing, the touring to explore the area, the excellent group dynamics, and a great atmosphere kept things very positive. So by Wednesday, when some new snow had fallen and the weather was improving, and it was time to get serious about skiing. It would be fruitless to go into too many details about the skiing unless you know the area intimately (and I’m sure there is a reader or two who does), but suffice it to say we were able to get up high, travel far, and really see what this place has to offer. The highlight of the trip was Thursday, when it was completely bluebird and we were able to summit Nordic Peak, one of the higher peaks in the area, and see and ski much of the Nordic Glacier area above the lodge. This was the day we were waiting for and it really made the trip.

There was more powder skiing to be had on Friday and then, as quickly as it began, it was over. Saturday dawned fairly clear up high with clouds and snow down in the valley. We flew out with the remorse of leaving so soon, yet with the satisfaction of having tracked up everything we could before the next group got there. Cruel, I know, but a necessary evil of hut skiing.

So, if you’re up for it and if you ever get the chance, make sure you take a trip to British Columbia for a ski adventure of a lifetime. It’s the kind of ski trip that separates the men from the boys, and the kind any serious skier should do more than once in a lifetime.

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