Words by: Brent Hillier   Photos by Brent Hillier & Chad Hillier

From left to right: Chad, Katie, Jen and Brent

Part 2 of my week long adventure with my brother, Chad, saw us heading to Whistler for some spring skiing. We made the necessary stop at Galileo Coffee and while leaving a "ski bum miracle" rolled into the parking lot. What should happen to park beside our fully loaded 1985 4WD Toyota Tercel but an identical make and model, fully loaded with four skiers and gear. The eight of us chuckled and compared wagons, then we were on our way.

Words by Brent Hillier   Photos by Brent Hillier & John Kearns

Whistler is great in a lot of ways, one theme that reoccurs in my life is the benefit of learning new things on the slopes of Whistler/Blackcomb. Whether it's skiing or mountain biking I've never left the Resort without some additional skills. It's no surprise that an AST course in Whistler always delivers a fantastic learning experience. One Saturday I headed up with my friend John and introduced him to backcountry skiing, with a private AST 1.

Words by: Brent Hillier   Photos by: Brent Hillier, Norma Ibarra & Tim Gage


When I first started my career in the Avalanche Industry my mandate was to use every opportunity as a learning experience. While patrolling on Mount Seymour, I would create my own avalanche bulletin the night before my shift. During my day on the mountain I would prove or disprove my predictions on what the snowpack would do and what the CAC Bulletin might say. Only after I had gathered all of my own beta and made my own stability assessments, would I review the days CAC Bulletin and critique my accuracy.

Words by: Brent Hillier   Photos by: Brent Hillier

Did you know that any guest of Whistler/Blackcomb can take a free avalanche awareness tour? This year I have the pleasure of being a part of this very cool program, and this past weekend all of the guides met for a day of skiing and training on Blackcomb.