Mt. Carlyle Lodge
I just returned from a week at Mt. Carlyle Lodge in the backcountry wilderness of Interior, British Columbia. At Mt. Carlyle, you heli into the lodge which serves as your bascamp, and then you ski tour to access the terrain from there. We had good powder snow, epic terrain to access, and I was surrounded by an entertaining group of 10 rowdy Canadians. The Lodge itself is cozy and slightly rustic, with solar electricity and wood-burning stoves. In the Kootenays of British Columbia, these lodges are common and people go on these trips all the time, but it was my first Canadian lodge experience. Here are some pictures from my adventure:
At the staging area, loading up the heli with a sling load.
Everything was weighed and put into piles for loading. You are allowed 65 lbs. per person.
Riding in the heli, enjoying the bird’s eye view of the terrain.
The Lodge – I love the Tibetan prayer flags hung outside, and you can see a few solar panels too.
Baby Casey, 9 months old, loving the views outside the lodge.
Playing hide and seek with the sun.
Our tracks down Misty Mountain.
Getting ready to drop in for a deep tree run!
Frozen pigtails.
Sunrise over the Kootenays. The mountain range extends for hundreds of miles, which makes for the most unbelievable views.
I love the light of sunrise, with its pink and purple glow.
The same mountain an hour later – it’s amazing how quickly the light changes this time of year!
Sunrise on the top and sunset on the bottom. I was doing a photo shoot with Canadian photographer, Steve Ogle so we were chasing the best light all day! We got some epic ski shots but I can’t post them yet!
Steve skiing up. We did so much hiking on this trip! My legs are feeling strong!
Self-portrait as I’m ready to drop in.
Pizza for dinner! Eryn (pictured behind the pizza) was our chef. She made the most delicious food – homemade bread everyday, tasty dessert and soups and stews. Great soul food to feed a very hungry group!
A postcard I drew from one of my photographs. I was very inspired by the area! Check out the Lodge’s website for more info:
I came out from Mt. Carlyle yesterday and went directly to my next lodge, Valhalla Mountain Touring:
More pictures to come!
