Testing out Extremely Canadian's Steep Skiing Clinic in Whistler
I'd heard a lot about the experienced guides at Extremely Canadian, having read Ski Safari Founder Richard's blog on skiing "Extremely Canadian" with the team, and hearing Sales & Product Manager Andy Knights' fond memories of boarding with the friendly guides too. As a result, I had high expectations going into Extremely Canadian's Steep Skiing Clinic.
I'd skied plenty before this trip, including Norway and regularly skiing across the French Alps, but I had always wanted to crack Whistler's technical and accessible advanced terrain - something I knew attracted skiers from all over the world. Across just two days, I hiked up Spanky's Ladder to ski the Gemstone Bowls, wove down Pakalolo and tackled Saudan Couloir... to name just a few!
My guide, Ash, was brilliant. Genuinely one of the friendliest, most patient people I've skied with, and his unwavering support boosted my confidence massively. He skis Whistler's lines all season long, knows exactly where to go, and receives live updates on daily conditions. This meant I experienced the very best of Whistler in the short time I had, and always in the safety and expertise of a team that knew the terrain better than anyone.
I learned how to read steep lines, work through technical sections, and find those hidden snow pockets with confidence, instead of my too-frequent approach of just getting down the hill with the same technique I'd learned years ago.
Read on for a day-by-day breakdown of my first time skiing with Extremely Canadian, and learn why I would always recommend getting in touch with the team on a Whistler ski holiday.
Day one: Blackcomb Mountain
The Extremely Canadian team are conveniently located inside Carleton Lodge, just steps away from the Whistler Village Gondola. I checked in at 8:15am, making sure to have filled out my waiver beforehand. I then mingled with other excited skiers, some fresh faces and other keen returners, before we all set off up Blackcomb Mountain via the Excalibur Gondola and then the Excellerator Express. A huge advantage of booking a course with Extremely Canadian is that you can fast-track lift queues, so we were loading into the gondola by around 8:30am.
At the top, all guides and skiers (roughly 40 people or so) collectively warmed up on Wishbone (blue), and then rode the Jersey Cream Express up to the top. It was then time to split up into smaller groups based on ability levels so that we could get the most out of our guide (maximum six skiers to one guide). Groups were determined by skiing down a short off-piste section.
I was grouped with five other women from the US, Australia and Canada, and we got on like a house on fire. On this course, it's likely you'll meet lovely people who all have a can-do attitude and want to get the most out of the day and have buckets of fun in the meantime.
Morning: hiking for your turns up Spanky’s Ladder
I knew I was in for an incredible two days within the first few hours of setting off with Ash and the group. One of the biggest moments of the entire trip came almost immediately: skiing the double-black diamond Gemstone Bowls, accessed via a hike up Spanky's Ladder.
Spanky's Ladder is legendary and the gateway to some of the best in-bounds expert terrain in the world. We were right into the deep end.
From the top of Glacier Express, we traversed across to the base of Spanky's Ladder and started climbing the inclined bootpack towards the ridge. I regretted every time I've ever complained about walking up stairs in my ski boots - this was a different league entirely. Climbing that steep, narrow path on frozen, hard-packed snow in rigid boots was a genuine challenge, and it was made worse by knowing that one slip could send me tumbling straight through the line of climbers below. I kept thinking of bowling pins as I trudged upward, trying very hard not to look down.
Most people shoulder their skis and hike straight up the "ladder", but our group tried side-stepping sections with skis on - which, although quicker, was absolutely brutal on the thighs!
It’s only a short climb, and the tough hike was worth every second when I finally saw the huge alpine bowls open up beneath me, laced with gullies and chutes, and the Blackcomb Glacier rolling off into the distance.
The ridge itself was peppered with skiers catching their breath and clicking into bindings before dropping into the bowls. The tops of the bowls were gentle, and within a few turns it felt like we'd left the resort entirely. The deep, sugar-soft powder was completely untouched, and carving down a huge open face entirely alone felt magical. For the first time, I felt like I was properly skiing a mountain in remote wilderness (but still on in-bounds terrain!), not just dipping off the edge of a piste.
And the best part? We did it twice.
The clinic didn't run to a rigid schedule for the sake of it. Conditions were good, everyone wanted another lap in a different bowl, so we simply climbed back up and did it all again. No complaints from me - well, except for that second hike!
On our second descent from Spanky's Ladder, thicker clouds had come in, which added a new challenge. But we never felt unsafe. Ash led us down the new terrain, and we took turns - one of us getting a clear run at a tricky ridge, another practising jumps off the lips - trusting we'd all glide out onto Glacier Road at the bottom.
Lunch was at Crystal Lodge, a large, self-service food court with plenty of seating. Most people bought food here, with options ranging from tacos to vegetable soups, which saved us from skiing with a rucksack with a packed lunch.
Afternoon: narrow chutes and couloirs
Saudan Couloir
One of the toughest runs for me over the two days was Saudan Couloir, tucked just below the 7th Heaven Express chairlift. Perhaps its reputation had already put me on edge - this double-black diamond is rated among the steepest in-bounds lines anywhere, dropping away for hundreds of vertical metres in one go.
The entrance is narrow and conditions were firm and pretty unforgiving for us. But dropping into that tight chute is something of a rite of passage for expert skiers wanting to test precise turns on unforgiving snow and a plummeting gradient, so of course we all wanted a go.
I was genuinely grateful Ash took the time to talk me through the entrance, the line choice, and how to read the snow before I dropped in. The round of applause from the rest of the group at the bottom didn't hurt either.
Pakalolo
We whizzed back up the 7th Heaven Quad and skied straight down the Secret Bowl Traverse towards Pakalolo, a double-black diamond chute tucked just below and to the side of the Glacier Express. Pakalolo has a memorable structure - two huge rocks pinch together to form a narrow entrance at the top of the couloir, and beyond being tight, it's also exposed to stronger winds and drops away to a sharp descent.
We had a quick talk-through at the top, then carved our way carefully through that bottleneck, picking each line with real care as the rocks pressed in on either side. It only opens up into a wider run a short distance later, just off the main piste - but that first stretch demands your full attention.
CBC Trees
To round off a full-on day, we tried our hand at tree skiing in the CBC Trees, right off the Ridge Runner (blue) towards Crystal Ridge Express. At the top, we left the exposed alpine bowls behind and carved through evenly spaced trees along the ridge, before dipping into denser terrain and weaving through towering, snow-covered evergreens, ducking under low sweeping branches as we went.
There were several stretches in there that were as challenging as they were exhilarating, and Ash talked us through committing to the deep, tracked lines and hard-packed snow around the trees. It felt daunting at first, and honestly went against everything I thought I knew about mogul skiing - I'd always been taught to try and ski over a mogul, not around it. But Ash explained how important it is to read and adapt to whatever terrain is actually in front of you, and here that meant huge, waist-high moguls demanding sharp, committed turns around every single one.
This whole area is graded a double-black zone, and it demands real precision and commitment: following deep snow tracks that curve around huge trees, all while staying alert for the serious drops that can get you "cliffed out" in this full-on section.
After a solid end to the afternoon exploring the steep challenges of Blackcomb's wooded ski areas, it was time to wrap up day one! We all skied down to the base of Whistler Village, ready to see what day two had in store.
Day two: Whistler Mountain
Day two blessed us with slightly sunnier conditions and a whole new mountain to explore! Our group met at Carleton Lodge at 8:15am and we headed up the new Fitzsimmons Express and then the Garbanzo Express, pausing in the Chic Pea restaurant.
Skills & technique practice
For the first half of the day, the clinic focused more on perfecting technique through a series of drills on Whistler's quiet blue groomers.
Something worth knowing about Whistler is that although everyone funnels up the same handful of gondolas and chairlifts from Whistler Village and Blackcomb, the terrain is so vast once you're up there that skiers scatter across the 200-plus marked runs spread over both mountains. For us, that meant empty groomers on Whistler Mountain, even first thing in the morning.
It was hard for a group of confident skiers to hold back from pointing our skis downhill and just going for it on runs that empty, but Ash had other plans. We headed up the Garbanzo Express and then Big Red Express, working through a series of exercises on the tamer blue runs - Little Red Run, then Fisheye down onto Franz's.
The terrain was far gentler, but nothing about it felt random or disconnected from the technical skiing we actually wanted to be doing. Ash introduced small adjustments that made an immediate difference - perfecting hockey stops, focusing on our centre of gravity - the kind of fundamentals that would end up controlling our tighter turns in powder, on steeps, and through the technical sections we'd hit later that day in Harmony Bowls.
In the afternoon, we let off some steam and blasted down some moguls, toboggan-style runs and had a play in some untouched off-piste powder, just beneath the Peak Chair.
Drop-ins on the Harmony Horseshoes
After a thorough warm-up, Ash took us to Whistler's Harmony Ridge to tackle the daunting skill of dropping into bowls. We rode the Harmony Ridge Express and veered off right to the top of the ridge to access its eight "Horseshoes" - ungroomed double-black diamond chutes, each with its own character, from massive snow cornices and blind entrances to narrow, rocky drop-ins that eventually open out into a powder-filled face below.
As a group, we picked up Ash's tips fairly quickly, so even though it was daunting peering over those vertical drops, we were excited to take on the challenge.
Ash talked us through how to properly assess the entrance to Horseshoe 7: checking the snow conditions, picking out the cleanest line, identifying where the slope eased off below, and prepping the edge of the snow before committing.
After a few nerve-wracking run-throughs, we learned how to build a stable platform with our skis - clearing away any loose snow and finding the right angle to approach a drop that sharp, so that our feet landed in a controlled position rather than out of control. Horseshoes are supposed to be lucky, and I like to think that's why I knocked that run out of the park.
Back to Blackcomb: Bushrat off Chainsaw Ridge
For the final segment of our two-day course, we rode the Peak 2 Peak Gondola from Whistler Mountain over to Blackcomb to tackle the "piste de résistance": dropping down from Chainsaw Ridge.
Up until this point, we'd skirted around Chainsaw Ridge, never a million miles from its jagged edge and daunting face. The prospect of actually skiing down it myself was unbelievably exciting and nerve-wracking in equal measure.
To get there, we rode the 7th Heaven Express Quad and cut across below Horstman Ridge to the top of a fully committed run called Bushrat - visible just to the right of the peak's summit if you're looking up from the base, just down from the infamous Hawaii 5-0. Traversing along that narrow ridge line alone gets your attention quickly, with breathtakingly exposed cliffs dropping away to the right.
Dropping over the lip of the ridge was a stomach-clenching moment I'll never forget, but Ash had spent the whole trip teaching us how to control our speed, adapt quickly to exposed terrain, and hold our technique even when facing something new and uncertain. The huge wave of relief once I reached the bottom was incredible - a real high note to end a fantastic two-day course on.
To finish off two incredible days with lovely people, Extremely Canadian hosts everyone at Merlins Bar and Grill at the base of Blackcomb for free nachos, beer, and plenty of merch. We got there around 4pm on a Friday, when Merlins was buzzing with live music, and had VIP entry straight into the lively crowd. We demolished a huge plate of nachos and swapped stories with the other Extremely Canadian groups - the perfect way to wrap up the trip.
Who is the Extremely Canadian Steep Ski Clinic best suited for?
The clinic is described as being for strong, advanced skiers who are comfortable on black runs and want to build confidence in Whistler's off-piste and more technical terrain. I completely agree with that description - for confident skiers who love the mountain, want to improve, and are excited to explore terrain they might never tackle on their own, Extremely Canadian is the way to go.
You definitely don't need to be an "extreme skier" (I'd only dabbled in minor off-piste in the Alps before joining this course), but you do need a readiness to challenge yourself, take the odd tumble, and ski hard for two straight days.
I joined on my own, and within ten minutes I'd learned that was completely normal here. Everyone was chatting away like they'd known each other for years - a real mix of locals, holidaymakers from across North America, and overseas visitors like me experiencing Canadian skiing for the first time. On the flip side, it was clear that several people in the group already knew the instructors and came back year after year to keep progressing and explore new terrain. That alone says a lot about how good the experience is, and why it's worth topping up your skills every season.
What is the teaching experience like?
Our guide, Ash, was brilliant: calm, professional and incredibly approachable, and I gauged a similar impression from other Extremely Canadian guides after riding lifts or lunching with them. There were never any long slope-side lectures or endless drills - we got moving straight away, and the coaching happened naturally as we skied. It never felt intimidating or overly technical.
Even within the first few runs, tiny corrections started making a noticeable difference. It was satisfying to have somebody instantly spot habits I didn't even realise I had, and explain them in a way that immediately clicked.
Nothing felt rigid or overly structured - the guides constantly adapted based on conditions, terrain, and whatever would make for the best skiing that day. You quickly realise this isn't a standard ski school following a fixed plan; it's a team of locals who know the mountains inside out and make decisions in real time to get the most out of them.
Why skiing with a guide in Whistler makes all the difference
Looking back on the two days with Extremely Canadian, a few clear benefits stood out to me:
- More time actually skiing - less time spent waiting around or checking resort maps to agree where to go, and more time moving continuously from run to run.
- Skipping any queues - on busy days, lift queues and route decisions can slow you right down. Booking a lesson or clinic with Extremely Canadian gives you access to the ski school's professional lift line priority across Whistler Blackcomb, so you bypass the public lines and spend far more time actually skiing.
- Communication with ski patrol - guides have their own communication channels with Whistler Blackcomb ski patrol, meaning a coordinated response in an emergency and up-to-date condition reports, so you can ski off-piste terrain with real confidence.
- Local knowledge - guides are constantly tracking what's open, where the best snow is, and which areas are skiing best that day, based on skiing the resort themselves day in, day out. That means you're always in the right place at the right time.
- Every lift ride has a purpose - lift journeys double as coaching time: talking through conditions, breaking down what you've just skied, and planning what's next. By the time you reach the top, you're ready to ski straight away, with no surprises about the plan.
- Learning from fellow experienced skiers - being surrounded by guides and other strong skiers from around the world adds another layer. You pick up tips, hear about different ski destinations, and come away with a broader sense of how and where people ski globally.
What's included?
The Two-Day Steep Skiing Clinic starts from $675 CAD per person (plus taxes and fees) and runs Monday-Tuesday, Thursday-Friday, and Saturday-Sunday throughout the season, from mid-December to mid-April. Days begin at 8:15am at Carleton Lodge in Whistler Village, with groups heading out by 8:30am, and the price covers two full days of guided instruction from first lift to last chair, lift line priority, video analysis, a toque, and après at Merlins with drinks and nachos.
Make the most of a Ski Safari Whistler holiday with Extremely Canadian
At Ski Safari, Whistler is a resort we know exceptionally well - it was the very first resort we sold when we launched 30 years ago, and it remains our most popular North American destination to this day. Extremely Canadian have been operating in Whistler for even longer, starting out just two years before we did, and in that time they've become one of the true go-to names for thrilling, technical guiding on the mountain.
As a team of skiing experts, our role is to bring all the pieces of a trip like this together, so you can focus on the skiing rather than the logistics. That means building your Extremely Canadian clinic into a wider Whistler holiday alongside the right flights, transfers, accommodation, and lift passes for your dates, and making sure everything lines up so you get the most out of your time on the mountain.
If you like the sound of all that the Extremely Canadian team can offer, get in touch with our team at Ski Safari and we'll help arrange your own Steep Skiing Clinic as part of a fully tailored trip. Contact our experts on 01273 224060 or request a quotation online. We're more than happy to help and talk all things ski and snowboard with you!
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