More than 100 guests crowded into the Glacier Park Lodge dining room on February 26 to watch Chic Scott present his slideshow, Powder Paradise, Backcountry Skiing in the Western Mountains.
A statement from Jocelyn Daniluck of Parks Canada said the free event was presented by the agency as part of Glacier National Park’s 125th anniversary celebrations. Established in 1886, Glacier National Park was the second national park, along with Yoho National Park, to be established in Canada, one year after Banff National Park. The 125th anniversary of Glacier and Yoho national parks also coincides with the centennial of the world’s first national parks service – Parks Canada. This was one of several events planned to celebrate the anniversaries this year.
It was standing room only as Scott took the crowd on a journey through fantastic ski-touring destinations in Western Canada, with a special emphasis on Rogers Pass and the Columbia Mountains. There were mouthwatering images from the Rockies, the Columbias and the Coast range.
Fantastic images of powder turns, stormy tents, cozy backcountry lodges, grand traverses and the history of Rogers Pass and skiing in Revelstoke brought oohs and awes, and some laughs. Scott told the story of the transformation of Rogers Pass from a CPR challenge to powder-skiing mecca. He described how he arrived soon after the opening of the Trans-Canada Highway through Rogers Pass in 1962 and has been back dozens of times since. Scott is approaching 50 years of skiing in Rogers Pass. His book, Summits and Icefields: Columbia Mountains, has guided many people into the backcountry in Glacier National Park.
The show was the perfect end to a day of skiing in Rogers Pass. Skiers and split boarders enjoyed an after-ski snack and dreamed up their next adventures in Glacier National Park as they took in Scott’s inspiring images. At the end of the show, guests crowded around Scott to carry on conversations about their mutual love and respect for the mountains, peruse and purchase his books, and congratulate Scott on a lifetime of adventure.
