Mountain Addicts - Guiding and Instruction

Booked a day of touring and had an amazing day with Steve. I am relatively new to splitboarding and noted as much when I signed up. Steve was super patient, safety focused, and was always happy to answer questions I had throughout the day. I have my own avalanche gear, and we started the day with going to the test site on the mountain to practice using my beacon and probe to find a simulated buried skier, and then after that we were off to Mongolia Bowl. It had been a few days since it snowed, but there was still lots out of bounds. We saw about a dozen people throughout the day, and it seemed like Steve knew most of them which was very reassuring. I'm not the fastest when it comes to skinning, but Steve didn't seem to care which was another thing that made my day stress free. He was more focused on us being safe, and that I was having a good time. He gave me tips on how to be more efficient on my feet, things to look out for in terms of avalanche safety, and waited patiently when I stopped to take pictures to mask the fact that I needed to catch my breath from time to time lol. Given the conditions where changing to spring skiing, Steve knew exactly where to go to avoid crusty and soupy snow, and I still got to experience some knee deep, dry snow. He always gave clear and easy instructions so that I felt comfortable, and never took off on me. On the second run, he even snapped some pictures and video so I had some media to remember the day! If you're thinking of going, I can't recommend Steve enough. If I could give more than 5 stars, I would. Things to note, the day I had was not for beginners. While I'm new to splitboarding, I am not new to snowboarding out of bounds and in the trees. We spent the entire day in the glades, and the pitch was sometimes in the 35° range. If you plan to sign up, be sure to be honest with your riding ability, and ask lots of questions to ensure you aren't getting in over your head. Again, very stoked with Steve and would definitely sign up again the next time I'm in town!

It's amazing how much we learned in the AST 1 course. I definitely feel much more prepared and confident to go ski touring. Mel is an outstanding guide and presenter. Her professionalism, in-depth knowledge and experience, and super personable nature all make the course a great learning experience. 10 out of 10 Mountain Addicts.

Great AST 2 course. Mel is a extremely talented guide who focused on allowing the students to increase their competence in decision making. This provided an exceptional learning experience and improved their knowledge base in the back country.

I had the opportunity to take my AST 1 with Nik and my AST 2 with Mel. They were both knowledgable, professional, and super personable. I can't overstate how much I've learned from these courses. I feel much more confident venturing into the backcountry now. 10/10 recommend booking a course with Mountain Addicts.

Completed the midweek AST 1 course with Mountain Addicts. Can not recommend this course or Mountain Addicts strongly enough. Our instructor (the business owner) Mel is extremely knowledgeable, professional and generally rad. The course is a must for anyone considering exploring the backcountry and Mountain Addicts does an exceptional job presenting the information. Enjoy!

We had an AST2 course with Mountain Addicts and a great time in Fernie. We picked up on the basics of avalanche awareness with lots of informative discussions and short learning sessions out in the backcountry. Thanks to the guides for a job well done.

Awesome course! I did my AST 1 with mountain addicts and learned a lot. I took it with Brian Bell he was an awesome instructor who made the course a great learning experience and a good time. I would definitely recommend them for anyone looking to do their AST.

Took my AST 1 over the weekend in Fernie with Mel, and had a fantastic experience - couldn't recommend Mountain Addicts enough! Everything was very well planned out, professional, and organized, but also really enjoyable and a ton of fun. The classroom portion was engaging and interesting, and gave the group good base knowledge which we were able to use in the field on the second day. While we were travelling through avalanche terrain I never felt in danger, as Mel had given us the tools needed to assess risk and proceed with caution. Mel was an awesome instructor, and massively qualified to teach this course! Overall, I feel much more confident in my skills after this course, and I feel as though I have a strong foundation that I can build upon with practice and taking more courses in the future. I strongly recommend taking any courses/guiding with Mountain Addicts. 10/10!

Learnt a ton! Great instructors who made everything really easy to understand and made a Heavy content course very entertaining and fun. The guides were really non judgmental and very friendly. The field day was also super informative and everything just felt very fun when I was expecting it to be just a long day of learning. Such a good experience, and such an Awesome company!!!!! I am definitely going to use mountain addicts when I do my AST 2 course:)

Took the AST 1 and Dan Pichette was our instructor. He was great! You could tell he had so much experience and knowledge of the backcountry and was also really passionate. Dan was very welcoming on the first day and hosted an interesting classroom day followed by a fun day in the backcountry where we practiced what we learned in the class.