01 / Qualifications
Professional teams
Each group has a guide, tail guide, and driver. Guides are certified by ACMG and/or CSGA. Tail guides have advanced first aid and at least Canadian Avalanche Association Level One Operations certification.
Winter Safety · The first consideration. Always.
Winter Safety
Safety is the job. Every line, every day, every decision starts there. The best run is never worth a bad choice.
Winter 2027 · Limited to 36 skiers
Serious about skiing with us? Join the waitlist and we'll reach out when space opens.
A conservative mountain culture
Some runs can wait.
Your guides can close terrain, change the route, or call it a day. Snow stability and your group’s safety come before another run.
The people & the process
Before the cats leave.
Island Lake is an accredited HeliCat Canada member and follows its operating standards.
02 / Conditions
A daily assessment
Morning meetings combine field observations, weather, snow stability, and InfoEx information. A two-guide snow-safety team assesses terrain with the road builder.
03 / Decisions
Active risk management
Qualified teams use explosives to test slopes and trigger avalanches as part of the program. Radio communication and monitoring continue throughout the day.
Before your first run
Learn it.
Practise it.
Your first morning includes mandatory equipment instruction and avalanche and tree-well rescue training. Every guest carries a radio, transceiver, shovel, and probe.
Listen, ask questions, follow the guides, and ski with a partner. Tell your team if you feel unwell, tired, or uneasy; rest or a return to the lodge can be arranged.
Read the complete safety & risk information
Before you step into your skis
Your part in a good day.
Prepare before you arrive.
Read the winter risk information and complete the registration and waiver sent with your reservation. Arrive fit for full days in ungroomed terrain, and describe your skiing or riding honestly when you book.
Stay with the plan.
Attend the first morning’s mandatory training, ask questions and follow the guides’ routes and regrouping instructions. Ski with a partner and tell your guide if you need a rest or feel uncomfortable.
Keep the day clear.
Alcohol and drug use are not permitted before or during the active skiing and snowboarding program. Save the après for after your final run.
Phones, cameras & transceivers
Ask before you carry.
Electronic devices, magnets and metal objects can interfere with avalanche transceivers.
Island Lake asks guests to leave electronic devices in the snowcat while skiing, or speak with their guide about alternatives. Follow the guiding team’s instructions for your equipment and how it is carried.
Chest-mounted action cameras are not permitted. Helmet- and pole-mounted cameras are accepted under the lodge’s policy; check your setup with your guide before heading out.
Your multi-day tour also includes the on-mountain photography program, so there is a way to bring home the turns without filming every run yourself.
Equipment & packingExperience you can meet
Our mountain team.
Our guides, tail guides, snow safety team and snowcat drivers work together to look after your group throughout the day.
Knowledge is meant to be shared
Learning beyond a single season.
Island Lake supports avalanche education and snow research, and has worked with the College of the Rockies’ mountain adventure program.
A conversation is the beginning
Who would you
bring here?
Tell us your dates, your group size, and what you have in mind.
Our concierge will help you plan the stay.