2025 Fernie Trails & Ski Touring Bursary Recipients

The Fernie Trails and Ski Touring Club (FTSTC) 2025 Avalanche Bursary Program awarded a total of $2,400 split equally between six recipients.

FTSTC President Magnus Leckenby commented, “We’re happy that our bursary program is supporting individuals who will contribute to a safer backcountry.”

Each year, bursaries are available to help further avalanche education in the Elk Valley. The program has been in place for over a decade, and bursary applicants must apply in writing to directors@fernietrails.com for consideration.

Next season’s 2026 bursary program will be open for applications starting September 1st, with a submission deadline of November 30th.

Here are the 2025 recipients and their application requests:

Connie Henderson

Dear FT&STC,
My name is Connie Henderson and I am applying for the Avalanche Safety Bursary for 2024/2025. This spring I was accepted into the ACMG Apprentice Guides Training Program. So this coming season I will be taking three training courses and my apprentice exam in the spring.
Each course is between $1500-$4500, totalling at around $10000 for the season. I previously was working at Fernie Alpine Resort as a ski patroller then made the switch to Island Lake three years ago.
Last season, I was working at Island Lake, Valhalla Mountain Touring and Icefall. I have been working hard to gain mentorship both within my work and personal experience. My main accomplishment last season was planning and organizing a 12 day traverse in the Juneau Icefield. We flew by helicopter to the base of the Devil Paw, and then set up three separate base camps while traversing back to Juneau, eventually walking off the hard ice and into town.
Additionally, I attempted the Valhalla traverse but the weather and snow caused us to turn around.
This coming season, I will be working again at Island Lake, Valhalla Mountain Touring and Icefall.
I will also be focusing on training for my exam and learning as much as I can from the courses.
After I am a qualified ski guide my long term goal is to try and develop a youth program for 15-18 year olds in ski towns which will teach backcountry education in addition to mountain and ski touring skills. I think in towns like Fernie where the ski culture is so important but the ski resort is becoming expensive, especially for youth without the ability to pay for a pass, it is important to give them a way of continuing their ski careers without money being the limiting factors. With ski touring the limitations are that initial gear purchase and the access to the education. So if you can provide the education and build their knowledge prior to leaving high school, there would be more of a chance for them to continue in the future.
Thank you again for providing an opportunity like this that supports the community.
Sincerely,
Connie

Finlay Thomson

Dear Fernie Trails and Ski Touring Club

First of all, I would like to thank you for the previous support I have received from you towards my CAA Level 1 and Intro to Weather courses in the past few years. This year I will be doing the CAA AvSAR course in January. These courses are prerequisites to the CAA level 2 course, which I hope to pursue in the next year or so.

This season will be my fourth year working as a ski patroller at Fernie Alpine Resort. Patrolling has given me so much knowledge and experience that I hope I can keep expanding on in these coming years. Also the mentorship and friendship that I have gained from being a patroller is incredible. This year I will be stepping up into a route leader role and hopefully passing on all the knowledge I have learned to all the new patrollers at FAR. This year will also be my fourth year part time tail guiding at Fernie Wilderness Adventures. I feel very lucky to be able to call both of these things my ‘jobs’.

This winter I hope to explore deeper into the Fernie backcountry, make the most of my days off by exploring new zones, getting out with friends, bagging a few new peaks and hopefully squeeze in a few trips to the Tunnel and Thunder Meadows huts. The new out house is great!

Thanks again to this club for helping all of us avalanche professionals progress our careers and providing and maintaining the huts we all use.

Sincerely
Finlay Thomson

Sam Stephenson-Baker

Dear FTSTC,

My name is Sam Stephenson-Baker and I am writing to seek your consideration for the 2024/2025 Bursary program. I first moved to Fernie for the 2016/17 season and fell in love with powder skiing whilst working as a liftie at FAR. I was a beginner skier at the time and was keen to improve my skiing and gain some knowledge. I decided to take the AST1 course which seemed like a good place to start.

Fast forward 5 years, backcountry skiing had become a passion and I knew I wanted to pursue a career in the industry. In the 2023/24 season my dream of becoming a ski patroller became a reality. Last February I took my Avalanche Operations level 1 which has enabled me to become a full member of the team. I am incredibly grateful for the mentorship I have received from my colleagues at FAR and am looking forward to deepening my knowledge with their guidance.

Not only has the Ops Level 1 qualification enhanced my professional skills, it has also enabled me to become a member of the avalanche response team for Sparwood Search and Rescue. This bursary would assist me with some of the costs incurred for this course.

I am a regular at the trailheads on my days off and really appreciate all the work that FTSTC do for our community. This winter I am hoping to get lots of ski touring in, learn from those around me and pass on some of my knowledge to others. I will also be taking my OARTM (Organized Avalanche Response Team Member) course with SAR, to further my skills in this area and help me assist the local community when needed.

Thank you for your time and consideration,
Sam Stephenson-Baker

Jack Wood

Fernie trails Directors,

My name is Jack Wood and I have been living in Fernie for a total of 5 years. I started my snow journey back in 2014 when I came to the valley for a six-week vacation and ended up staying for almost 3 years. My curiosity and desire to work and play within the ski industry was sparked when I first arrived here as a snowboarder. I realised quickly that my goal was to live in the mountains, in particular Fernie, and that one day I wanted to become a Ski Patroller at the resort. Then started my self-taught journey of becoming a skier.

I spent some time away from the valley to travel in Australia, the French Alps and Norway. I skied a lot in France and in Norway I got my first introduction to back country skiing, as there were no resorts nearby. That’s when my interest in snow science, avalanche safety and back country adventures really began. I lived at a hotel in the middle of Oslo and Bergen with unlimited possibilities all around. My partner and I were very safety conscious and even taught some guests some basic avalanche awareness and skills. Fast forward to the next winter, we were living in the Lofoten Islands, above the arctic circle. It was a very different style of adventure up there but being able to ski to the ocean was incredible.

In November 2022 I returned to Fernie, for good this time. This year I was offered a job with the Fernie Ski patrol and the dream has become a reality. The journey has only just begun and there is a lot that I still need to learn, but I can see it being a long one. Moving forwards in the next few years I am hoping to work closely with the team and progress through the avalanche safety tree, one day moving towards my level 2 and beyond.

This year, in January, I undertook the CAA Avalanche Operations Level 1 course, here in Fernie. This just engrained the curiosity and interest that I had with snow, how snowpacks are created, how avalanche hazards increase and decrease depending on a multitude of factors, and how I think a lot more about what I may be skiing and why the snow feels the way that it does. It also made me realise the multitudes of unknowns and how much more research needs to be done to create a better understanding of avalanche safety.

Please find attached my Avalanche Operations Level 1 certificate from this year.

Thank you for you consideration.
Kind Regards, Jack Wood

Justine Cowitz

Dear Fernie Trails and Ski Touring Club,
I am writing you to express my keen interest in applying for your bursary program for avalanche safety and awareness. This winter I am enrolled to complete my CAA Avalanche Operations Level II course (December 2024) and examination (March 2025). This bursary would help me greatly in funding this course and would continue to support my avalanche safety career here in the Elk Valley.
I am currently entering my sixth season as a ski patroller at Fernie Alpine Resort, where I have gained substantial hands-on experience working in the avalanche industry. My role has deepened my appreciation for avalanche safety and the critical importance of informed decision-making in the winter backcountry environment. Pursuing the CAA Operations Level II course is an exciting step toward furthering my expertise, which I aim to apply directly to my work at the ski hill. My goal is to continue advancing my skills and knowledge to help ensure safe experiences for all, while also progressing my career in avalanche safety and management.
Thank you for considering my application and for the support that your organization provides to avalanche safety professionals. I am sincerely grateful for the opportunity to apply for this bursary, which would greatly assist me in furthering my education and enhancing my professional development in the Elk Valley. I appreciate your time and consideration, and I look forward to contributing even more effectively to avalanche safety in our community.
Sincerely,
Justine Cowitz

Aidan Faught

My name is Aidan Faught and I am applying for the avalanche bursary for the 2024-25 season. The bursary would go towards the CAA Level 2 program, which I will complete in December of this year. I greatly appreciate having received help from the FTSTC for the AvSAR course, and am once again looking for support as I take the next step in my career. I have been an active member of the backcountry skiing community since arriving in Fernie in 2020 for the MAST program. I have come to love the mountains surrounding Fernie and admire the work that the FTSTC does to provide access to them.

My work experience includes three seasons patrolling at FAR and two tail guiding at FWA. Moving forward I will stay connected to the Elk Valley with a new position tail guiding at Island Lake Lodge. My goal is to be accepted into the ACMG program and have a career in ski guiding. Receiving support for the upcoming course will contribute to this goal and would be sincerely appreciated.

Thank you for the opportunity to apply.

All the best,
Aidan