Karl is returning for his twelfth season at MPS this year. His career includes ski touring, ski mountaineering and heliskiing in New Zealand, Europe and the US. His many years working in the mountains of western Canada include six seasons with CMH and pioneering a new heliskiing operation in the North Rockies. In addition to guiding, Karl works as the chief avalanche forecaster for the Canadian Avalanche Centre. He is a professional member of the Canadian Avalanche Association, a fully qualified Mountain Guide, certified by the Association of Canadian Mountain Guides (ACMG) and a member of the International Federation of Mountain Guides Associations (IFMGA)
John is returning for his tenth season at MPS and is excited to get his ten-year jacket! John is originally from Vancouver Island and after graduating from Royal Roads University in Victoria he has lived all over the mountainous regions of BC, Alberta and New Zealand raft guiding, whitewater kayaking, and skiing. John started here as an unpaid practicum for a week in 2007 and is now an ACMG full ski guide and supervisor. In the summer months, John runs his own rafting company in his home, Nelson, BC. We've had great adventures with John on the Salmo River, so look him up if you are ever in Nelson. Check out www.nelsonwhitewaterrafting.com.
We are fortunate to have Mike join the MPS lead guiding team this season. He comes to us with a wealth of experience and has been guiding in the mountains since 1995. He is a father of 2 awesome boys, Lucas and Tyler and happily married to his wife Jennifer. When he's not working he can usually be found somewhere in the mountains with his family climbing, biking, skiing or hiking.
Mike built Alberta's first Via Ferrata and is actively developing new and exciting climbing for people to enjoy.
Mike loves skiing in the Monashee mountains because the snow is the best in the world here.
Certifications include:
ACMG / IFMGA Mountain Guide
CAA Professional Member
Paddle Canada River Kayak Instructor
IKO Kiteboarding Instructor
Todd is returning to MPS for his fifth season this winter. His passion for being outside and challenging himself and others has always been the foundation for his guiding. Todd is a fully qualified Mountain Guide with the Association of Canadian Mountain Guides ACMG/IFMGA and a Professional Member of the Canadian Avalanche Association, CAA. Todd lives with his family in Revelstoke, BC. On his days off he can be found guiding ski touring as www.aspectguiding.com or being "guided" by his two young daughters at the local ski hill.
"Cupcake" is returning to MPS for his 12th year, and his 9th year of lead guiding. Joe came to us 12 years ago as a practicum and worked his way up the ranks to the best telemarker in MPS's lead guide fleet. In the off-season Joe works as an electrician on Vancouver Island, where he lives with his family and takes advantage of the areas amazing mountain bike trails whenever he can.
Joe Pavelich is returning to MPS again this winter for his third season. Joe is a certified ACMG Ski Guide and has been guiding Snowcat, Heli, and Ski touring groups for over 18 years throughout the interior of British Columbia. He has a very infectious attitude to being in the outdoors, especially when it comes to skiing. Originally from North Vancouver, for the last 20 years Joe has lived in Nelson, B.C, where he can be found riding his mountain bike, building a beautiful timberframed entry or addition, and spending quality time with his family.
Peter will be joining us again at MPS for his sixth season. Peter is from the UK with a degree in Engineering from Bristol University. That clearly not being his passion, he made his way over to Whistler, BC where he spends his time enjoying the outdoors and taking in all it has to offer. When Pete's not on his skis you can find him, hiking, climbing, paddling and wearing old man’s beard whenever possible! Give Pete a couple more years and you may find him signing off as 'Pilot Pete'!. Peter recently completed the ACMG Assistant Ski Guide program and will be helping lead guide part-time for us this season.
Gary is Tom and Carolyn's son and is a journeyman automotive mechanic from Calgary. Gary is tailguiding as well as taking on the role of Assistant Manager. This is his tenth year with MPS. Gary spent time with Tom this summer renovating the lodge. He created a beautiful mountain scene in the dining area. Check it out!.
Anne grew up skiing in Quebec, but a season in La Grave, France, quickly made her realize that she needed more than the hills of Quebec. Shortly after returning from the Alps, she packed her bags and headed west to Rossland, B.C. Anne skied in the Kootenays for a season before enrolling in an Adventure Tourism Diploma in Golden, B.C. After some time working as a tour guide in the Rockies, Anne then moved to the coast to guide snowmobiling in Whistler. Anne is now looking forward to another great season of skiing powder at MPS.
Fannie is returning for her fifth season as a tail guide with MPS. She is from Quebec City and is a graduate from an Adventure Tourism Program. Although she loves her beautiful home province, she couldn’t get over her love for big mountains and powder snow. Revelstoke was the first ski town she experienced as a ski bum and she lived there for four winters. Now Fannie resides in her tiny house in Nelson, BC, where she spends most of her time on the river, working as a rafting guide or river kayaking. She has worked as a ski patrol out East and she guided river rafting in Jasper, Alberta for couple seasons. Her passion for the outdoors is incredible and she seeks to work her way up in the ski guiding industry as well as avalanche awareness and forecasting.
This is Jerome's second season with us as a tail guide. Jerome is from Gaspe, Quebec, where he graduated from an adventure tourism program. After finishing he moved to Jasper, AB, where he learned english and found his calling as a ski patroller/avalanche technician and raft guide for 6 seasons. In his free time Jerome loves ski touring, kayaking, biking and camping. He is now based in Nelson, BC, and is thrilled to be joining MPS.
We are happy to have Matt back with MPS for his second year of tail guiding. Matt moved to the mountains eight years ago from his home in southern Ontario with one goal - to ski! After numerous guiding programs and courses, Matt is now building his experience with goals of ascertaining his ACMG Assisiantant Ski Guide certification one day. In the summer Matt guides whitewater canoe expeditions in the NWT, Yukon and Nunavut. His shoulder season are filled with fly-fishing and mountain biking.
Tobin is coming back for his second season at MPS. He lives in Mission, BC, where he grew up and studied. He skis all winter and fights fire in the summer. Tobin is pursuing his ACMG certifications in order to guide all around the world. He was born in the Himilayas, so he figures the mountains is where he is meant to be. Tobin is very excited to ski some unreal powder with you all this winter!
Abby will be joining us for her Third season as a tail guide at MPS. Coming from Jasper she has spent a lot of her life playing outside - skiing, biking, climbing, kayaking, and running. Abby did her schooling in both the UK and the USA, and emerged with a Bachelor of Arts in Human Ecology. She is looking forward to a winter of skiing powder and gaining experience in the ski guiding industry.
Alix started with us last winter replacing the relief bartender/lodge hand and knew there and then the MPS was the place to be. Spending his winters in Revelstoke's paradise and his summers in Powell River's Paradise, where he's been sea kayak guiding for 3 years now, he's loving it! The outdoors got him in BC at first when he studied Adventure tourism a couple of years ago. Skiing is what brought him back after a break from the west where he spent a couple of years in Sherbrooke, Quebec, his hometown. He knew from the moment he started skiing that snowy slopes was the place he wanted to be the most. He's now looking forward being a part of the team as a tailguide this winter.
Andrew is joining us for his third season of tail-guiding at Monashee Powder. He was born and raised in Sicamous, B.C, and began ski touring in the Monashee & Selkirk mountains at the age of 14. Skiing has been his passion ever since. After completing his degree in Natural Resource Sciences he devoted his winters to skiing full time and working in the summers to pay the bills. He is looking forward to working in the deep Monashee powder again this winter!
Colleen runs the photo program and manages the social media here at MPS. She has been with us since 2010 and delights in showing off the best of our terrain and athletic guests' ski abilities. Colleen has an amazing eye for photos and we have her to thank for our extensive photo gallery. After a day with the group, Colleen puts together a slideshow (to great music) for the guests and staff to view and purchase.
Outside of MPS Colleen has a production company and is pursuing a career in filmmaking.
Be sure to check out all the cool projects Colleen has on the go! www.colleengentemann.ca
A lover of the arts, cuisine and life. Annie persued a creative career in the Culinary Arts, studying at the Art Institute in Vancouver, B.C. As an apprentice and employee at the Fairmont Waterfrint Hotel in Vancouver she earned her Red Seal Certification as a chef. Annie currently lives in Summerland, B.C. where she manages her families cherry orchard, where they grow high quality fruit for domestic and international export. Annie is very excited about her thirda season up at Monashee Powder and is hoping the powder fairy dusts her with magical skiing abilities! In the off-season Annie can be found in her wonderful garden, on the farm, or out on the bike trails.
Our baker, Fiona, has been with us for thirteen seasons and continues to entice us all with her treats and home-made breads. An avid rock climber and skier, she too gains inspiration from her days on the skis. Fiona has stayed local to B.C. for most of the summer, working on her first 12d/13a climbing grade!
Dave studied Culinary Arts for his Red Seal certification at Okangan College. He hails from Penticton where he has worked as the Sous Chef at Naramata Heritage Inn previously. Aside from cooking, Dave enjoys snowmobiling, downhill mountain biking, dirt biking and cruising on his street bike. Dave is very good at digging his sled out of tree wells - now he has to work on not ending up in them in the first place!
Back for another season at Monashee, we’re happy that Matt decided to come out West from Ontario to join us.
With a smile on his face, Kurt is always there to lend a helping hand and make sure the guests have the best experience on the mountain.
This is Keaton's third year at MPS. She was born and raised in Vernon BC, and has an Elementary Teaching degree from UBCO. This is a new career path for her but she is definitely enjoying the change. Keaton and Her husband Gary and learning the ropes from Tom and Carolyn so they can step back and enjoy the skiing rather than office work. She is looking forward to the season ahead!
Nicole is excited to return to Monashee Powder for her eleventh season! After graduating from university in Sydney, Australia, with a BA degree in Communications & Public Relations, she decided to pursue her own seventeen year program of snowboarding, skiing, mountain biking and scuba diving around the world. This summer Nicole was a lady of leisure in her new hometown of Squamish, BC, working on her mountain biking and kite boarding skills.
This is Brian's second season with Monashee, he brings with him 17 seasons of experience in snow-cat and snowmobile repair/maintenance on a local Vancouver ski hill. A love of winter and outdoor activities are important to him such as snowmobiling, skiing, winter camping and natural hot springs rank high for his leisure time. Brian is a journeyman heavy duty and small engine mechanic who chose to specify in Bombardier machine repair and maintenance. He is excited to be a part of the Monashee family!
Dustin is returning for another winter of fun in the snow while maintaining our snowcats and snowmobiles. He is an aircraft technician and he also enjoys working on boats. Dustin spent the last year in the flat lands of Holland and is so excited to be back in the mountains! He spent a lot of this fall at the lodge helping to service the snowcats. Dustin has become a keen 'no-boarder' in his time up at Monashee and he can't wait to shred his no-board some more this winter.
Courtenay is joining us as baker for her second season at MPS! She is Okanagan born and raised and after spending a few years elsewhere, realized that it really is where she loves to be. She studied culinary and pastry at Northwest Culinary Academy of Vancouver and has since spent most of her time in award winning winery restaurants. Based out of Penticton, she spends her summers catering and as much time as possible outdoors. She loves to scuba dive, hike, kayak, camp and canoe. After many winters of traveling to avoid all things cold, she's excited to be in the mountains relearning how to ski and catering to everyone's sweet tooth.