Backcountry Skiing Canada awards prizes to photo competition winners
By Nelson Daily Editor
At the end of an epic winter, the Backcountry Skiing Canada Expose Yourself competition judges have awarded some amazing prizes to several deserving winners.
Judges for this season’s comp were David Lussier of Summit Mountain Guides, Keri Medig, professional photographer, and Andrew Creighton, backcountryskiingcanada.com editor and partner.
The judges admitted that their task wasn’t an easy one — with more than 100 excellent submissions, selecting the top four was no cakewalk (click on the links for the pictures).
First prize went to went to Whistler native Vince Shuley for his “Turns Over Peaks” submission.
“I couldn’t believe it when I saw my post had won,” said Shuley. “When I saw the Retallack logo on my computer screen I knew I’d finally get to go on the cat skiing trip I’d always dreamed of.”
With backcountryskiingcanada.com, dreams do come true. Retallack Lodge will provide a one-day, one-night accommodation cat-skiing extravaganza for Vince and the buddy of his choosing.
In the second slot was Stuart Masterman of Squamish. He picked up a pair of Black Diamond Justice skis and Fritschi Freeride bindings — courtesy of Nelson’s ROAM — for his “Asulkan Valley”submission.
Prize number three went to local Kootenay boy, Jeff Hammerich, who picked up the Whitewater Avi training weekend for two for his excellent entry, “Satan’s Choice.”
Prize number four, a Dakine backpack from Valahlla Pure, went to Kenneth Roy, also of Nelson, for “Qua Peaks.”
The competition
The Expose Yourself comp was a first for backcountryskiingcanada.com but it likely won’t be the last.
“We were very happy with all the submissions we got to the comp,” said Brad Steele, backcountryskiingcanada.com kingpin.
“People really made the effort to share their backcountry skiing experiences through exceptional photos, videos and stories.”
Now that this season is wrapping up, they have already started working on next season’s competition.
“Without me sharing too much, let’s just say we have another batch of mind-blowing prizes and some ideas to keep it fresh. Stay tuned to backcountryskiingcanada.com for the breaking story,” Steele said.
Backcountryskiingcanada.com
Backcountryskiingcanada.com has just completed its second season and the team behind the site has seen a 10-fold increase in visitors over last year.
The site offers almost 100 backcountry ski route descriptions in BC and Alberta, an active forum of ski tourers for up-to-the minute intel, an ever-growing Gear Review section, weather, avalanche information, and more.
The idea behind backcountryskiingcanada.com is to build the backcountry skiing community, encourage safe travel through the mountains, promote a healthy appreciation for Mother Nature, and crank up the fun factor.
Site developers will be working hard over the next few months, developing a new design and new features.
