Stay Wild was born out of a deep appreciation for the mountains and a desire to educate others to explore the backcountry safely and confidently.
After quitting her 9-to-5 eleven 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 and 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.
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In a male-dominated industry, Stay Wild offers exclusive women-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 who come out for our co-ed camps & our lovely token male 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 and sledders at all stages and experience levels.
Britt | Owner | Lead Instructor | Lead Coach
Britt 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 patroller as her dad she was on skis just after she learned to walk and traded the two planks for one when she was 7. As a mom of two young kiddos, she is stoked to continue this legacy and loves being in the mountains with her little ones more than anything.
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. Britt found herself in Golden, BC just over 12 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, CMBGA level 3 sled guide, 90-hour wilderness first aid, Avalanche Search & Rescue Advanced Skills, Intro to Weather and is a professional member of the CAA.
With 18 years of experience on a sled and 13 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.
Alex | Lead Instructor | Forecaster | OG token male
Alex is our OG token male and Britt’s other half. 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 16 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’s list of qualifications and accomplishments include; 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 twelve years and ski AST’s for KHMR over the past 15 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.
Jamie | AST instructor | Golden
Jamie taught for us for 3 years & then left us for the corporate world. We were able to convince her after one season away that being an adult is overrated & she should come back to the ski everyday life!
Jamie enjoys biking, skiing, dogs, beers, hiking, the outdoors and telling her best jokes to students during courses. She has been living in Golden for 15 years. 5 of those years were spent patrolling at Kicking Horse, followed by 8 years tail guiding at Chatter Creek.
Jamie completed her CAA level 2, CSGA level 1, is an active member of the CAA and is a paramedic for BC ambulance.
She just bought a new to her sled and is so pumped to be joining the world of digging. She is looking forward to a season full of skiing, snowboarding, sledding and teaching!
Ariele | AST instructor | Golden
Arièle hails from the icy slopes of the Laurentian Mountains near Montreal. Her passion for skiing came naturally as the daughter of two ski patrollers and outdoor enthusiasts.
When it came time to pay for her own ski pass, she swiftly made her way into the ski bum life and began ski instructing on weekends while in school. After discovering the freedom and opportunities that came with a seasonal forestry career out West, Arièle committed to a life in the West Kootenays, where she worked ski instructing, patrolling and tail guiding in Rossland for five years.
After obtaining her OPS 1, OPS 2, Advanced Search and Rescue and Introduction to Weather courses and now an active member of the Canadian Avalanche Association, she is now teaching AST 1 courses in Golden.
Her passions for ski touring, alpine climbing and cats keep her schedule quite busy, but if you’re lucky, you might catch her baking some Montreal bagels.
Joey | AST Instructor | Golden
Joey hails from the land down under, where snow (yes, snow) initially stole her attention.
As a curious 19-year-old old Joey left Australia to find a land with more snow….Canada. As she began to understand how flakes fall in North America she set out to come up with a plan that ensured she was skiing every day. It was decided that the answer was ski patrolling.
Joey’s ski patrolling career began in 2016 in southern Alberta and has continued on to Golden, where she now works at Kicking Horse Mountain Resort. In addition to ski patrolling, she works as an avalanche educator, as well as an emergency medical responder for bc ambulance. As the snow melts and turns to water, you will find Joey on the river guiding rafts on the kicking horse.
Recreation is just as important, so Joey makes sure there’s a variety of equipment available to ride uphill and downhill – skis, snowmobiles, bikes, kayaks, and electric scooters.
Marty | AST Instructor | Golden
Martin or Marty hails from the Wasatch Mountains of Utah, where he originally got introduced to the backcountry at a young age. Being raised in a skiing family, he ski raced and then competed in big mountain freeride comps, ultimately landing himself a spot on the Freeride World Tour in 2016.
He moved up to BC for bigger mountains and an education at Quest University in Squamish. After graduating with a degree focused on Earth Sciences, he moved to Golden and began patrolling at Kicking Horse Mountain Resort. In the years since becoming an avalanche worker, he has gained tons of valuable knowledge and skills to pair with his deep skiing experience. He completed his CAA Operations Level 2 and is an ACMG assistant ski guide.
These days Marty hucks fewer cliffs and can be found venturing around the Golden backcountry ski touring or sledding.
Alaina | Sled Camp Coach
Alaina is originally from Ontario, where she spent all her free time skiing or dreaming about skiing.
So it’s no surprise that the minute she turned 18, she moved to the mountains and traded her park skis for some big mountain ones.
Unfortunately, it’s in these big mountains that Alaina found out she suffers from cold injuries, including chilblains, frostbite, and Reynold’s, which limited her ability to get after it. Until she found sledding. Sledding turned out to be the warmest winter activity, scratched that itch to play in the mountains in the winter AND allowed her to keep the cold injuries under control (PS: if you suffer from similar injuries, she is always keen to share her experience and solutions).
Alaina now spends all of her free time sledding to access remote terrain or daydreaming about it. She thrives off of the feeling of deep pow turns and playing with the relationship of throttle, brake, and weight to control her beloved sled.
Charity | Office Admin Extraordinaire
Charity grew up in friendly Manitoba and learned how to Snowboard at the local hill (which was literally in a ditch).
Through visiting family and then joining trips in university she made it a priority to visit the mountains as often as possible. Eventually, her career change took her to nursing school in Edmonton and then out to Vancouver.
Living on the coast brought lots of opportunities to explore the mountains. After many adventures out West, her family made the move to Golden, and they haven’t looked back. She’s keeps the admin side of Stay Wild rolling and stoked to be part of the team!
Kristen | AST instructor | Revy
Kristen has taught for us for five years and never sent us her bio…. We may have stolen this photo from the internet of her.
What we do know about Kristen is that she is a bad ass lady that is an absolute gem of a human. Her passion for the backcountry shows during every course she teaches.
Kristen has her CAA avalanche operations level 2, tail guides at K3 and explores the mountains on her splitboard when she’s not teaching for us.
Matt | AST instructor | Revy
Matt grew up in Ontario and honed his skiing abilities on the ice and moguls of eastern ski hills. A search for bigger mountains and deeper snow led him to BC in 2009. Summer work with the BC Wildfire Service allowed Matt to have the flexibility to take winters off to ski and travel.
He’s been fortunate enough to ski in many different places around the world including Japan, Kashmir, the Alps, Morocco and the US. In recent years Matt started pursuing ski guiding as a career and has worked and volunteered at different ski touring lodges around BC.
He is currently in the ACMG ski guide training program and tail guiding at Selkirk Tangiers Heli skiing. He’s excited to share his experience and knowledge and help get you started on your journey into the backcountry!
Liam | AST instructor | Revy
Liam grew up in Ontario but his interest in the West and love for skiing and climbing finally brought him out to BC.
Liam Attended UBC for 5 years and immediately after moved to Revelstoke for a less busy, more ski focused program. He now spends his time working for the BC Wildfire Service in the summer, but spends most of his time in the winter either volunteer tailguiding, teaching AST’s, or exploring new places on a board.
He is eager to share the sport he loves the most and excited for teaching opportunities.
Mel | AST instructor |
Mel worked on ski patrol at Kicking Horse for 7 seasons. She lived in Golden for 12 years and 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 an active member of the CAA, and has her CAA level 2 avalanche operations. She has taught AST courses for Stay Wild for 3 years and previously for KHMR in Golden. She holds a valid NUEC 3 / OFA 3 first aid ticket.
Mel also works for Kimberley Alpine Resort as a forecaster in the winter. If she isn’t teaching 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.
Madeline | AST instructor | Smithers
Madeline is an American turned Canadian. After attending university in Squamish, she opted to stay north drawn in by the Canadian mountains and snow.
She previously worked as a Ski Patroller for 6 winters and presently works for Avalanche Canada as a Field Technician in Smithers, BC and as the Youth Program Coordinator. She is a Professional Member with the Canadian Avalanche Association and is currently working through the ACMG Ski Guide Training Program.
Madeline started in the Fernie area with Stay Wild Backcountry 4 years ago, and is stoked to be bringing this programming to Northwest BC for the 2025 winter!
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 be to be passed on.
Laura | AST instructor | Big White
Laura is a ski patroller at Big White as well at a tail guide at Big Red Cats.
She spends her summers chasing winter in New Zealand and teaching snowboarding for CASI. If you are lucky enough to do a course with Laura tell her to send us her bio.
250-290-0065
staywildbackcountry@gmail.com
We respectfully acknowledge and honour the nations on whose traditional land we work, live and play: the ktunaxa ?Amak?Is people, sngaytskstx tum-xula7wx (sinixt) people & syilx tmix (okanagan) people.
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