Who are we?
Stay Wild was born out of a deep appreciation for the mountains and a desire to educate others to explore the backcountry safely & confidently.
After quitting her 9-to-5 eight years ago, our founder, Britt, began to spend as much time as possible in the backcountry each winter.
Constantly in pursuit of new zones to explore with her sled & splitboard, Britt is taught daily by the mountains about the complex factors that go into making decisions that respect both the human and environmental conditions of a ride.
Britt created Stay Wild to educate, inspire, and empower others to deepen their love and knowledge of the backcountry with practical skills & hands-on training.
In a male-dominated industry, Stay Wild offers exclusive women’s-only classes in addition to our co-ed camps. As a female-led company, our instructors have been the only female in the shred crew or avy safety course way too often. While we love the men that come out for our co-ed camps & our 2 token instructors, there’s something magical about like-minded ladies learning together and having a killer day on the mountain.
All of our camps and courses are highly immersive, welcoming, and meant for shredders & sledders at all stages and experience levels.
Listen
If you want to get to know us better check out the links below and listen in!
Reviews
Check out what our lovely students have to say about their experience with Stay Wild.
Instructors / Coaches
Meet our team!
Brittney
Owner, Lead Instructor, Lead Coach
Brittney is the founder and owner of Stay Wild Backcountry Skills. She grew up in the country just outside of Grand Forks, BC. With an original Whistler ski bum patroler as her dad she was on skis just after she learned to walk and traded the two planks for one when she was 7. Learning to ride on the little mountain of Phoenix and travelling to nearby resorts such as Red Mountain and Whitewater it didn’t take long for her to fall in love with the mountains. Brittney found herself in Golden BC just over 8 years ago and hasn't looked back since. She had already been sledding for 5 years mainly in Revelstoke and quickly jumped into Splitboarding when she arrived. Spending 5-6 days a week in the mountains she has explored and knows the ins and outs of the zones around Golden. She has completed her Canadian Avalanche Association Level 2 Avalanche Operations, 90 hour wilderness first aid, Avalanche Search & Rescue Advanced Skills, Intro to Weather and is an active member of the CAA. With 11 years experience on a sled and 8 years on a splitboard she is full of tips and tricks to either get you started or to take your riding to the next level. She is passionate about teaching Avalanche Safety and spreading knowledge to others in the backcountry.
Lynnea
AST Instructor
Lynnea has lived in Revelstoke for six years and is a glorified snow nerd! She spends her winters working as a practicum ski guide throughout the Rockies and Columbias and working as a ski patroller at Revelstoke Mountain Resort. Lynnea spends most of her free time playing in the snow and has completed many longer ski traverses such as the Great Divide and Columbia Range. Lynnea loves the mountains and being able to share them with other people. She is particularly interested in mountain and avalanche safety and passing this awareness on to individuals who want to develop their own skill set.
Sofia
AST Instructor
Sofia is originally from Sweden and moved to Canada 9 years ago to pursue a ski career in the mountains. She's been working at backcountry lodges guiding in the summer and winters, ski patrolling and ski coaching since then and is currently going through the guiding program to become an ACMG apprentice ski guide. You'll rarely find her in Revelstoke where she ``lives``, or at valley bottom at all for that matter. If you do, ask her about biking or Taylor Swift and you might get her to stick around for a hot minute or two. Sofia is STOKED to give back to the community and help other people enjoy the outdoors in an educated way.
Janja
AST instructor
Janja's roots go back to Slovenia, a country on the sunny side of the Alps. It's where her love for sports and outdoors started. Back home she completed a bachelor’s degree in kinesiology. She has been skiing since she was 4 years old and immigrated to Canada in 2015. Since then she has been working in the ski resort industry in multiple positions such as ski instructor, Nordic instructor and snowshoe guide. Currently she works as a ski patroller at Big White Resort. Janja completed her CAA Level 1 and has been working with the avalanche safety industry where she hopes to advance further.
Alex
Lead Instructor, Forecaster, token male
Alex is currently our token male, he is patient & creates a comfortable learning environment + he puts up with all us ladies! Alex has been patrolling at Kicking Horse Mountain Resort for 9 years and is a level 3 Pro Patroller. Growing up on the slopes of Fortress Mountain Resort and Fernie Alpine Resort Alex had no problem transitioning to the small town mountain life in Golden BC. Alex has a long list of qualifications and accomplishments including; CAA Level 2 Avalanche Operations, CAA professional member, Worksafe BC blaster used for avalanche control and NUOEC fist aid ticket. Alex has been teaching Sled AST’s for six years and ski AST’s for KHMR over the past 9 years. In the winter no matter what day of the week it is you can find Alex on his skis and / or sled enjoying the unique terrain and deep snow that surrounds us in Golden.
Mel
AST instructor
Mel worked on ski patrol at Kicking Horse for 7 seasons. She lived in Golden for 12 years and recently moved back to her hometown, Kimberley, B.C. Mel resides in Kimberley fulltime. She is an initial attack crew leader for the BC wildfire service in the summer. Mel is a professional member of the CAA, and has her professional level 2. She has taught AST courses in Golden and this will be her first season teaching with Stay Wild. She holds a valid NUEC 3 / OFA 3 first aid ticket. Mel also works for Golden Alpine Holidays in the winter. If she isn’t teaching or working at GAH, you’ll find Mel exploring the backcountry around Kimberley with her pup, Douglas Fur. She is stoked to be a part of this awesome team and can’t wait to get out in the backcountry and share her local knowledge around Kimberley/Cranbrook.
Tj
AST instructor
We are stoked to welcome TJ to the team as our second token male. TJ started his career in the ski industry working as a lift operator at Sun Peaks. There he discovered his love for skiing and snowboarding. In 2014 after licensing as an EMR in BC he joined the patrol team at Big White. After 5 years of training, mentorship and work experience TJ has his Avalanche Ops 1, Worksafe BC Blaster and is taking his Ops 2 this winter. TJ is also a CSGA Level 1 Ski Guide and works part time tail guiding at Big Red Cats in Rossland. TJ is a great instructor that is easy to approach & creates a welcoming learning environment.
Lenka
AST instructor
Lenka grew up in the Czech Republic where she abandoned her careers as a scientist and a high school teacher to realize that travelling the world and playing in the mountains is way better for both physical and mental health. Climbing and backcountry skiing led her to many amazing places and when she came to British Columbia 12 years ago, it didn’t seem very difficult to get stuck here. Her passion for teaching and the outdoors attracted her to jobs like sea kayak guide, ropes park instructor, wilderness first aid instructor, outdoor education program leader and nordic ski coach. Lenka has been working as a ski patroller for 11 years, the last 6 years at Kicking Horse Mountain Resort, calling Golden home for now. She spends her summers guiding on the Kicking Horse Via Ferrata. This is her 5th season teaching AST1 courses. She is especially passionate about experiential learning. Lenka is an active member of the CAA, starting her CAA level 2 Ops program this year & is also a member of Golden Search and Rescue.
Sara
AST instructor - Big White
Born in December in the middle of a snow storm, you can say Sara has always been in love with snow. She got her start in the Ski industry as a Ski Instructor more than 20 years ago. Sara moved into patrol in 2003 and loved the duality of mountain and medical and became a Paramedic in 2005. After a healthy career in ski patrol Sara took a leap into mechanized ski guiding, guiding at both Snow Cat and Helicopter Operations. Sara is a natural student and teacher, finding joy and fulfilment when learning new skills and then passing that knowledge on to people who desire to learn. Sara began her avalanche career in an AST 1 just like the course you’re about to take. More than 10 years later Sara is a CAA level 2 and bursting at the seams with knowledge just waiting<br /> to be passed on.
