A Trip Down The Powder Highway Presented By
Words by Matt Sterbenz Photos by David Reddick
Left: Eric Hjorleifson, Kye Petersen, Wiley Miller and David Wise. The Sentry Lodges’ sanctuary. Right: The Columbia River’s morning fog rises exposing nearby peaks to the sunlight and our imaginations.
The scene in Utah was bleak. Temps were outright hot for winter. Precipitation was just barely keeping up with half the normal averages and there was no expectation of the pattern improving. We very well may be in a draught but this was concerning. For the sake of our powder addiction and filming our movie Shaping Skiing, a call to the north confirmed Canada’s Interior was hopeful and the conditions were stable, for now. Destination: Golden, British Columbia. The legendary Sentry Lodge at Golden Alpine Holidays would become our 8-day basecamp. At 2200m, the lodge provided insulation from the warming coastal temps and a wide variety of terrain options all accessed solely by ski touring. For the next week, our 8-person crew would bag countless descents within the playful Esplanade range located just north of Rogers Pass.
Left page: Slednecks and Sleddecks are synonymous in these parts. Generations of pow slayers lined up against the wall staging for the shred ahead. Level 1’s Freedle Coty risking extremities for shots. Right page: Wiley and Eric tune into the morning hut talk, presented by our snow and safety leader Andrew Sheppard. David convinces Eric that inserting tech toes into his race boots would only take an hour. Good one Dave. The boys gathering the 10 cases of Cariboo and Kokanee from the lodges helipad.
A heavenly experience: A warm sunset ignites the Columbia Range Peaks with Chatter Creeks’ Vertebrae Ridge already darkened by the shadows in the foreground. The vast temperature gradients in elevation produced dense valley fog above Kinbasket Lake.
KYE PETERSEN A firey young gun from Pemberton. An experienced alpinist, Kye contributed a calculated yet restless desire to film only pillow lines. Equipped with the KYE120, he pushed further, went bigger and spun off more features than less. Notably on Day 3, with a fresh 8cms recorded in the Boneyard atop the 120cm base, Kye eyed up the Cave. A ridge top Cliff air entrance that runs fall-line through a mandatory 5 stacker of off-cambered pillows. Kye trundled his way through, bouncing left to right to left again, only to straighten out in time to pull a 360 off the exiting cliff. Just to stay on your feet was a near miracle, but all Kye saw was a bumpy in-run to a jump to spin off.
Left: A ski touring version of stairway to heaven. Right: On Day 6, we dug a pit on a south facing aspect in the Upper Shield near the shore of Shield Lake. Test results positive, Reddick and Freedle roped up to a small pine anchoring the ridge to capture Kye blasting into a powdery abyss.
WILEY MILLER The likeable nose-butter master from Montana. While many skiers come into stardom from skiing park, few actually ski the kind of park the way Wiley did. Wiley came onto the scene with a short list of smooth trickery he mastered skiing around Yellowstone National Park. He’s the original backcountry park skier and his style is as calm and concise as it gets. When out exploring the lookers left shoulder of the Boneyard on Day 4, Wiley clamed a zone known as the Dragons Back, a rowdy pillow covered ridge line with a mandatory fat to flat cliff exit. Three turns later with a plume of smoke blasting out from the bottom of his signature YLE ski, Wiley exited with a ranchers’ hoot and shit eating grin as the slope ripped out behind him.
Wiley reflects on the day while his goggles’s reveal the warm Sentry Lodge where dinner is waiting. Right: Mid Elevator shaft, Wiley shoots the uprights.
DAVID WISE He’s the most winningest halfpipe skier of all time. The load of skill and confidence that requires is also mirrored in David’s might of character to step into the backcountry world where the big mountains are a place of polar opposites. David Wise can ski and his X Games, Dew Tour, AFP, FIS World and Olympic Gold Medal collection can prove it. What you may not know about David is how humble he is and touring with the likes of Wiley, Kye, and Eric can be a very humbling experience. Thanks to Eric’s Frankenboot laboratory, David left his WISE pipe slayers at staging and Devastated his way through the week on CAST converted Fischer race boots and Rossi turntables. A skier more commonly arriving to the top of a run via chairlift or sled assist, David hiked and toured his feet purple. Then, at every chance, he took the line from the top, likely landing at the bottom. No turns.
Left: Day 5, David goes corridor shopping. Right: Eric and Andrew dig one of several pits throughout the week to determine historical depth hoar and shear values to keep the boys on top and out of harm’s way.
ERIC HJORLEIFSON The Albertan Prince of Sentry. If you are looking for Eric, likely chance he’s on Channel 4 via Golden Alpine Holidays backcountry radio’s repeater. This week of powder bliss was Eric’s third for the season and it was only January 2nd. When we needed powder refuge, we knew if we found Hoj, we would find the goods. He delivered. Walking through the forest, Eric would call out corridors and cliffs like Squaw locals call out lines from Squallywood the book. His depth of knowledge is that of Gestalt Principle, solely acquired through experience. Later on Day 3, while the crew transitioned to the Boneyard, Eric asked me to hang back as he knew of a couple corridors off the up-track he wanted to take a look at. He stood on top while I waited in the woods with a monopod SLR photo camera in video mode. Eric punched a hefty, shoulder width take off cliff and vaporized my camera as he blasted through the tree lined exit.
Left: Later in Day 7 we pushed for the high alpine as the Columbia Rivers fog elevated to 2400m by noon. Below, Eric enjoying some of the Elevator Shafts naturally gladed terrain for breakfast. Right: Once Reddick and Freedle became untied to the ridge-lined pine, Hoji lined up a Scot Schmidt-esqe cliff with the Sentry Lodge lit up in its enormous glory. What Eric wasn’t expecting was the entire apron which he landed upon would release and chase him down to the creek.
Left: Kye finds a soft spot to land. Right: Friends, adventure and imagination. This is what backcountry trips are all about. We explored the terrain, the conditions, and the knowledge of everyone taking part. Pooling our expertise, communicating and listening to the mountains allowed us to find just what we were looking for in less than ideal conditions. I’m still in awe of how many big lines were stomped. More importantly however was the respect showed amongst the team and their attention to ensure everyone returns safely. I don’t hesitate to say we will all be back for more Golden Days like these again soon.
Thanks goes out to Magnus Hoglund, Orest Massitti, John Bell, Josh Berman, Joey Weamer, Charlotte, Cody, and Shirley at Golden Alpine Holidays, Lake Louise Resort, and to all the athletes and photographers who made this possible.
SKIS BIG MOUNTAIN
KYE 110
HOJI
ALL MOUNTAIN
RAVEN
KYE 95
GAUCHO
DEVASTATOR
POWDER
KYE 120
RENEGADE
PARK
YLE
YLE / SAGA LIMITED EDITION
SWITCHBLADE
CLICK
WISE
WOMENS
HOJI W
ARETHA
MADONNA
JUNIOR
BLONDIE
YLE COYOTE
GROM
GROMETTE
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ATTACK 18
ATTACK 16
ATTACK 13
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THREE KINGS POLE
PADLOCK 7
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