Ski Guides in Chile, Argentina & British Columbia, Canada
PowderQuest an Associate Member of the Canadian Avalanche Association is proud to have an outstanding team of international ski and snowboard guides for our Off Piste, Backcountry, and Ski Mountaineering tours. Personality, experience and safety have set us apart since 1998.
Lead Ski Guides are certified by the International Federation of Mountain Guides Association (IFMGA), the Association of Canadian Mountain Guides (ACMG), the Candian Ski Guides Association (CSGA), and/or are professional members of the Canadian Avalanche Association (CAA).
Assistant Ski Guides hold Canadian Avalanche Association Ski Operations Level 1 certifications (or similar certification from associations in other countries), have extensive wilderness first aid training, and speak English and Spanish.
David Owen: PowderQuest Founder - Assistant Guide
From the day I first stepped into a pair of skis back in 1976, I was hooked.
After discovering snowboarding with my friends Adam, Erin, and Blaise, the addiction carried beyond Dar's ski weekends and the powder at "Powerlines"; it was the soul of it all.
I carry these memories today as my passion to ride and dreams to travel have taken me on my own PowderQuest. The mountains and volcanoes of Colorado, Wyoming, Canada, Alaska, and Chile and Argentina have been my main focus.
In 1994, my wanderlust began, and before I knew it, I had explored, surfed, and snowboarded 15 Latin American Countries. After landing in South America’s outdoor adventure mecca, Pucon, Chile in 1998, I built an adventure tourism company, learned Spanish, and established residence in this mystical country.
» Home Country: Chile
» Certifications:
Canadian Avalanche Association Ski Operations Level 1
Wilderness First Responder
» Backcountry Experience: 10 years
» Languages: English, Spanish
» Favorite Places to Ride: Andes Backcountry, Jackson Hole, WY
» Hobbies: Mountain Biking, Surfing, photography, music, travel
Mike Gajda: Lead Ski Guide
Mike has been backcountry skiing since the mid 1980's and employed as ski patroller and heli-ski guide in the Whistler, BC area since 1994. He consults as an avalanche forecaster near his home town of Pemberton, BC and continues to guide for the local guides' bureaus and Canadian Heli-ski companies.
Mike's depth of experience comes from ski tours in the Alps and the Andes to a solo ski decent from the peak of Alaskas' Denali.
Mike joined the PowderQuest team in June of 2003 with strengths in customer care and emergency 1st aid.
» Home Country: Canada
» Certifications:
ACMG Assistant Ski Guide
CAA Level 2
Outdoor Emergency Care
WCB Blasting Certificate
CSGA Level 2 Ski Guide
» Backcountry Experience: 23 years
» Languages: Spanish, English, French
» Favorite Places to Ride: BC, Canada, France
» Hobbies: Climbing, Reading, Travel
Pierre Étienne Gagnon: Lead Ski Guide
Working as a ski instructor in Chamonix, opened a Pandora’s box to a new world of skiing. While he has skied since the age of 3 and alpine ski raced competitively since a young teen, it was only upon arrival in this ski-mountaineering Mecca that he truly saw the potential for the sport and consequently dedicated himself to ski guiding.
In the following years, he completed a two-year Adventure Guide Diploma from the Thompson Rivers University in British Columbia. He now works as a heli and ski-touring guide in BC during the North American winter months.
He discovered skiing in the Southern Hemisphere in 2005 on a ski trip where he was part of the first Canadian team to cross the Northern Icecap.
» Home Country: Canada
» Certifications:
Association of Canadian Mountain Guides Assistant ski guide
Canadian Avalanche Association Level 2
Canadian Ski guide Association Level 1
Canadian Ski Instructor Alliance Level 3
Wilderness Medical Associates Wilderness First Responder
Justice Institute of British Columbia Search Manager
Justice Institute of British Columbia Rope Rescue Team Member
» Languages: French, English, Spanish
» Favorite places to ride: Roger’s pass, Chamonix, Chile
Owen Day: Lead Ski Guide
Owen started skiing at the age of 3 in the praries of Canada skiing "the Bump" behind the ammonia plants in Fort Saskatchewan, Alberta. After working for a discotheque in Campery, Switzerland for two years, he made his first trip to Chile and Argentina in 2000. He has since returned for the last few years to learn Spanish, guide for PowderQuest, and ski tour the beautiful Andes.
In Canada, he has worked for the Canadian Avalanche Association compiling data for the InfoEx which is used as a "daily paper" of avalanche conditions. Owen also helps teach Recreational Avalanche courses and helps organize Avalanche Awarness day in Revelstoke.
» Home Country: Canada
» Certifications
Association of Canadian Mountain Guides – Assistant Ski Guide
Canadian Avalanche Association Level 2
Wilderness First Responder
Canadian Ski Patrol System
Rigging for Rescue
» Backcountry Experience: 10 years
» Languages: French, English, Spanish
» Favorite Places to Ride: Las Lenas, Refugio Frey, Champery, Revelstoke
» Hobbies: Tree Planting, ski touring, mountain biking
Philippe Gautier: Lead Ski Guide - Risk Management Project Manager
Ski racing on the hardest snow on the planet in Quebec somehow became the start of Philippe’s ski addiction. His powderquest started in the humble resort of Fernie, British Columbia (BC) where he worked as a racing coach and ski patroller. Philippe works the winter season as an avalanche forecaster and educator at the Haute-Gaspésie Avalanche Center and as a mechanized skiing tail guide in BC. He has also worked as a tourism development consultant, a job that has taken him to places as far and remote as a military camp on the isle of Tierra del Fuego.
» Home Country: Canada
» Certifications:
Association of Canadian Mountain Guides – Assistant Ski Guide
Canadian Avalanche Association Level 2
Professional Member of Canadian Avalanche Association
Canadian Ski Coaches Federation level 1
Canadian Ski Patrol System operational member
Advanced Medic First Aid interprovincial level 3
Wilderness First Responder
Justice Institute of British Columbia Search and Rescue Manager
» Backcountry Experience: 12 years
» Languages: Spanish, English, French
» Favorite Places to Ride: BC, Termas de Chillan
» Hobbies: Hockey, the dance floor at 2am, Hot tub/hot spring poaching
Les Manley: Assistant Ski Guide - Trip Leader
Les calls Vancouver, Canada his home, but spends a good part of the year traveling as a ski professional for Movement Skis and ski guiding in Verber, Switzerland. Recent photo shoots have taken him to Europe, where he has recently been featured on the cover of Ski Magazine France. His sense of humor, skiing and knowledge of the mountains, blends perfectly with PowderQuest. We are excited to have him back on the team this year.
» Home Country: Canada
» Certifications:
Canadian Avalanche Association Level 2
CSGA Level 1
Wilderness First Aid
Canadian Ski Coach Federation Level 1
Canadian Ski Instructors Alliance Level 2
» Backcountry Experience: 11 years
» Languages: Spanish, French , English, Intro German
» Favorite Places to Ride: Las Lenas
» Hobbies: Travel, Ski Touring
Mo Rasiah: Lead Ski Guide
An Australian born and bred skier, Mo Rasiah grew up skiing a small resort called Thredbo. Falling in love with skiing during university, the mountains eventually brought him to Whistler where he discovered the bliss of powder skiing. Teaching skiing, avalanche courses, and tail guiding to pay for his travel and skiing, he has ski toured in Australia, Canada, Alaska, Europe, Chile and Argentina. He has gone almost 10 years without a summer and has become accepted to the assistant ski guide program with the ACMG.
» Home Country: Canada
» Certifications:
Canadian Avalanche Association Ski Operations Level 2
Canadian Ski Guides Association Level 2
Fully Certified Ski Instructor (APSI Level 3)
CSIA Freeride Level 1
CSCF Level 1 Coach
CASI Level 1
Outdoor Emergency Care
Advanced Wilderness First Aid
» Backcountry Experience:8 years
» Languages: Spanish, English
» Favorite Places to Ride: Las Lenas, Whistler
» Hobbies: Rock climbing and doing anything to get more face shots!
Rafa Pantoja: Assistant Ski Guide
Rafa, member and current secretary of AGAM AG in Chile started skiing at the age of 3 influenced by his father who worked as a ski patroller in the central Andes.
Rafa's passion for skiing and rock climbing has taken him around North America, Europe and Patagonia, and leading mountain expeditions throughout South America including several crossings of the Northern Ice Cap and ski descents of San Valentin, Patagonia's highest peak.
Starting with PowderQuest in 2007, recently he has worked on ski patrol at Nakiska, Canada and teaches avalanche programs in Chile and Argentina.
» Home Country: Chile
» Certifications:
Canadian Avalanche Association Ski Operations Level 1
ISIA Ski Instructor Level 1
Wilderness First Responder
» Backcountry Experience: 16 years
» Languages: Spanish, English
» Favorite Places to Ride: Kicking Horse, BC and Pucon, Chile
» Hobbies: Rock climbing, travel, surfing
Carolina Farfan: PowderQuest Reservations Manager and Yoga Instructor
Carolina was born in Santiago, Chile and has spent the past decade traveling, working in tourism, and living in Pucon, Chile. Carolina heads our Chile office, manages PowderQuest's reservations, and is the creator of our Yoga and Ski Tours.
» Home Country: Chile
» Certifications:
Degree in Tourism
Dynamic Yoga Instructor
» Backcountry Experience: 2 years
» Languages: Spanish, English
» Favorite Places to Ride: El Arpa
» Hobbies: Yoga, travel, cooking, reading