Trip Report: Trophy Mountain Chalet
Trophy Mountain Chalet is like the mullet haircut of backcountry ski huts: it’s got tree-skiing out the front door and alpine skiing out the back.
Okay it’s not a perfect analogy, but you probably get my point. There’s something for everyone at Trophy Mountain Chalet.
This is why I spent ten days in January up at the hut, located at just over 2,000 meters on a ridge in the Cariboo Mountains* north of Clearwater, B.C., teaching Ski Touring courses for the Adventure Studies program at Thompson Rivers University.
January light on an afternoon ski up to the Chalet. Jerry Isaak photo.
TRU Adventure Studies students and instructors gather on the porch for a group photo. Jerry Isaak photo.
Tree skiing out the front door of the hut. Jerry Isaak photo.
Three separate groups of students and instructors stayed at the hut from January 7th - 19th. The students ranged in ability from ex-FIS ski racers to individuals who only started skiing this season (not in the same group!). The terrain around the hut accommodated high quality ski touring and learning for students of every ability.
Owned and operated by Wells Gray Adventures, Trophy Mountain Chalet was built by Ian Eakins and Tay Briggs (owners of Wells Gray Adventures) in 1988. To get to Trophy in the winter there is a 14 km ride on a Sno-Cat to the trailhead, followed by an uphill ski of two to four hours (our first group of students skied into the hut in two hours and the last, most novice, group took just over four hours). You can also choose to fly in via helicopter (this is quite a bit faster and quite a bit more expensive!).
Wells Gray Adventures describes Trophy Mountain Chalet as:
…a comfortable and efficiently designed building that will sleep ten people in full comfort and has no problem with twelve. Downstairs is the living area with a fully equipped kitchen, a dining area, a drying area with drying racks and a shelf full of books and games. The oven, stove and furnace are all propane. The lights are solar powered.
The chalet is situated in the middle of intermediate terrain. More aggressive ski terrain is an hour ski away. There are a lot of ridges, gullies, and chutes right around the chalet. Even in the worst conditions, there is always good snow stashes to be found as there are a lot of protected areas and many different aspects. Most of the skiing close to the building is shorter runs (800′ to 1500′) and would be classified as intermediate and above. For the bigger terrain, you have to ski away from the building and you get the bigger runs of 2000′ and more feet. There is expert terrain in all directions for those that want the challenging slopes, but we are also able to find lower intermediate and lots of intermediate skiing.
Ski terrain out the back door of the Trophy Chalet. Wells Gray Adventures photo.Wells Gray Adventures offers both self-guided and guided experiences in their system of huts. Check out their website for additional information.
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Trophy Mountain Chalet with Raft Mountain in the background. Jerry Isaak photo.If you are looking for an opportunity to explore the Cariboo Mountains of B.C.'s interior, Trophy Mountain Chalet makes a great base!
*The Cariboo Mountains form the northernmost subrange of the Columbia Mountain’s and are entirely within the province of British Columbia. The majority of this range is in the traditional territory of the Secwepemc (pronounced suh-Wep-muhc) people. The Trophy Mountains in particular lie in the the unceded territories of the Simpcw and Tsq’escenemc First Nations.
Jerry Isaak is an Associate Teaching Professor and the program lead for ski touring in the Adventure Studies Department at Thompson Rivers University in Kamloops, British Columbia. He is an AMGA certified Ski Guide and has guided backcountry ski adventures in Iceland, Kyrgyzstan, Japan, and throughout the United States and western Canada.
