Jasmin Caton

Owner, Operator & Lead Guide
ACMG Ski & Rock Guide

  • Years at VMT: since 1993
    Favourite ski run: Little Brother Burn

    As a kid I was always pretty academic, but when I was 19 I took a year off university and worked at VMT as a custodian. I followed the ski guides around and after taking a professional-level avalanche course I had a lightbulb moment that I could be a guide too.

    I stuck with school though and moved to Salt Lake City to take a Masters in Hydrogeology (the epic skiing and climbing in Utah may have been a factor in my choice of university), but upon graduation I was ready to move back to the BC mountains.

    After working as a guide for several years, I took over from my dad in running the day to day operations at VMT.

    Outside of the lodge, I have two amazing kids (twins who are 5). I am also a rock guide and teach on ACMG rock and ski guide courses and exams.

Lee Johnston

Lead Guide
ACMG Ski Guide

  • Years at VMT: 6
    Favourite ski run: Shannon’s Throat

    I grew up in Ontario and skied the hills there as a kid. When I decided to go to school for Kiniesiology, I moved to the Rockies to be closer to the mountains. Coincidentally, one of my professors was an ACMG guide and the rest kind of fell into place from there.

    I’ve been guiding for 16 years now and spent a lot of time in the mechanized world working at cat and heli-skiing operations. Moving to VMT 6 years ago was a conscious shift away from fossil fuel based pursuits.

    Outside of guiding, I am a retired nurse, an aspiring carpenter, an off-grid cabin builder and a dad to my 3 and 6 year olds.

Stephen Senecal

Lead Guide
ACMG Ski Guide, Apprentice Alpine Guide

  • Years at VMT: 9
    Favourite ski run: Ruby’s Nose

    I grew up nearby in Rossland, BC and have been skiing all of my life. Straight out of school, I became a carpenter, but building houses in the snow isn’t the most fun.

    When I took my first avalanche course, I realized it would be way more enjoyable to spend my winters working as a guide, so I decided to pursue that instead.

    Outside of guiding and the small amount of carpentry I still do, I spend a lot of time hiking, climbing and exploring with my wife Kristen. We were lucky enough to get married at the VMT lodge in the summer of 2022.

Jeremy Birse

Lead Guide
ACMG Splitboard & Ski Guide

  • Years at VMT: 7

    Favourite ski run: Grizzly Trees

    I’ve worked as a carpenter for a long time, building and renovating houses. But I had a bit of a midlife realization while ski touring in Revelstoke with Dave Tracz, that I really wanted to become a ski guide. 10 years later, here I am.

    While I’m officially a splitboard guide, I never actually put my board together during my ACMG exam, and did the whole thing in split mode - so I guess I’m a ski guide really.

    Outside of work, I love climbing and big “Type 2 fun” kind of adventures - the biggest of which is raising my 2 and 5 year olds, who are already shredding, hucking and scaring me daily.

Sofia Forsman

Guide
ACMG Ski & Hiking Guide

  • Years at VMT: 6
    Favourite ski run: Shannon’s Throat

    This little Sweet Swede chased skiing until she found herself deep in the Canadian Mountains wondering how she suddenly had ended up on the other side of the planet. It wasn’t long until she met Jasmin whom took Sofia under her wing as a practicum and taught her much of what she know knows.

    Since then she’s worked as a lodge caretaker, helped build hydro dams and loves stacking the firewood for the upcoming winters. She's still wondering exactly where home is but one thing is for certain, there is zero doubt about this career choice and Canada, more specifically VMT is where she belongs. The skiing and company here is simply too good to leave, eh!

Pate Neumann

Guide
ACMG Ski Guide

  • Years at VMT:
    Favourite ski run:

Kate Bell

Guide
ACMG Apprentice Ski & Hiking Guide

  • Years at VMT: 2
    Favourite ski run: Shannon’s Throat

    Growing up on a sheep farm in south west england I would take my big sisters skis out to the farm hills when we would get a whopping 2cm dump. This sparked a love for sliding on snow and I have been chasing winters around the world since I could flea the nest.

    I eventually landed in BC and Revelstoke has been home for 10 years. I worked as a backcountry lodge custodian and proffesional ski bum before starting my career as an ACMG ski guide. I am excited to share skiing, the mountains and lodge life with guests.

    In the summer months I like to hang out in the sky under my paragliding wing, cook with friends, sit on the beach and plant trees for some fun tokens.

Hanna Kendall

Guide
ACMG Ski Guide

  • Years at VMT: 4
    Favourite ski run: Shannon’s Throat

    Hannah Kendall grew up skiing in the Rockies, but has called Revelstoke home for the last decade. She spends her winters ski guiding at various operations in the Columbia mountains, both ski touring and heliskiing. When she isn’t working, Hannah enjoys running and climbing whilst exploring the mountains.

Dale Caton

VMT Historian, Head of Sauna Operations, Chief Dreamer
Unofficial VMT Tail Guide

  • Years at VMT: 31
    Favourite ski run:

    I bought Valhalla Mountain Touring in 1991 when it was just a tiny little cabin. During the following 20 years I built the new lodge, installed the micro-hydro system and single-handedly moved the original cabin (which is now the sauna building) 10 feet to the left. It’s been a pretty fun journey to see the lodge and business flourish.

    Now, I let Jasmin run the show and just pop up to the lodge when I need to get a ski fix. I spend most of the winter down in Mexico, but if you’re visiting in December or April, don’t be surprised if you find me in the sauna.

Dave Tracz

Lead Guide
ACMG Ski Guide

  • Years at VMT: 2
    Favourite Ski Run: The whole Shannon Lake zone

    I’m an Ontario transplant who moved out west to chase skiing. I got introduced to the backcountry pretty quickly and decided to go down the ACMG route and work as a ski guide - which I’ve now been doing for 7 years.

    Outside of VMT, I like to nerd out about snow science - in fact I hold a Masters in Snow Avalanche Mechanics from the University of Calgary. I currently work full-time as a Geotechnical Engineer for the Ministry of Transportation in Nelson, and any time that’s left over is spent exploring the great outdoors.

Daniel Morton

Lead Guide
ACMG Splitboard Guide

  • Years at VMT: 15
    Favourite ski run: The Notch

    I grew up and learned to ski in Barry, Ontario. As soon as I was able, I moved out West to pursue my dream of being a ski guide, and I’ve been working as one now for over a decade.

    Because ski guiding doesn’t happen when there’s no snow, I’m also a diesel engine mechanic by trade and for many years I maintained the VMT Snowcat (and even stored it at my house in Slocan during the summer). I also built the luggage sleigh which rides behind the snowcat on the way up and down the mountain.

    I have a 13 year old son called Logan, who we named after Mt Logan. A few years ago, I was lucky enough to guide a group of guests to that very peak, which felt incredibly special.

    Outside of VMT, I also teach on many of the CAA (professional avalanche) Operations courses and run my own guiding company.

Mary Savage

Chef

  • Years at VMT: 5
    Favourite ski run: Debbie’s Delight
    Favourite apres appy: Soup

    I’ve been cooking for 15 years. My first ever week as a professional chef was as a fill-in at Ice Creek Lodge. I learnt so much and it inspired me to go back to school, so I headed back to Quebec and completed a culinary degree in Montreal, before returning to BC to work as a backcountry chef.

    In the summer, I work as a chef for Maple Leaf Adventures, which runs intimate small-ship cruises along the BC and Alaska coasts. I feel really lucky with where I get to work.

    Beyond cooking, I have a 13 year old son called Logan, who basically grew up at VMT. He stood here for the first time, did his first ski run here and even used to have baths in the kitchen sink.

Breanna Hall

Chef, VMT Kitchen Manager

  • Years at VMT: 5
    Favourite ski run: Debbie’s Delight
    Favourite apres appy: Soup

    I worked in the industry, mostly as a pastry chef at various places around the revelstoke area, but connected with Jasmin in hopes of working as close to home as possible. Jasmin’s desire to source local food, and enhance the food program at VMT, made way for my evolution as a chef in the industry. I live near Winlaw with my family, where we grow a small garden  seasonally and have dabbled with having farm animals over the last decade. Cooking and baking are my passions, and working in the backcountry has helped me tap into my adventurous side. As a family, we are also very into hunting and foraging for our food. Being able to connect my desire to work regeneratively grown food to my workplace is where I feel that my values and actions have finally come full circle. I am excited to grow in my role at VMT and can’t wait to be a part of the magical backcountry experiences, both in and out of the kitchen, in the coming seasons.

Josh Mateschitz

Chef

  • Years at VMT: 2
    Favourite ski run: Debbie’s Delight
    Favourite apres appy: Soup

    Born and raised amongst the farmlands of Ontario, my journey of learning to work with food and the land began at an early age and has followed me all the way through my career as a chef. Having nearly 20 years of experience in restaurants from Montreal to Nelson, I took my knowledge, experience and creativity I learnt as a Chef and transitioned it back to the roots of farming and foraging - canning, fermenting and preserving has really become my focus. 


    In 2017 I became head chef at Nelson's Pitchfork Eatery, with free range to work with many local farmers and a blank palette to create. Recently, my life journey led me back to the soil, in the same chaotic yet perfectly symbiotic path of the mycelium network leading me through the forest while foraging. Partnering with my dear friend Thalia to start a farm, Kootenay Corner Gardens that now supplies much of the food you find on your plate up at VMT. 

Alicia Bodaly

Chef

  • Years at VMT: 8
    Favourite ski run: Shannon Lake
    Favourite apres appy: Nachos!

    I was born and raised in Lillooet but lived in the Fraser Valley for most of my adult life with some forays into the Kootenays and Okanagan. I was in and out of the restaurant industry from the age of 14 onwards serving tables, slinging drinks, managing people and a business.

    In 2014 I sold my interests in the restaurant I co-owned in Abbotsford and moved to the Kootenays. VMT was looking for a chef to fill in that winter and I was hooked. I’ve been working in the kitchen ever since.

    I now live in Kimberley with my husband, our 11yo Kelpie and sometimes my two step-kids. When I’m not backcountry skiing, I mountain bike, run in the mountains and work as a chef for a local food recovery program and cater for private events.

Mathieu Le Bail

Custodian, Social Media and VMT Merch Manager

  • Years at VMT: 2
    Favourite ski run: Little Brother Burn

Vanessa Cartwright

Custodian, Summer Operations Manager

  • I grew up in rural New Brunswick on a farm called Green Valley. The chores of Green Valley lasted only so long before the halls of university drew me from home. The books were fine and they did me well, but I knew there was more to discover.

    I landed in Banff, then up the Valley to Lake Louise and deeper yet into the Skoki Valley.

    The Rockies held me for 15 years before the Kootenays came calling. Now here I am rambling the valleys of the Valhallas.