Les Manley, can be hard to track down. As a ski guide for PowderQuest Tours and a professional skier, Les is constantly chasing the best snow around the globe for a living.
We recently had a chance to catch up with Les en route to Slovenia to compete in the Quicksilver Freeride Battle going down over the weekend.
PowderQuest: Les, quite the season you are having with all the snow falling in Canada. What have you been up to?
Les Manley: My Season has been and is quite the wirl wind, maybe a bit more than usual. I started things off in Whistler, BC in December guiding clients for Extremely Canadian. We had a ton of snow and I was very happy to be sharing the steep and deep of my home mountain with folks for the third season in a row. I also did a fair amount of backcountry ski guiding. In early February I took of for Verbier, Switzerland to get a shot at skiing powder in the Alps.
PowderQuest: Yeah, skiing British Columbia has been good! Why sacrifice the powder in BC for a trip to the Alps?
Les Manley: Basing myself out of Verbier I have been ski guiding quite a bit and making day trips to small ski resorts in the area such as Orvnaz, Super St. Bernard, and Bruson. In Late February I travelled to Bansko, Bulgaria to compete in the Red Bull Powder Kick freesking contest where I was able to take third place.
PowderQuest: Congratulations! Good thing I was not there, I would have taken you out! What will you be doing until your come back and guide for PowderQuest starting in June?
Les Manley: I plan on staying in the Alps till May and have a number of ski tours to peaks over 4000m planned before then. I will be touring in B.C. in the late spring, taking some clients on the Spearhead traverse and completing some rock climbing courses. In June it's back to South America!
PowderQuest: Yeah we can't wait to get back in the snow in the Andes. I know you love Argentina, What is your favorite places to ski?
Les Manley: My favorite backcountry line in South America is Adrenalina in the Las Lenas valley which I had the pleasure of heliskiing two seasons ago. My favorite in bounds terrain is the Laguna area at Cerro Catedral, Bariloche.
PowderQuest: Good spots! So what would be your favorite PowderQuest guided ski tour?
Les Manley: If I could pick any PQ trip it would be the Frontier-Las Lenas because I truly love skiing in the high Andes; you can't beat the thigh burning descents, light snow, and gaucho culture.
PowderQuest: Yeah, plus the cat skiing in El Arpa on that trip is a must do experience in Chile.
With all the travel and job opportunities you get, why do you keep coming back for our small ski operation?
Les Manley: I think the best thing about working for PowderQuest is being able to share unique mountain experiences with PQ guests in the vibrant culture of South America. The travel isn't bad either!
PowderQuest: We get a lot of questions from our guests on what skis to bring down or buy. I understand you are on a new ski this year. Tell us about it.
Les Manley: I have recently signed with Movement Skis and am really enjoying the powerful ride their fat ski, the Goliath provides.
PowderQuest: I know that Mo Rasiah enjoyed guiding on the Movement Goliath last year and a lot of the other guides are requesting we get this ski as the official ski for PowderQuest guides. Movement supported our operations last year and we look forward to working with them again. We may even have a demo line up for our tour guests to try out.
Thanks Les, I know you got a train to catch. See you in SA in a few months!
Thanks Les, I know you got a train to catch. See you in SA in a few months!
Les Manley: Cheers!
Read more on Les and meet the rest of PowderQuest's South American and Canadian Ski Guides on powderquest.com
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