Member: Rene Villeneuve
Favourite outdoor activities: Backcountry skiing, canoeing, backpacking
About me: I love backpacking, canoeing, and most muscle powered ways to travel from A to B. I prefer to be above the trees in the alpine, or on the water, which is the best way to enjoy the best views for kilometers. Who wants to be stuck in trees! I work as a Sergeant in the Canadian Armed Forces Healthcare branch, fixing medical equipment by day, and dream about skiing by night. My spouse is an avid camper, downhill skier … and hopefully soon ski-tourer.
How did you develop a passion for the outdoors?
Two different events shaped a lot to do with my love of the outdoors.
The first was a just general love of solitude with people close and dear to me. This is best exemplified by the time my best friend took me out in Algonquin Provincial Park (Ontario) on a 5-day canoe/portage trip. We brought way too much gear (including an axe & tarp!) but it was an absolute blast, and luckily life had me move nearby the park shortly after that. I quickly bought a canoe, and the park became my playground for years to come.
The second event that challenged my passion developed in a very odd way; I was sent over to the Middle East (Lebanon specifically) on Tour to assist with the Syrian Refugee Crisis of 2015. While off work one day, I asked a local what the big mountain was called that you could see from town. He replied “Oh, that’s Mount Lebanon, and the local ski hill”. Hold on, wait a sec, they ski in the middle east?! Ignorance I know now, as there are lots of ski areas around there, but at the time my mind was blown. I grew up in central Ontario as a kid and loving skiing, but had stopped due to Work/Life situations, but I immediately questioned why a Canadian who loved skiing, was not skiing regularly…and the Lebanese were? That definitely wasn’t right! After my tour I went home and bought a full setup and skied a dozen times the remaining winter, including a trip out west skiing for the first time. The passion was lit again!
Do you have a favourite piece of gear?
Probably my canoe, even though skiing is my passion! There is just too much gear required to ski to narrow it down to one item … maybe my Icebreaker mid-layer? It’s really awesome. Or perhaps my Black Crow skis; they do rip!
Do you have a go-to snack in the backcountry? Or something you’d never eat again?
Love: Chocolate! Anything chocolate! Preferably a nut snack mix with Reese’s pieces.
Hate: Mountain House cold rehydrate Bean Salad, yuck. This made my wife and I buy a dehydrator to make our own meals.
You are an avid backcountry skier. How did you get started, and what do your ski seasons look like?
My cousin, who lives in Revelstoke, and is an apprentice guide, bugged me to get into ski touring after I moved out to Edmonton in summer 2017. He knew I loved to backpack/hike, and loved to ski. He asked why I wasn’t doing both to which I replied “I didn’t know ski touring was a thing!” I didn’t take it up my first winter, as I wasn’t sure it was what I wanted to do and was adapting to the new style of skiing required out West. But I did do a bunch of research on gear and the sport in general. That spring, I bought end of season clearance gear and dove in head first. I took AST1 in early December of 2018. I followed that up with about 20 days of touring the Rockies and Monashee/Selkirks, learning a lot along the way. In winter 2019, I took a Glacial Rescue course, got on the Campbell trip, and was blessed to be selected for the Backcountry Riders Mentorship Program (BRMP). I also took the Intermediate Ski Mountaineering course that Jeremy Cherlet put together. It was the best course (including outside skiing) that I have ever been on. Unfortunately, the season was cut short before I could reach my season goal of summiting Mount Hector, but I still managed to get 31 backcountry days in before lockdown. I also took a late spring (June 28!) shot at Mount Athabasca via Silverhorn for consolation, but it was unsuccessful due to wet slides and poor weather.
Do you have an outdoor project in mind? For example, a ski route, a part of the world you would like to travel to, or outdoor skills that you would like to develop.
I’d like to do some ‘easier’ mountaineering next summer. I am not a big rope guy outside familiarity with crevasse systems, but I’d like to summit Mount Cline, and work on some rope skills in general.
Backcountry skiing, I try to set up two goals each fall for the upcoming ski season: a ‘happy’ lower goal and a ‘stretch’ goal. Last year the happy goal was breaking 1200 m vertical in one day (thanks Dustin!), and the stretch goal was to summit Hector. I got that 1200 m by Christmas, and missed-out on Hector because “2020”. This year’s goals are making up for last year. I am also in the planning stages for a long Wapta/Yoho traverse for a week, with my cousin.
Outside of that, I am probably going to pick away at getting all my courses towards Apprentice Ski guide. Not out of a sense of being a guide…unless it’s just tail-guiding in retirement. I have no desire to ice climb as I hate wet misery, and I am a terrible rock climber, but do dabble in it.
As for travel, it’s hard for me to justify leaving Canada when we have so much great touring in our backyard, and such a great community I can contribute to at home. The one exception to this is that I feel a deep longing to go back to Mount Lebanon and ski it, as it’s what re-started me off into this passion.
Oh. Everyone tells me I need a summer activity to pass by that season until winter arrives because they’re tired of hearing me talk about skiing all year long, so I’ve been told I should take up Mountain Biking. I guess I’ll do that next summer.
You are up on the schedule leading a few trips this year. Tell us more about them.
Chris Day has fast become a good friend and excellent backcountry ski partner of mine. We’ve been on a lot of courses and trips together now. We’re trying to set up monthly novice-level trips all season long, as we both found that the ‘novice experience’ was the most difficult of our journey towards comfort in the mountains. We’ve had a lot of interest in our first one in December, and are already working on logistics for January and beyond. I’ve also put together a hard-charging crew of 8 ACCYEG’ers for a trip down by Nelson, in the Valkyr range. Hopefully I’ll also get redemption on Hector this year with the section, so expect that to pop up too! And maybe bag another 11k’r? Mount Wilson has long caught my eye when driving in from Nordegg, and doesn’t see a lot of summits. Stay tuned!
Do you have any advice for anyone who would like to gain more experience in the outdoors?
1) Take courses. Courses cost both time and money, which are the largest limitation we all have. If you can afford time/money, take them. Don’t take easy ones, but push yourself. The mountains are unforgiving and your teachers shouldn’t be forgiving either. Don’t let them babysit you, but instead challenge your guides.
2) Make connections. Go to section meetings. Show your face and talk to people. Show your interest in your passion.
3) Identify the people you want to emulate and learn from, and seek them out. If you ask smart questions, show independence in that you’re trying to develop the required skills to contribute to your activity, and you show interest, generally you’ll get quality feedback and line up a mentor. I owe most of this hard work to Dustin for just putting up with my constant pestering and asking questions. Honorable mention to David Z as well.
Anything else you would like to share with the ACC-Edmonton community?
I can’t wait to meet other enthusiastic skiers this year at club meetings, or out in the mountains. Cheers!
