Selkirk Mountian Experience
 

Have you been there and if so would you go back?

canaanskier wrote:
Have you been there and if so would you go back?

Never been to SME but have talked to a number of people of have. They
all enjoyed it but all commented that it was pretty hard core. Get up
early and ski hard all day. If you are in good shape and want to ski
hard then it could very well be a great option.

My wife and I are a bit too lazy for it. We have been to the Purcell
Mountain Lodge (somewhat nearby) a few times and really enjoyed it. My
impression from talking to folks was that Purcell was a bit more
relaxed - though a bit pricier too. Really depends on what you are
looking for...

-Leif

In article . com,
Woody wrote:

I have been there twice in the past year and would recommend it.
Well-run operation with great chalet and food and interesting terrain.
Ruedi runs things like clockwork so the group leaves on time (with or
without you) and there is not a lot of screwing around during the ski
days.

The guests tend to be pretty fit and accomplished backcountry skiers
and those who are not will not be able to keep up with the pace and
will end up going in early or taking a day or more off.

I have never been to Selkirk Mountain Experience but have talked with
several who have been there; I've been to Purcell Lodge many times
(indoor hot water and showers), and I think they are at opposite ends
of the spectrum from hard core to luxury. There are a number of other
operations in between on that spectrum, such as Sorcerer Lake, Golden
Alpine Holidays, Mistaya Lodge (harder core to more luxury L- R, I
think). I've been to GAH and liked it very much (outhouse only);
Sorcerer, I've been told, has steeper terrain than GAH and is run by
the sister of Alison Dakin, who runs GAH: Mistaya Lodge is more like
Purcell Lodge from what I've seen and what little I've heard directly

I think it's fair to say that if you and everyone in your group are
skilled, fit and want to maximize your vertical, Selkirk is your place;
if you travel with a group of varying skill and/or aggressiveness, one
of the other places would be better. The accomodations at Purcell are
great but the terrain is better at GAH IMHO.

canaanskier wrote:
Have you been there and if so would you go back?

I have not but someone I skied with enjoyed the experience with Selkirk
and raves about Ruedi Beglinger. Here is some info from TelemarkTips

http://www.telemarktips.com/SME.html


On a personal note the Durrand Glacier Avalanche worries me, here is
some background info from TelemarkTips although some links are broken:-

http://www.telemarktips.com/TeleNews17.html

But there has also been a lot of Ruedi bashing on that site and it is
not easy to get a clear picture.

canaanskier wrote:
Have you been there and if so would you go back?

Yes and no.

Don't go if you have a low tolerance for risk.

The terrain, hut and food are great.

I have been there and would not go back I found Rudy condescending,
unwilling to share any of his expertise, and taking chances with weaker
members of the group. By that I mean that the consequence of his philosophy
of going at an even pace, but NEVER stopping strings a non homogeneous
group way out. If one of the slower skiers in a group has a problem, the
leader won't necessarily discover it until stopping at noon. This obviously
applies to the uptrack portion of a day.
As others have said if you are a fit, skilled skier and are ok with
complete abdication of control to the leader in terms of where and if you
ski, then Rudys is the place for you. If not go elsewhere. Having said that,
if there is a slide, there is no one else I would rather have condcting the
rescue than he.
wrote in message
ups.com...

canaanskier wrote:
Have you been there and if so would you go back?

Yes and no.

Don't go if you have a low tolerance for risk.

The terrain, hut and food are great.