Yukon Backcountry Skiing’s owner, Claude Vallier, introduces his two girls, Kiona and Heidi, to the world by making a movie of skiing the wild Yukon mountains. “I didn’t really want to make a movie, but after participating in other movies and TV shows, I wanted to show more what I want,” said Vallier. “People always …
With the prime backcountry skiing time of spring fast approaching, it’s important to know some safe tips and where to get information before heading out there.
Interest in backcountry skiing in the Yukon has taken off, especially among tourists, says backcountry ski expert and guide Claude Vallier. Vallier recently published a backcountry guide book to the Haines Pass, to accompany the guide book he produced in 2007 about the White Pass. The books, Haines Pass Backcountry Skiing and White Pass Backcountry …
For many Yukoners, enjoying the backcountry is an integral part of their lifestyle whether they love to ski, snow machine, snowshoe or run sled dogs. They rely on their own experiences and common sense to keep themselves safe. Some have tuned into avalanche forecasts that have been available since 2011 on the Canadian Avalanche website …
Michelle Christensen follows a routine before she heads to the backcountry for a day of skiing. It’s a safety routine, and it starts in her living room. She checks the weather and road forecasts, and logs into the Avalanche Canada website for trip reports — where skiers post conditions to a forum, like the Yukon …
As the first fatality of the 2011-2012 snow season is reported (a snowmobiler in Prince George, B.C.), Kristie Simpson muses that the timing for the new Yukon avalanche forecast system couldn’t be more crucial. Simpson, a board member of the Yukon Avalanche Association and owner/operator of Avalanche North, is one of several dedicated volunteers who …
