Seattle → Whistler · 230 mi · about 4½ h
Seattle to Whistler is about 4½ hours: I-5 north to the Peace Arch crossing, through Vancouver, then the Sea to Sky Highway past Squamish. A long weekend is enough for a guided ski day and an avalanche course, or three days on the Spearhead Traverse.
A lot of our guests come from Washington. This page is the practical side: what to bring across the border, how the pricing works, and which trips fit a weekend.
I-5 to the border, Hwy 99 the rest of the way — through Vancouver and up the Sea to Sky. A passport or enhanced driver's licence is required; NEXUS lanes are available at Peace Arch and Pacific Highway. Allow extra time on Friday evenings and holiday weekends.
Your own skis, splitboard and climbing gear cross the border without paperwork for personal use. Avalanche safety gear — transceiver, probe, shovel — is included on guided ski days and available to rent for courses.
Every price on this site is in Canadian dollars (CAD). You pay by card at checkout; the exchange rate your bank applies has favoured the US dollar for years, so the price you see is less in USD. Private guiding adds 5% GST at checkout.
Our guides are certified by the Association of Canadian Mountain Guides (ACMG), Canada's member of the International Federation of Mountain Guides Associations (IFMGA) — the same standard as AMGA/IFMGA guides in Washington. Avalanche courses are taught by Canadian Avalanche Association professionals.
Canada's recreational avalanche courses are AST 1 and AST 2 (Avalanche Skills Training, the Avalanche Canada standard); the US equivalents are AIARE 1 and 2. They cover the same ground — how avalanches form, reading the bulletin, planning, travel and companion rescue — and AST 1 is the course to take before touring in the Coast Mountains. The Avalanche Canada bulletin covers the Sea to Sky every day of the season.
About 230 miles / 370 km — around 4½ hours' drive with a normal border crossing. Squamish is about an hour less.
Prices are in Canadian dollars and charged in CAD; your card converts at your bank's rate. Stripe may offer to show the amount in USD at checkout.
Yes — your US health insurance may not cover you in Canada. Travel medical insurance that includes backcountry skiing or climbing is strongly recommended, and a waiver is signed for every participant.
For guided days you don't need a course at all. For AST 2 we ask for AST 1 or an equivalent such as AIARE 1 — tell us when you book.
US plans generally roam in Canada; check your plan's Canada rate. There is no reliable coverage in the backcountry — your guide carries a satellite communicator.