Valkyr Lodge, Naumulten Mountain

The Valkyr Lodge on Naumulten Mountain is surrounded on three sides by an alpine amphitheatre. Located high in the wilderness of the beautiful Valkyr Range, part of the Selkirk Mountains in British Columbia’s Kootenays Region, every window of our backcountry lodge has a view of a world rarely seen. [More…]

Hilda Hut, Mount Hilda

Nestled in the big spruce forest at the base of Hilda’s impressive north bowl, Hilda Hut will finally allow ski tourers to access the exciting and challenging terrian of the Southern Valkyrs. From epic, open alpine bowls, couloirs, and mountaineering routes to steep treed runs through huge subalpine spruce, the terrain surrounding the Hilda Hut is a dream for advanced intermediate to expert skiers. [More…]

Valkyr Lodge, New Years 2013

Courtesy of frontrange.ca Posted under Trips by Darren on February 10th, 2013
Monday, flight in: we’ve stayed in Nakusp, British Columbia, overnight and head south along Arrow Lake on highway #6, to a small helicopter landing zone on the shore of the lake. We are flying into Naumulten Lodge, one of the two backcountry lodges run by Martin and Shelley Glasheen as part of their Valkyr Adventures backcountry business [More…]

Guides Blog – Hilda Hut Terrain

ACMG Guides Tim Styles and Russell Lybarger spent the week of Jan. 16 – 23, 2012
exploring the new Hilda Hut terrain.

Here is their impression:

“Oh My God. Talk about died and gone to Heaven. On the Flight of the Valkyries, of course, via The Battlefield, the Ships Prow, Ski Line of the Gods, The Mead Pot, the Broom, The Norns, Angel’s Tears, all inspired with a huge smile from the Face of Hilda! These are some of the names of the brand new runs in the southern Valkyr Range, in keeping with the Norse theme started at Naumulten Lodge.

Our consensus is that the Hilda ski terrain is exceptional, with a huge variety. Not to mention the perfect powder: (50cms of fresh fell during the week). We started by scoping the safe trees and glades in the Hut vicinity, which were pretty extensive, then spent the rest of the week ripping up the steep slide paths, chutes and bowls. Two days were given to touring to the outer zones, including the Valkalla Zone to the North, and the Lequereux Zone to the South, where the Satellite Hut will be built.

General feeling: The skiing at Hilda offers huge variety. It is bigger and steeper than the Naumulten area, with wilder, more dramatic views, and longer runs, from the peaks at 2500m to the creeks at 1500m. Conrad Janzen, who explored the Hilda alpine zone in spring of 2009 quotes: “The runs in the Hilda Basin offer some truly memorable alpine ski lines.” There exists about one third moderate runs in the glades and open alpine. Two of the longer tours (Lequereux and Valkalla Zones) are destined to become Valkyr classics, as they are free from major cruxes in terms of gnarly terrain and avalanche hazard. If you can ski 1300 meters (4000 vertical feet) and 10 kms over a 7 hour day, you could do these tours.

The average run length is about 360 meters (1200 vertical feet), with the longest at 800 meters. The cool thing: beautiful old growth Spruce and Cedar forests, offering sweet skiing while providing a good amount of protection from avalanches. Many of the slide paths are typical of the Selkirk Range, offering a reasonably safe treed option to avoid the open start zones. The Hilda area offers a lot of tree sking. Another great thing is how easily the different zones link up. The Upper Deck is this large bench that provides fast travel between the Hilda Basin, the Mead Pot, The Battlefield and the Norns zone. Talk about convenience and efficiency!

Scenario: enroute to Hilda’s Face in the sunshine, the weather moves in, so you change plans and hit the Mead Pot or Battlefield in no time, and all within 20 minutes of the Hut! Three of the best zones are based out of the upper Hilda Lake, which is 10 minutes from the lodge.

The peaks in the area offer ski and climbing ascents in good conditions. These include, Hilda, Mt. Prough, Mt. McBride, Mt. Lequereux, and other unnamed ones. All in all, the extensive size and variety of this tenure will be keeping skiers busy for a few seasons doing first descents and naming runs. Pretty exciting stuff!