Dear Guests,

As we prepare to welcome you for the 2025/26 ski season, we want to share a few updates and extend our heartfelt thanks for being part of the Weber Powder community. Last winter was our first full season following the lodge renovations, and what an incredible year it was. We delivered 28 trips while testing and refining the upgraded facility and guest experience — and your energy, patience, and enthusiasm played a huge role in making it a milestone season.

One of the achievements we’re most proud of is the launch of our small-focus program: a maximum of 10 guests with 4 guides. This structure — an industry first for ski touring lodges in British Columbia — has allowed us to deliver a safer, more personalized, more connected backcountry experience. We're excited to continue the focus on further tailoring the experience for our guests.  Read the Financial Time's article here. 

Our heli-ski and heli-assist programs also had a strong first season. We learned a lot operationally, and those lessons have directly shaped the improvements you’ll see this year. We’ve fully upgraded the lodge heli-pad to allow us to overnight the helicopter at Battle Abbey, giving us greater flexibility, reliability, and safety.

We’re also excited to share that the Heli-Assist Welcome Day will now be included as a standard part of every winter trip (weather permitting).

After a backcountry safety training at the Golden Airport, guests will begin their Battle Abbey trip with a helicopter drop to one of the peaks in our tenure, launching the trip with a spectacular descent back to the lodge. After piloting heli-drops for ski touring last season, we’re thrilled to make it part of every trip.

Our summer soft opening was another major highlight. Guests hiked, trekked glaciers, climbed the via ferratas, swam in alpine lakes, heli-hiked, and fly-fished. The lodge proved to be an incredible summer base, and we’re excited to develop this offering further. Video here. To all the folks who participated, a big thank you! 

We continued upgrading the lodge through the summer months, including:

• A redesigned entryway with more cubbies and dedicated space for wet gear
• Expanded drying capacity in the boot room
• A new ski locker area
• Increased solar power capacity
• The introduction of a guest rental fleet from Fischer using the TransAlp 105.
• The first phase of our multi-year glading program directly below the lodge. Read here. 

One of the most exciting additions is “Quebexico” — roughly 550 (vertical) metres of playful tree skiing through beautiful forest below the lodge. This new zone, along with additional glading, will meaningfully expand early-season and storm-day options. We're committed to make this a yearly investment going forward. 

We're also very delighted to be launching snowshoe experiences for spring at the lodge. Battle Abbey is an incredible place for all types of outdoors and we're excited to be opening up the mountain playground further. Our focus remains small private groups at the lodge.

We’re also grateful for the tremendous support from the Town of Golden as we work to build the new Weber Powder Hangar at the Golden Municipal Airport. Their leadership and commitment — alongside major provincial investment into runway and infrastructure upgrades — make it possible for small, mountain-based operators like us to build long-term, sustainable operations in the region. This hangar will serve as the foundation for our aviation program, guiding operations at Battle Abbey, increased culinary capacity for local farm-to-table ingredients (and beyond!) for decades to come.

October and November have brought steady snowfall, with new systems arriving every few days. If this pattern continues, we’re optimistic about a strong base heading into our late-December opening. The snowstorm this past weekend alone brought (high) double-digit snowfall! 

Above all, we want to thank each of you — returning guests, new guests, friends old and new — for supporting this dream and helping shape the Battle Abbey experience. The team is energized, the mountains are shaping up beautifully, and we are honoured to share this incredible place with you.

We can’t wait to ski with you soon.

Warmly,
Nansen, Tessum & The Team at Weber Powder & Battle Abbey Backcountry Lodge