.I met Lee Usher while he was guiding at Sorcerers Lodge in the Selkirk Mountains of BC in the winter of 2003.
I also met two other skiers, Peter Nicholson and Nelson Gourlay, both from Vancouver BC, while skiing at Sorcerers. Two very nice guys.
In April of 2004 I got an email from Peter. He and Nelson had met with Lee in Vancouver and he showed them pictures of a new lodge he had visited.
The photos of Ice Creek and Lee's description of the surrounding terrain, excited them and they decided to book Lee and the lodge for a week for a private group.
Lucky for me, the email I received invited me to come along.
I immediately said yes.
After having to wait out a day due to bad weather, we rendezvous with our ride, a helicopter, a few miles south of Nakusp along Upper Arrow Lake.
Form here the helicopter will shuttle up skiers, gear and food to the lodge.
From the lodge we will head out into the surrounding mountains for a week of mountain touring.
The lodge is located about 600 feet down mountain from Shawn in the photo to the right.
The next day is cold and blue and we head out for our first all day tour.
We are at a rise that is at the top of the timbered part of the valley.
At this point the valley stops being the V shape that is cut by rivers, and becomes the U shape that has been carved by glaciers
.
Not every day is clear.
Here Nelson and Alain pause on one of the many climbs we make throughout the week.
These two are snowboarders and are using split boards.
In the two photos below, Alain and Nelson take off.
Not wanting to be out done, Lee and Guillaume get into the act.
Here Pat, Mary Anne, Alain and Shawn are ready to take a run down Grandmas.
In the photo to the right, Pat gets to sample some of BC's finest.
Here is Phil making his signiture in the snow.
In the photo below, I take my turn to play in the white stuff.
Below left, Peter takes off down the slope.
The weather is clear for the first time in days and Lee takes advantage of it by taking us into the high alpine terrain. Cautiously we ascend up to a saddle and can see into Valhalla Provincial Park on the other side.
After a week, it is our last day to ski and the day dawns clear and still. Lee takes advantage of this weather to take us high into the mountains again.
Climbing out of the trees we are heading for the saddle between the mountains.
As we get closer and closer to the saddle all I can think about is the peak in the photo to the right.
"Hey Lee. Could we go to the top?"
Yes we can and do go to the summit.
Before I was a skier I was a climber. I love mountains and I love to summit, as you can tell from the ear to ear grin on my face in this photo taken on the summit of Mt. "Kevin."
It is the peak on the left side in the large photo above.
As you can see I am not the only one who likes to summit. Here Nelson, Mary Ann, Peter and Phil try not to look too happy on this glorious day.
What goes up must come down.
Here Lee is in the lead on our decent back to the saddle where we left our skis and packs.
.This is Mary Anne who was our cook for the week. How she was able to cook such wonderful things for us to eat in the postage stamp size kitchen, pictured above right, was a miracle.
Meals were always something to look forward to. Thank you Mary Anne.
.This is our guide Lee Usher, pictured in the center of the photo. This is the second time I have toured with Lee in a high alpine backcountry setting and he instills confidence.
Lee brings the right combination of competence and humor to his profession.
This is Nigel. For some reason Nigel is not in any of the other photos. Can't leave the man out.
That just would not be right.
Now our time is over here.
On a gray day the helicopter emerges from the sky and it magically sets down on the small heli-pad.
This was one of the first commercial trips that came through the lodge. Truth be known, I thought things were a bit crowded for 8 people to stay in what is a small lodge. It would have been very sweet for 6.
I can still without hesitation recommend Ice Creek. The location is superb. The terrain is very challenging with good aspects to ski both in the alpine and in the trees. The scenery is beautiful.
Shawn, who is a partner in the lodge, skied with us for the week and was eager to hear everyone's suggestions and I am sure that he and his partner will continue to improve their operation.
Beautiful big mountains. Long hard climbs. Exhilarating long ski runs. Good food. Hot sauna. Warm bed. Sleep. Repeat as necessary. I love it so!
My email address is alsayers@aol.com. I gladly accept questions and comments.
