Solo BC Skiers

I've got some ski buddies but my most faithful companions over the last 35+ years and many solo tours have mostly been dogs. First, Levi, a shepherd/yellow lab mix, a good ski dog but prone to attacking small animals(notably marmots, don't ask!) and incessant whining when he wanted to get going. Now I've got Ariel, our shelter-adopted, Lab/Great Dane mix without Levi's flaws. Got to say that I love solo touring. You select your own routes, pace and risk. I'm more into the tour than the turns so a nice workout up to a view point with a comfortable descent is all I'm usually looking for. I look at the NWAC forecast, selecting routes accordingly. I remember a solo tour above Blewett the day Jim Jack and crew got caught at Stevens Pass. I worked hard that day to find the safest possible route down.

I was solo touring that day too up the icicle. The wind was shaking the burned trees and it was snowing and nasty and I remember thinking this would be a shitty day to be skiing anything of consequence.

I rarely ski alone and when I do I generally try to avoid less traveled routes and often try to hook up with other groups doing the same route. I've had some great trips with folks that let me tag along.

I usually do a couple climbing trips alone every summer, usually in pursuit of the 100 highest and no class 5. Sometimes it can be a challenge finding buddies that are interested in 6-10 hours of driving, many trail miles, and some nasty bushwacking to climb a crumbly pile of choss. I've carried an ARC PLB the last few years which provides some piece of mind that I won't be stuck out there for days with an injury (assuming I have the capability to open my pack and push a button).

I rarely ski alone and when I do I generally try to avoid less traveled routes and often try to hook up with other groups doing the same route.  I've had some great trips with folks that let me tag along.

That's great that you've had luck with this, and it does make sense, however I will say that I've personally experienced this dynamic several times in the last couple years in a way that I found really irritating.

A lot of thought and preparation goes into putting together partners and routes, and it's usually a compromise and almost always a delicate one if you know these people well. Having someone no one in the group has ever met show up and inject themselves into the day while it's going on is something I'm not down with personally.

I have no idea what type of skier or person you are, what avy training you have, what your risk tolerance is, what your expectations for the day are, how fit you are, etc. These are all things typically covered off on before even setting foot on snow. Showing up solo during a tour an expecting another group to take you on seems like a selfish imposition to me, though I'm sure others feel differently or are more charitable.

Like anything, there are better or worse ways to do this, and I've definitely had experiences where this came together really nicely, but I've had way too many occasions recently where our party has been in the middle of a tour or even making a key decision and someone pops in out of nowhere and either assumes it's cool to tag along or tries to beg their way in. Have that convo in the parking lot, not the top of the chute.

That's great that you've had luck with this, and it does make sense, however I will say that I've personally experienced this dynamic several times in the last couple years in a way that I found really irritating.

A lot of thought and preparation goes into putting together partners and routes, and it's usually a compromise and almost always a delicate one if you know these people well. Having someone no one in the group has ever met show up and inject themselves into the day while it's going on is something I'm not down with personally.

I completely agree. If I am skiing an easy route with friends in terrain I know fairly well then I am fairly-open to having somebody tag along at the last minute. Most people are pretty cool but I have told skiers no because of their poor attitude.

If I am skiing a hard route, long day or multi-day trip then there is no way I would let somebody join at the trail-head.

Can't help it :  I haven't skied in British Columbia (BC) in years.  But when I did, all the bc (backcountry) skiers I saw were in groups.  In WA I ski bc solo about 50% of the time, maybe more, and the other times just with my wife.  For me, bc is about solitude; when I want to go to the mall (ski socially, ski front country), I go to White Pass.  Pls excuse the snarkiness.  Nothing ruins my bc experience more than seeing  long lines of people, groups of 8-12, whether they are snowshoeing or skiing.  But, yes, I routinely can find solitude bc, esp mid week.