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Packing list · Backcountry lodges, winter

What to pack for a winter week at a backcountry lodge

What to bring for a splitboard or ski touring week at a helicopter-access lodge like Purcell or Mistaya, written from the splitboard, which is what I ride. Everything arrives on the same flight you do and has to fit a weight limit, so the list is as much about what to leave behind. Tick things off as they go in the duffel; the ticks are saved on this device.

Two winters at Purcell Mountain Lodge on a splitboard, checked against Mistaya Lodge's published winter equipment list and Purcell's ski guidance. Where a number belongs to one operator it says so.

Some gear links on this page are affiliate links. If you buy through one, I earn a small referral fee at no cost to you.

Get this list as a PDF

The board, or the skis, and what goes on your feet and head

I ride a Burton splitboard with Burton bindings and skins, in Burton Moto BOA boots. Skiers: Purcell recommends modern lightweight powder skis, 105 to 125 mm underfoot, on tech bindings with skins and touring boots. Mistaya allows one pair of skis per person on the helicopter and no ski bag; ask your booking how a splitboard is counted. Purcell publishes its own rules.

A line of hikers strung along a high ridge above a snow cornice, glaciated peaks behind
Purcell Mountain Lodge

Avalanche safety

Purcell runs an avalanche rescue practice on arrival before anyone tours, and you should expect the same anywhere serious. Bring your own kit or arrange a rental with the lodge in advance; Mistaya publishes a rental list. Purcell names its guides as ACMG certified, which is the standard that matters in this country.

Glaciated peaks rising above two turquoise meltwater tarns and patches of late-season snow
Mistaya Lodge

Layers

Three layers for moving, one for stopping. Synthetic or wool next to the skin, a mid layer, a breathable shell, and something with down for lunch stops and the walk back from the sauna.

A ski tourer in a yellow jacket and an avalanche airbag pack, beard and eyelashes white with frost, grinning under a trucker cap on a whiteout day
Purcell Mountain Lodge

Eyes, skin, lips

Snow doubles the sun. Bring both goggles and glasses, because a whiteout and a bluebird day can be the same afternoon.

The lodge in deep winter snow below a long ridge, under pink and violet dawn cloud
Purcell Mountain Lodge

The day pack and the small things

A small to medium touring pack that carries the avalanche kit inside, not strapped on. Then the things that are nobody’s to lend.

Green aurora over the snow-covered lodge and surrounding ridges at night
Purcell Mountain Lodge

The helicopter

This is where the list becomes a weight. Mistaya allows a soft duffel of no more than 60 litres plus a day pack, everything including any alcohol weighing 35 lb in total, and weighs it at the hangar. Purcell publishes its own limits; confirm with your booking. Mistaya asks you to fly in your boots and ski clothes, which also keeps the heaviest things you own off the scale.

  • Soft duffel, 60 litres (WANDRD, MEC, REI, Dakine or Patagonia) at Amazon · or REI

Guests unloading from a red and white helicopter on the meadow landing pad
Purcell Mountain Lodge

Kit budget

What this list costs, bought new

The kit for this trip, bought new, is about CA$13,174 (US$9,614), across the 30 of 37 items above that name a product. Tick the items you already have and the figure below becomes what is left to buy.

Still to buy CA$13,174 US$9,614 · 30 of 30 items Approx., at 1.37 CAD per USD. Street prices, not quotes; a sale or a used one changes the sum.

Some gear links on this page are affiliate links. If you buy through one, I earn a small referral fee at no cost to you.

The same figures as a page of their own, with what the operator provides and the three things worth buying: what it costs to kit yourself for a backcountry ski week.

Checked against: Mistaya Lodge winter equipment list , Mistaya Lodge rental equipment , Purcell Mountain Lodge, winter . Operator limits, especially helicopter baggage weights, are theirs and change; confirm with your booking.

Where this list came from

The weeks behind it