Moments captured

"Bears Above the Valley" is a book that pays loving tribute to a grand and imposing landscape and to lives lived fully

Mike McPhee and Mark Gallup collaborated to produce a pictorial history book about Island Lake Catskiing and the people who love it. — Photo courtesy Mike McPhee

Growing up in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Mike McPhee dreamed of skiing and snowboarding in the western mountains. As teenagers, he and his friends studied countless magazine photographs and video sequences set at Island Lake Lodge in southeastern B.C.’s Cedar Valley. Following that passion, McPhee moved to the Rocky Mountains in 1996.

Five years ago, McPhee became director of sales and marketing for his personal paradise, Island Lake Catskiing, located just minutes from Fernie, B.C. His study of the lodge archives confirmed for him that this resort was a playground where snowboarding came of age and where the ski industry took a new direction in its development.

A milestone anniversary

For Island Lake Catskiing’s 25th anniversary in 2013, McPhee wanted to create a lasting tribute to the lodge and showcase the remarkable people who have loved and promoted it. With thousands of professional photographs available—including many of his own—of well-known snowboarders and skiers like Craig Kelly and Scot Schmidt, McPhee decided to put together an Island Lake Lodge history book.

Bears Above the Valley, published by Oolichan Books in Fernie, was a collaboration between McPhee and snow-sport photographer Mark Gallup, who also lives in Fernie.

"It was amazing to collaborate with Mark on this book,” said McPhee, “as it was his photos of the place that inspired me to pursue my dreams and set me on this path."

A tribute to spirit

The book incorporates a history of Island Lake Lodge and the simultaneous establishment of cat-skiing in the Lizard range. It is a compilation of powerful action photographs that will have you continuously shaking your head—not in negation, but in wonder. It includes impressions from the greats in backcountry skiing and snowboarding, and from professional photographers and videographers. 

This book is a beautiful testimonial to the spirit of the Cedar Valley, giving us glimpses of the powerful energy experienced there. Vastness. Solitude. Courage. Light. Mortality. Love.