WINTER /SPRING2016
MOUNTAINLIFE
31
604.905.DEEP (3337)
/
P: EricBerger
N
EXCLUSIVETERRAIN
. Proudly operating
on 432,000 acres and 173 glacierswith
exclusive rights tomost of the glacial
terrain in the region.
N
PACKAGEVARIETY.
Dayheli-skiing
packages, utilizing 5 and 10 passenger
helicopters.
N
RIGHT INWHISTLER.
Conveniently located
inWhistler’s vibrant pedestrian-only village.
VisitWhistlerHeli-Skiingat the
CarletonLodge inWhistlerVillage
ClassicCanadian
Heli-Skiing
AWEEK INTHE LIFEOFAPROPHOTOGRAPHER
Talkabout a crazyweek… Lastwinter, everyonewas scrambling to find snow,
but forme, the insanity culminatedmybirthdayweek inMarch. Iwas in the
middleof nowhere,BCwith IikkaBackstrom, EeroNemelaandMikeyRencz,
all ofwhom I had justmet a coupledays before.Conditionsweremarginal, so
most of our dayswere spent scouringunknown terrain for landingswithgood
snow.RyanTieneandBenji Ritchiewerealso shooting in thearea, butwithout a
photographer, so theywerehoundingme to shootwith themaswell. Four days
in, the filmer’s sledbrokedownandhad tobeheli’dout.Theway itworks is these
guyshave tohavea filmer to justify the trip, sowithout onewewere in limbo.
Later that nightwhile Iikka and Eerowere trying todecide their nextmove,
I received a text fromRyan.Apparently, a couple days earlier his crewhad
driven five hours toGolden, BC a couple days before andhe andBenji had
three features ready togowith aweather forecast claimingblue skies, but
only until noon.
Toobad you’re notwithus,we’re going to score in the
morning
, he heckled. I lookedup at Eero.“So,what’s your plan?” I asked.
“We’re out,”he replied.
I packedupmy gear, paid for thehotel andhit the road for Golden. I had less
than sevenhours tomake it the trailhead in time. Runningonadrenaline and
coffee, I embarkedon thedriveofmy life.Day-trippers rave about BC’sGlacier
Highway, butmaking the trekona clearwinter night is beyondwords. Piloting
that silent, empty road, Iwoundmyway between ruggedmountains that
seemed to flirtwithmore stars than I ever knew existed. Iwas sleepdeprived,
but the combinationof time andplace, andablissful feelingof takinga chance
and followingmy gut,made thedrive seem like aonce-in-a-lifetime experience.
Imade it to the trailhead in time for a quick napbefore unloadingmy sled
andgetting towork.Tienewas right,we scored and I got this pow shot.We
celebrated that night andon the drive home the next daymy lack of sleep
finally hit. I onlymade it as far as Revelstoke before pullingover topass out
at a friend’s place. But, as I’m sitting inher hot tub relaxingbefore bed, I get a
text togo toHyder,AlaskawithMark Sollors,DustinCraven andDanBrisse
—
a
crew that is anobvious yes.
Except 14hours later I get another text askingme towait until the following
morning to leave as theremay have been somemiscommunication. I wait,
thengetword that the trip isn’t going tohappen so I start the drive home to
Whistler.Three hours into it I get another text
—
a crew is going to a spot near
Revelstoke.
Stopwhere you are!wemight need you.
I wait another three
hours only to learn that this new thing is not actually happening either.Over it,
I hit the roadhome.
After awhite-knuckle snow stormdrive Imake it toWhistler completely
exhaustedbut instead I have a catalogue to shoot.Withone day to edit and
prep I’mback in the backcountry.The shoot day turns out tobe an epic one,
the bad kindof epic. I smashmy sled, get a black eye and a girl breaks her
femur andhas tobe heli’dout.
The next day,while rushing aroundgettingmy sled fixedwithno rest and a
massive headache I get texted togo toHyder again, but this timewithRomain
DeMarchi and Eero. I leave in themorning.This iswhat living the dream looks
like. I could trade it for the safe confines of a studioor the structure of a desk
job, butwhere is the fun in that? It’s easier to escape if younever unpack. I
gas up the truck andhead forAlaska, loving everyminute of it.
Iwait another threehoursonly to learn that this
new thing isnot actuallyhappeningeither.Over
it, I hit the roadhome.
