Free-heel and backcountry with danger in mind

Within a minute, a dense band of fog swept across the valley and engulfed the mountain, like a perfectly timed curtain in a stage drama.

We could still see each other, standing about 10 feet apart on the side of a glaciated ridge in the southern Coast Mountains, but visibility had decreased so much that it was impossible to tell where the fog ended and the snow began. Without a tree or rock in sight, we had no sense of scale or perspective. The effect was dizzying.

I would have been whistling a funeral march rather than a TV jingle if I had not been positive that Sarkany could get us out of the situation safely. He is a certified member of the Association of Canadian Mountain Guides, leads backcountry skiing, heli-skiing, and Cat-skiing trips in this most western province, and teaches ski touring and mountaineering at Capilano College.

Sarkany also works as head guide for the Callaghan Backcountry Lodge, which was nestled in a grove of old-growth yellow cedars about 1,800 feet below us, and was our ultimate destination that day.

The lodge sits at the upper end of the Callaghan Valley, 14 miles from the closest road, with 7,000-foot mountains rising above it on three sides. Because of its elevation and remoteness, the area is typically blanketed in powder and sees few visitors. It is possible to spend days in these mountains without crossing another skier's tracks.

When I was in Whistler last April, the spring weather had turned the snow at lower altitudes to mush, but conditions in the mountains around the Callaghan Valley were epic.

I decided to visit the lodge for an end-of-the-season ski adventure and arranged to have Sarkany as my backcountry guide. Our plan was to spend two days skiing around several of the valley's glaciers and peaks, with Sarkany teaching me about wilderness travel and avalanche safety along the way.