Skiers take sport to higher level

Serious skiers were not fooled by that short splash of spring-like weather in late February.

Even with the days growing longer and warmer, the period from late February through March has a remarkable penchant for producing powder.

Regional ski resorts have had exceptional snow conditions, but some skiers will always yearn for a higher level, such as a week of light snow at lung-busting altitudes in the Selkirk Mountains of British Columbia.

The main attraction:

“Every run was trackless powder,” said Randy LaBeff, a Spokane skier who’d just returned from a recent week at a remote refuge called Valhalla Mountain Lodge.

LaBeff’s group drove five hours north to Nakusp for a helicopter shuttle to the wilderness lodge perched at 6,900 feet among treeless peaks such as towering Mount Woden.

“The place holds 10 very comfortably and our group had it all to ourselves,” he said. Miles from any roads, the simple pleasures of propane lights and stove, wood heat and a sauna are unbelievable luxuries, he said.

Each morning the group would make lunches and head out into a lonesome wonderland that alternated from brilliant sunshine to dumps totaling 20 inches of new powder during their week-long visit.

“The touring group would go one way and maybe find a long 2,500-foot run while the yoyo group would go pound shorter steeper runs so we could break one trail and use it over and over,” LaBeff said.

“We could ski everywhere for 330 degrees around us. You could make as many turns as your legs could handle within a mile of the cabin. We didn’t hardly touch the skiing potential in a week’s time.”

Since the group included experienced backcountry skiers, they saved money by opting for the self-guided option and bringing in their own food so they could take turns cooking for the group.

The cost for the week, including the helicopter shuttle, came to about $1,000 a person, he said.

The convenience of a helicopter requires some discretion, he warned, noting that skiers are whisked in minutes to steep uncontrolled winter terrain.

“We had one skier along who teaches avalanche safety and we checked weather reports during the week by satellite phone,” he said.

Then there was one other issue facilitated by the helicopter.

“The only mistake I made was bringing in a keg of beer and a few of my Wyoming friends,” LaBeff said. One or the other would probably have been fine, but the combination apparently was not conducive to restful nights one might crave after a hard day of muscle-power skiing. “The reason I know it was a mistake is because my wife (Lisa) told me so,” he added.

“All I know is that after seven days, I was ready to come home and rest.”