
ACMG Guide Jan Neuspiel Reviews His Kindred Powder Skis
We caught up with ACMG guide Jan Neuspiel between trips to Bella Coola, and asked him about his custom powder skis. They feature west coast raven design created by our favourite local K'omoks and Kwakwaka'wakw artist, Karver Everson. So you might be wondering, who is Jan? Jan has been guiding and teaching for more than 35 years all over the world with a particular focus on the Himalayan region for about half that time. He spent six years living in Nepal (he speaks Nepali!) and eleven years running a helicopter skiing operation in northern India. Since 2006 Jan has also been the Head Guide for Bella Coola Helisports' heliskiing operations in the Mount Waddington area of the BC Coast Range. Closer to home, Jan founded two of Vancouver Island's most familiar alpine institutions: 1) Island Alpine Guides, which is Vancouver Island's premiere mountain school and guide service. 2) The Vancouver Island Avalanche Centre, where he acted as lead forecaster until recently. It's a homegrown and grassroots effort supported entirely by local businesses and users. They provide avalanche safety information for Vancouver Islanders who recreate in the backcountry in winter, predominantly via the Vancouver Island Avalanche Bulletin. His breadth of experience, his thoughtful kindness and his spirit of adventure make Jan a natural leader. He is a true inspiration and we are so thankful for his influence on the alpine culture here in our community, and for his positive contributions to mountain culture at large. Relevant Links: Island Alpine Guides https://www.islandalpineguides.com/ https://www.instagram.com/islandalpineguides/ Vancouver Island Avalanche Centre https://www.islandavalanchebulletin.com/ https://www.instagram.com/viavalanche/ Karver Everson http://karvereverson.com/ https://www.instagram.com/karvereverson_nwc/ Kindred https://kindredsnowstore.com/ Thanks again to Ivan and Grayden from Visual Inclination for creating these awesome videos. Visual Inclination on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/visualinclination Visual Inclination on Instagram : https://www.instagram.com/visinc/
