Getting “The Goods” with Glen Poulsen
We caught up with local Squaw legend, Glen Poulsen, to ask him about his favorite spots to ski guide in Lake Tahoe.
Q: Hey Glen, what is your background? What drew you towards ski guiding?
Glen: My parents were ski pioneers in the area, backcountry skiing in Squaw Valley in the 1930s. I have been a skier based in Squaw Valley since the age of 2. I was competing from age 4 or 5 and started side country and backcountry skiing at Squaw around age 10. I have always aspired to make my passion my work so ski guiding was a perfect fit.
Q: What’s one of your favorite places in Lake Tahoe to ski guide?
Glen: The remote and spectacular terrain to the North and west of Granite Chief are my favorite of the areas open to ski guiding in the Tahoe region.
Q: What’s the terrain like?
Glen: The Granite Chief backcountry offers some of the largest open bowl skiing in the area. The runs almost seem more typical of heli accessed terrain. In the event there is a significant wind or warming event, there are beautiful north facing tree glades providing playful rolling terrain through the giant old growth White Pine and Hemlock forest. You’re guaranteed “the goods” in this zone.
Q: How’s the scenery?
Glen: Views of Lake Tahoe, Desolation and Granite Chief Wilderness, Castle and the myriad of peaks to the north are unsurpassed.
Q: What do you like to do after a big day in the mountains?
Glen: A quick beer at the Chamois, where your local backcountry adventures will be the envy of your peers…
More about Glen Poulsen: A member of Squaw Valley’s pioneering founding family, Glen first ventured into the side and backcountry terrain surrounding Squaw Valley at the age of ten and has never looked back. His forays into more remote parts of the Sierra Nevada led to numerous first descents and pioneering ski traverses throughout the range. After exploring mountains from Antarctica to the North Pole, Greenland and Spitsbergen, Africa, to the Andes, The Alps to Scandinavia, Russia and China, The Himalaya, Central Asia, and Oceania, Glen always returns with a greater appreciation for his home in the “Range of Light”. Whether its descents on skis or climbing alpine rock Glen has an intimate knowledge of the entire range. Whether its a local side country jaunt, a Sierra Eastside adventure, a hut tour in the Alps or exploring new first descents in Greenland or Antarctica, Africa or the Andes, he can take you there. Glen has been trained by the American Mountain Guides Association and by the Canadian Ski Guide Association as a ski guide and ski mountaineering guide. He has an AIARE Level 3 Avalanche and Nols Wilderness First Responder certifications and has been an active Tahoe Nordic Search and Rescue Team member.
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