Stepping out of the heli minutes later and clipping into his skis, Nick probes the surface of the snow with his ski pole. Years of experience tell him it’s safe.
It’s not quite 10am as he drops in for a 3000ft, waist deep, powder run on an untracked glacier. Life is pretty good right now.
It wasn’t always buffet breakfasts and heli flights to the top however. Far from it! A guide’s apprenticeship is long, arduous, often smelly and almost always tough financially. Nick recently passed the Association of Canadian Mountain Guides’ (ACMG) full Ski Guide exam, bringing a 15 year apprenticeship to a close.






Three young men walking that isothermic skin track with the ambition of becoming guides are Joe Schwartz, Eric Ostopkevich and Silas Patterson.






Based in the powder pocket of Nelson BC, all three currently work as tail guides at cat-skiing operations throughout BC’s Interior Ranges during the winter. In April ’06 Joe, Eric, Silas and myself conspired to do a big trip to contribute to their resumes for applying to guide’s school and close out the winter. We settled on the Northern Cariboos Traverse 200kms northwest of Jasper. The traverse covers approximately 150kms with 25000ft of vertical gain through big, alpine terrain. No more than 4 peaks and 2 glaciers along the entire route are named. Even whole peaks have been omitted from the topographic maps of the region. This trip definitely met the criteria for a guide’s prerequisite—remote, heavily glaciated and multi-day with no huts.






For Joe and Eric, logging a trip like this was particularly important as they intend to apply for the ACMG’s Assistant Ski Guide Program for next season. Both had work scheduled for the entire winter so time to get out and do trips independently had been slim. For Eric, 27, it is especially tough since he and his partner Jess invested in a house last summer. He has mortgage payments to meet while Jess establishes herself as a real estate agent. As a consequence Eric had a few days between 10-15 day tail-guiding shifts to spend some quality time with Jess and venture out to ski tour and train.
“I did do a 7 day ski touring ski touring practicum with my mentor guide. I carried the sat-phone and broke trail for clients,” he recalls with indifference as to not covering the electricity bill that week. “I learnt a lot and got to check out a sweet zone.”







Eric is originally from Montreal and grew up removed from the mountains. He spent 4 years taking environmental studies at York University and tree planting in the summers to save money. He moved out west to Fernie BC in 2002 to attend the College of the Rockies where he learnt to ski.

Since then there has been no looking back as he has thrown all of his energy into training to become a full climbing and skiing mountain guide. He has worked predominantly out of Island Lake Cat Skiing in Fernie for the last 4 winters. 05/06 saw him register the minimum 3 years experience in the mountains and he applied for, but wasn’t accepted into the Assistant Ski Guide Program. Needing to simply get out more and demonstrate more experience, it is particularly frustrating for Eric having to work so much—especially when there isn’t enough left over after bills to buy new liners let alone new boots.






In Canada to be eligible to apply, one must have completed numerous long, multi-day ski tours in committing environs, and the longer you have been doing it, the better. Being able to demonstrate mountaineering skills as well as a high standard of skiing is critical. Certification in avalanche awareness and wilderness 1st Aid are mandatory and those courses aren’t cheap. Along with all the expensive equipment that is necessary, it is a contradiction in terms being a ski bum. Cutting corners to make ends meet is a key attribute of any aspiring guide and as a consequence sleeping in vehicles or turn outs with wet, pudrid smelling boots, and eating granola, pasta and tuna becomes a way of life.






He is stoked to be doing what he is doing though and it shows. Through wind, sunburn and hunger, his enthusiasm was infectious during the Cariboos traverse. The more difficult the conditions, the more fun it becomes.

His and the others commitment to building a career in the mountains was further highlighted whilst chatting with a friend and guide after we had completed our trip.
“I went through my logbook with my pay slip for that week’s heli skiing and calculated I was making $16-20 per run,” he says laughing, his goggle tan exaggerated as his eyes grin.

All three boys know the joke about the difference between and mountain guide and large pizza—the pizza feeds a family of 4—but it doesn’t deter them. It’s what they love to do.






I first met Joe in Chamonix, France. He was on a long dreamt of trip with 2 buddies ski-bumming their way around Europe’s finest resorts.
“Skiing in a variety of climates is favorable on your skiing resume so I definitely did a lot of backcountry touring when I could. I also did a lot of partying!”
While taking their training seriously, at heart they are all still young and intend to have as much fun as possible along the way.

While Joe, 24, doesn’t have a mortgage, he would like one. Tail guiding at Selkirk Wilderness Skiing and Valhalla Powder Cats earns him a steady income, but becoming an assistant guide would have him out front leading groups and more significantly, allow him to get back to his roots and work as a ski touring guide and get out of the snow cat.
“I really like the idea of self propelled snow travel.”

Joe’s apprenticeship has been a steady progression since he bartered babysitting for his first avalanche beacon at age 14 so he could venture beyond the rope at Whitewater Ski Resort. Last season Joe also applied to the ACMG but wasn’t accepted. After 5 years tail guiding, his work experience prerequisites are more than sufficient, but he needs more remote glacier experience.
“I have friends who are always out taking big trips, but they didn’t get accepted because they don’t have enough work experience. It’s such a fine balance.”






Silas is the youngest of the crew at the tender age of 20, but he possesses maturity in the mountains beyond his years. Born and raised in Nelson, he grew up shredding the local ski hill. A work experience placement at Baldface Lodge during high school shoveling snow got him in the door at a cat skiing operation and he was off and running.
At present Silas is focusing on his ski guides ticket, and as he climbs more, he may decide to gain his full guiding qualification. He has ambitions of studying to become a teacher, but with a solid position on a fire fighting crew in the summers, he is content to see how things pan out.
“I had a really good winter. I worked guiding a lot and on ski patrol learning from people with much more experience.”

In between work and ski trips, Silas also instructs recreational avalanche courses through Whitewater. He picked up Movement Skis out of Switzerland as a sponsor and managed to fight the mid season blues with a tax return funded trip to Thailand to visit his girlfriend. If things continue the way they have been, he hopes to apply to the assistant guide program after the completion of the 06/07 winter.
“While I learnt a lot on the Cariboos traverse, I know I still have a lot of experience to gain, so I will see.”

For Eric, Joe and Silas, they really relished getting away from being under the supervision of senior guides.
“There were a few other spring trips with guides, but we really wanted to be in a position to make our own decisions.”






The Cariboos Traverse was distinctly appealing because few people do it due to its remoteness. It is also a region that is a little off the radar—there are no big resorts or particularly famous peaks. The route drops to tree line only a few times, therefore to travel through such huge, glaciated terrain, we needed to adopt mountaineering as well as ski touring skills. Big mountain weather is seldom stable for 2 weeks at a time and in the 12 days we were out we received the full gamut—snowstorms with -18°C temps keeping us tent bound for 2 days, gale force winds and scorching sun. Along with fatigue and hunger these things are taxing on morale and in many ways it was more than just experience in the mountains, it was character building.

For these guys, the mountains are a lifestyle. It is where they live, play and work; the canvas where the hardships and joys of life are painted. Training to be a guide is just another avenue for them to share time with friends and grow as individuals through life’s experiences.

Who knows, it may even feed a family somewhere down the track.