In March 2025, Dan and I spent four days at Mount Assiniboine Lodge, skiing in Assiniboine Provincial Park, B.C. It was a truly fantastic experience and we hope to repeat it every year going forward.
We accessed the lodge by helicopter. It was a quick ten minute ride from the parking area at Mount Shark off of Spray Lakes Road south of Canmore. We stayed in a cabin near the lodge and walked to the lodge for meals.
The backcountry skiing was guided and our guides took care of every aspect of route planning, setting uptracks, deciding where to ski and avalanche risk management.
On the day we arrived, we skied for a few hours in the afternoon. Then we skied all day for three more days. The last day, we flew out after breakfast.
We were part of a group of 12 people staying up there. We skied together, enjoyed our meals together and got to know each other in true mountain lodge manner.
A mountain lodge is different from a hotel. At a mountain lodge, guests eat together at the same table, three meals a day. Guests ski together and socialize together in the lodge’s living room area.
Sharing the experience with people we would probably never have otherwise met made it richer and more rewarding. The way that the guides and the other staff at the Lodge took care of us made us recognize and appreciate the specialness of the place – the Lodge itself and the beautiful mountain valley it occupies. This is the magic of the Canadian mountain lodge experience.
The Skiing
There was a lot of fresh snow when we arrived and more snow fell everyday. However, avalanche conditions were very risky. We were grateful for the knowledge and experience of our guides Claude, Andre and Callum. They found fun places for us to ski safely.
The maps that follow show our routes on each day of our trip.
Day 1
The gray line shows where we skied on the afternoon of our first day. We flew to the Lodge, stowed our stuff in our cabin and then did some avalanche safety training and practice. Then we headed out. In the map above, the lake at the bottom is Lake Magog. On the right side is Wonder Pass. We skied the lower slopes of Mount Cautley.
Day 2
On the second day, we left the Lodge at 9:30 and skied up the Nublet. We skied mellow, open slopes most of the day. At the end of the day, we were offered the choice of going back to the Lodge or skiing a steep, treed run before heading back. I chose to return to the Lodge. The steep run sounded a bit too much for me but Dan skied it and thoroughly enjoyed it.
Our route on the map below is the bright orange line.
Day 3
On the third day, we skied across frozen Lake Magog to access the moraine below Terrapin Mountain.
Crossing Lake Magog
Our route is the pink line on the map below.
We had a break from the snow fall and the sun lit up the slopes for a short time. We took advantage of this visibility and skied the moraine.
Our tracks on the moraine.
When the light went flat, we moved into the trees and skied some moderate tree runs.
Day 4
The fourth and final day of skiing saw us back at the Nublet. Fresh snow and the wind had reset the slopes so we got fresh tracks again. The pink line on the map below shows where we skied.
Four beautiful ski days and each day we enjoyed soft powdery turns.
The Lodge
Mount Assiniboine Lodge has a rich history stretching back 130 years. There is a book “Mount Assiniboine – The Story” by Chic Scott that provides the details.
The mountain lodge experience is a wonderful, historic part of Canadian mountain culture. If you have never stayed at a mountain lodge in the backcountry, been guided and taken care of by people who know and love the area, sharing the whole experience with other mountain-loving guests, you should drop everything you’re doing and do whatever you can to book one.
The first day, after arrival by helicopter, we gathered our stuff and hiked over to our cabin. Dan and I got the one nearest the Lodge, on the left in the photo.
There is no electricity and no running water in the cabins in winter. We stayed cozy and warm with propane heat and a propane-powered light lit the room after dark.
A bucket of warm water was delivered to our door every morning for washing up.
Then we walked to the Lodge for coffee and breakfast. We started with granola, fruit, muesli and oatmeal at 8:00 and then a hot breakfast was served at 8:30. We never left hungry.
Guests eat together and are encouraged to socialize and share the experience. After only one day together, I felt like we were a team, gliding up the mountains together and cruising down through powder lighter than air.
After breakfast, our guide Claude would tell us the plans for the day. Then we would pack a lunch to bring out skiing, choosing sandwiches, cookies, trail mix, fruit and veggies from a table in the dining room.
We would meet outside at 9:30, ready to go skiing.
At the end of the day, we returned to the Lodge where we were treated to a snack which we often took to the deck out front with a beer. From this deck, you can look across the lake and see Mount Assiniboine on a clear day. Alas, we never did get a full view of the mountain. It was always at least partially obscured by clouds.
After our apres-ski snacks and beers on the deck, folks went to use the sauna or shower or nap in their cabins or hang out in the Lodge living room which has books and board games, including a super cool cribbage board shaped like the surrounding landscape of mountains and lakes.
Dinner was served at 6:30 – three delicious courses which Dan and I always paired with a bottle of wine. Then it was off to our cozy cabin for about 10 hours of solid sleep in the dark, quiet backcountry.
Avalanches
The guides were great experts at finding fun, skiable terrain that was safe even during a large natural avalanche cycle. On our last day, a guide who wasn’t skiing with us at the time, Andre, worked on triggering avalanches. Getting them to come down while no one was around made it safer for us, and the skiers who came to stay after us, to be in the area.
The photo below shows a large, size 2.5 avalanche that went to ground, triggered by Andre. All he did was ski on a low ridge to the left, out of sight in the photo below.
The avalanche spread across the slope below the rocky cliffs. It was amazing how far away Andre was when he triggered this. Claude took us to have a look at it after it had come down.
This was truly a great vacation for us. There is no wifi and no cell service in the area so we were completely unplugged. It was nice to sit back, relax, and let someone else do the route planning and avalanche risk analysis, and of course, the cooking.
I highly recommend a trip to Mount Assiniboine Lodge to ski with Claude, Andre and Callum. Dan and I hope to go back every year.
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