Every year since 1906 the Alpine Club of Canada has been arranging summer and winter adventures for its members. One of the adventures this winter happened just after Easter break deep into the majestic Purcells in the Columbia Mountains in British Columbia where ACC had prepared for the Stockdale Ski Camp 2015.
Early on Easter Sunday morning ten strangers met two mountain guides, Jeff and Ian, and our cook, Lisa, at Meet on Higher Ground Café in Radium, BC. After a quick breakfast and coffee we all re-organized at the Invermere airstrip and then carpooled along the Horsethief Creek Road towards our staging area closer to the Stockdale group where we were flown safely in by Greg from Bighorn Helicopters to our camp location immediately below the Stockdale Glacier.
A 20 minute scenic flight later we flew by our camp bathed in sunlight and set by camp manager Dave who welcomed us to the ski camp. Chef Lisa was already preparing a lunch while the guests got settled in the two-man tents.
Camp location in the Columbia Mountain range – latitude: 50.51212 longitude: -116.65863
Flyby above camp before landing at 2135 meters above sea level
Day 1 – Adapting to an amazing scenery and a few cold nights
Stockdale Glacier on the right, Eyebrow Peak on the far right and Camp Peak to the far left
For those of us living in Western Canada we were pretty excited to finally get some proper powder skiing after this years historically poor snow conditions in the more accessible areas. Lead guide Jeff was already planning our first day of adventure to warm up the fresh legs – just a short leg up the north arm of Starbird Glacier to the col south of Camp Peak. I kept wondering if Jeff was going to keep up his fast pace the rest of the week as he sprinted up the last slope. A short while later the group gathered on top of the windy col. We skinned off and got ready for the best powder skiing this season back to camp and a precursor of what the rest of the week would bring.
Ski touring the first climb of the week and looking forward to the turns back to camp
Day 2 – Partly cloudy skies and variable skiing conditions
After a relatively chilly (-20 C) night in the sleeping bag we woke up to Lisa’s food bell at 0630. She had already prepped hot breakfast and we eventually thawed with a warm cup of tea in hand. Every morning Lisa had the oatmeal porridge ready for us and an additional delicious course like pancakes, french toast or eggs.
Catching a breath while capturing some pictures
Due to the low clouds this morning Jeff and Ian took the group up the lower areas east of camp between Mt Dorothy and Camp Peak. A few powder turns later we continued our ascent to the col. With the heart pumping as we climbed higher I stopped to capture a few pictures of the vast landscape and got an excellent excuse to take short breaks in the thin air.
The weather closed in on us as we got closer to the col and some of us were looking forward to try out some turns where we just had climbed, but Jeff was eager to check out the east bowls with views of Lake of the Hanging Glacier. So we waited 15 minutes as it cleared up and we could start on the second powder run of the day. Further down we hit breaking crust and eventually turned around and got our hearts pumping again. Back at the col the group split up and I chose to go along on Jeff’s bonus lap as the other half of the group started skiing down back to camp. Some great turns later we descended into another open bowl further north below Mt Dorothy. A sweaty climb later we were also heading back to camp. I seriously considered renaming the bonus lap to “penalty lap” as I drank the last drops from my water bottle. At the bottom we found an open creek to fill our water bottles and did some bush whacking to keep the elevation back to camp where Lisa had the soup ready as we arrived.
Mike and Jeff enjoying the turns before the last leg back to camp
To be continued…

They are beautiful these rocky mountains.
Great photos, I love them.
Have a nice day.
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Thanks for reading 🙂
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Looks like fun and the snow looks so pure, but I am not sure I would want to come along – the cold and I are not best of friends. I was supposed to learn skiing on the slopes around Austria this year, but (fortunately) life got in the way and I could not make any of the club trips. The cold would have killed me!
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Yes, there’s something so rewarding to be able to visit remote places like this. It’s never too late to learn skiing! I wish I could visit the Alps more often.
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Sounds like an amazing experience…for you! Clearly you deal with cold and sleeping in tents better than most. Great photos.
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It was amazing… and cold (at least the first few nights)! But you adapt and learn how to dress with layers. ACC also has cabin based camps for slightly more comfort.
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Wow! Looks fantastic, I should really sign up to the ACC! 🙂
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Reading your own posts I would definitely recommend signing up to ACC. They have a general mountaineering camp this summer in the same area and have lots of cabin based camps and trips the whole year if you prefer travelling with guides in the alpine.
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Thank you! That sounds really great. I will defintely have to sign up for it – my parents are always following me on my Spot Messenger if they know I’m solo hiking. So I think they would be relieved if I knew I was with others!
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Breathtaking! Can’t imagine sleep in tents…
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Thanks for reading. It’s actually more comfortable than you’d think 🙂
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Wow, beautiful photos and what an extraordinary adventure.
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Thanks! Yes, we had some truly scenic moments to capture out there.
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So absolutely beautiful. Aren’t we lucky to be living in part of the world that holds this much beauty? Your photos, as always, are breathtaking.
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Thanks for reading! I never get tired of travelling in the Rockies and Columbia mountains. So many breathtaking moments and places to see.
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OMG, I so wanna be there 🙂
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Thanks for reading!
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Wow, this looks so pristine and perfect, and is the reason why I do love the winter season. Great photos and words that make me wish I was there right now. Cheers ~
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Thanks! Snow covered landscape does make spectacular photo opportunities. Wish I had room for a camera with better optics on this trip though.
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Yes, too often I am off somewhere thinking the same thing, “wish I had my DSLR…” but still, the experience is worth it even though it is only captured on a cell phone 🙂
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Oh Inger, this is such a hardy and fresh adventure! Sounds really great…I am looking forward to hearing more. Appreciate the awesome photography and map too. Aerial view of the camp was fun, mountain scenery is breathtaking. 😀
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Thanks for reading! It sure was a great adventure.
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This trip looks amazing – far beyond my bunny hill ski abilities, though!
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Thanks for reading. There are so many opportunities out there – both summer and winter.
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You really captured the beauty of that adventure. I especially liked the photo where the skiers are breaking a new trail.
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Thanks! That is one of my favourite pictures too.
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A great adventure coupled with some gorgeous photos.
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Thanks for reading 🙂
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Great images, yesterday I was drooling about the Mezzalama Trophy (more info here: http://www.trofeomezzalama.it/mezzalama_e.asp which my brother went to see from above, by climbing the Breithorn) and now this! It seems that everything, in the Rockies, is bigger than the mountains I’m used to. Not just the spaces, but even the mountains themselves… Bigger, larger, untamed. Definitely a must-see.
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The Mezzalama Trophy is impressive! But I think a little longer and steeper than I would enjoy in a day 🙂 Thanks for reading!
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The snow looks so white and bright ! Amazing ! what a gorgeous place! 🙂
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The pure white snow covered landscape is amazing. I never get tired of it. Thanks for reading!
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It’s looks very cold but stunningly beautiful. I’ve only seen snow once and that was quite a light fall. Snow-covered mountains and skiing are two things I have yet to experience. Such grand scenery! Beautiful pics. 🙂
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It actually wasn’t that cold in daytime when the sun was up, the nights were a different story 🙂 There are many huts and cabins far more luxurious than this winter camp which are easier to access too.
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Impressive and the scenery is truly breathtaking. I am here in front of the screen just imagining how awesome it must be to witness it myself. Sincerely I am not sure I will ever do a winter adventure, but for now I enjoy it from your blog!
I am looking forward to read your next story!
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Thanks for reading! There sure are lots of more comfortable lodges and cabins in the mountains if you don’t want to go winter camping right away 🙂
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That looks like an awesome trip. The place is amazing. Looking forward to part 2 already.
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Thanks for reading! I would definitely recommend one of the ACC camps or cabins!
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incredible views!
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