Hey Mike,

I'll offer a few tips but some of these are personal opinions. Talk to as many expierenced people as you can. Some people may agree or disagree. For you ski setup (I ski as well as splitboard) try and keep it comfortable and light. You spend a LOT more time going up than down. Fortunately there is a lot of light gear you can charge down on these days!

 Recognize avalanche terrain well. Kootenays have tons of great tree skiing out of serious avy terrain. Know where you are. Always have a map and compass and know how to use them, getting lost sucks! Keep your head up on uphill kick turns,falling going up sucks! Find a good partner with similar goals and fitness, it sucks to being the guy either way up front waiting on everyone or the guy way in the back by themselves. Take a course before heading out as you already mentioned. Most of all have fun, the mountains are good for you!

Hope this helps, Dave