The Ultimate Off Piste Ski and Snowboarding Camp
Last week I was fortunate enough to hang out and go snowboarding with the Nonstop crew taking part in our 6 week Master the Mountain course. This was recently described by Whitelines magazine as the ‘ultimate off piste camp’and was also featured in the Guardian newspaper. These guys had come to take their skiing and snowboarding to the next level; training in Fernie’s endless off piste terrain in preparation for a week long tour of the backcountry.
The guys arrived amidst one of the biggest storms in recent history; there was so much snow they couldn’t even get to Fernie! Rather than letting a night in Calgary dampen their spirits, I was struck by how tight they were when they arrived in town… it seems spending a night in -35C Calgary is just the ticket to bring people together! Those that had arrived in Fernie early took advantage of the metre of fresh snow and had bragging rights over their course mates for the first few days… but this storm was just the beginning!
My 75cm fresh pow overnight face
15cm one night… 40cm another…I begun to get upset if I didn’t wake up to at least 10cm of fresh snow! Lots of the crew had never experienced snow like it and I got used to hearing ‘that was the best day of my life’ at the end of each day (take a bow Leon!) … these were ideal conditions for the crew to start their off piste training. One run in particular stands out for me; we went on a short hike up ‘Siberia Ridge’ and after some impromptu tree climbing we strapped in, buddied up and charged down untouched pow through spaced out trees. Every turn was a face shot and all I could hear was the ‘yeeeeeeows’ of my fellow riders… literally some of the best fun I’ve ever had!
Good company, sick terrain and seemingly endless powder are key ingredients to a course like this, but the most important (think apples in apple pie) is the instruction. Not only are Nonstop’s pro’s at the top of their game coaching wise (level 3 & 4 as standard) they’re also the exact type of person you want to go riding with! Take Dave for example, the ‘MTM’ coach whilst I was there, not only did he improve everyone’s riding in a matter of days, but his enthusiasm and one liners ensured we all suffered face cramps from perma-grins and laughs. Atop the Polar Peak, the highest point in Fernie, Dave showed B.C in all it’s glory to the crew and proclaimed ‘put that in your eyes and look at it!’. Wisdom defined. There’s even rumours of the crew getting tattoos as a reminder of Dave; ‘WWDD’ as in ‘What would Dave do?!’.
All the hiking, riding through trees, down bumps, ridges and wide open powder fields is all training for the climax of this course – a week long adventure in the backcountry. These guys need to be ready for any terrain that the B.C wilderness can throw at them. The split boards will come out, skins will be strapped on and the crew will most certainly earn their turns. I would do just about anything to come back out and join them! Besides all the on hill training and fun, Fernie has plenty to keep them entertained in the evening. Bars aside, it was clear that supporting the local ice hockey team ‘The Ghostriders’ had become a Friday night ritual and don’t let anyone tell you curling is not an extreme sport.
