Dispatches from Canada, Eh. | E54

Two weeks into his Powder Highway road trip, PowBot calls in from Revelstoke, British Columbia to chat about life on the road in the new van, the differences between the U.S. and Canada when it comes to snow and ski culture, hiring a ski guide in Whistler to go big in the Blackcomb backcountry and interviewing “Trailhead Tim” Gibson, who PowBot met at the trailhead and suddenly became his backcountry partner in bagging the Aussie Couloir in Joffre Lakes Provincial Park. Also, the boys Dope or Derp snow stake cams, backcountry skiing solo, the magnetic Snow Strip product and reggae music.

3:00 – Catching up with PowBot on his road trip to the Powder Highway of Canada, calling from the Revelstoke Rec Center parking lot.

8:30 – Trail Whisperer in Downieville.

10:00 – Avalanche Canada is saying “it’s time to consider getting into bigger terrain” – it’s GO TIME in the alpine! Favorable clear high pressure weather all week.

13:00 – Pow Bot’s road trip so far – Mount Bachelor, Stevens Pass, Whistler, Duffey Lakes.

18:45 – Vail Resorts is having a PR nightmare. Youtube Peak Rankings financial breakdown of Vail Resorts. Park City Mountain Resort Ski Patrol is on strike and Vail wouldn’t give them a $2/hr pay raise.

21:40 – PowBot arrives in Whistler/Blackcomb and stays at Riverside RV park. PowBot hires a ski guide from Altus Mountain Guides, Tim Ross, to take him touring off the Blackcomb glaciers.

25:00 – How does Canada differ from United States when it comes to skiing culture?

28:35 – What is Pow Bot’s boondock overnight parking plan?

29:30 – Parking and skiing at Joffre Lakes area, a Canadian Provincial Park. PowBot helped unstuck the local plow truck driver, Danny, a backcountry skier who plows the lots for skiers.

33:00 – PowBot meets Trailhead Tim and skis the Aussie Couloir with him.

37:55 – How do you know when you meet a stranger that they will be a good ski partner?

39:35 – Dope or Derp? Skiing solo. PowBot skied the Seven Steps to Paradise on Rogers Pass by himself and it was the dopest tour of his life.

49:24 – In order to ski parts of Rogers Pass you have to take a backcountry travel test.

52:45 – New iPhones have a text to satellite feature, eliminating the need to have something like a Spot or Garmin InReach.

54:45 – Dope or Derp? The Snowstrip - A magnetic rack that goes on the side of your vehicle so your skis/board doesn’t fall and hit the ground.

57:55 – Dope or Derp? Reggae Music – Tom’s been listening to a bunch of reggae. Stick Figure, Arise Roots, John Brown’s Body and 10 Foot Ganja Plant. David Lee Scales and Chaz Smith of The Grit podcast think reggae is derp. Bob Marley is The Legend for a reason.

1:04:55 – ON A MUSICAL NOTE – Ross – listener recommending Tycho and Khruangbin.

1:09:20 – Dope or Derp? – a listener Derek wants to know what’s up with snow stake cams.

1:16:25 – Last Saturday, tail end of the holiday, one of the busiest days of skiing in Tahoe ever due to the snow stake cam.

1:20:25 – The sleeper pow days are the best days – the snow stake cam isn’t always accurate.

1:21:40 – PowBot recorded a conversation with Trailhead Tim after their adventure on Aussie Couloir and the concept of “risk shaming”.

1:30:50 – A conversation with Tim Gibson at Joffre Lakes Provincial Park – living van life and skiing in Canada.

1:36:20 – Quitting the corporate life, retiring and living the ski bum van life full time.

1:40:45 – Partnering up with Tim to ski Joffre Peak and Aussie Couloir.

1:48:24 – Moved to Chile in 2004 and got into backcountry skiing, fully self-taught through trial and error. Close calls with cornices, glaciers and crevasses.

1:54:00 – The American ski culture of not reporting avalanche accidents, opposite from Canada. The concept of “risk shaming” and how risky behavior is frowned upon in skiing in the US.

1:59:00 – Living in Seattle and skiing in Washington state – Mount Rainier, North Cascades, Snoqualmie Pass.

2:07:00 – What does Mind the Track mean to you?