The People
of Keefer
The team at Gostlin Keefer Lake Lodge is made up of dedicated professionals, hand-picked to make your stay memorable. From your cat driver (or snow-feur as we like to call them), to the lodge manager, photographer, bartender, and housekeeper, they all work together and help run this ship as smoothly as possible.
Jeff Gostlin
Owner/Operator/Guide
read full bioJeff Gostlin
Owner/Operator/Guide
Keefer Lake has been Jeff's dream to create since he was a teenager. Jeff's dad took him and his brother Catskiing at the original Catskiing operation in the Selkirk Mountains. He was hooked immediately. He continued as a guest there for 7 years, and then after taking the required courses, applied to work as a tail guide. That was in 2000. Since then, he has continued his guiding career working at several different heli and cat operations throughout BC. In 2014, Jeff approached his father for support, and together they offered to purchase the tenure and property at Keefer Lake. Construction of the lodge started as soon as the snow melted in the summer of 2015. That winter, they opened the terrain for Catskiing, and the dream became a reality. There has been no looking back since then, as the Gostlin family continues to expand and develop what Keefer has become today, a year round 5 star resort catering to ecotourism with a touch of class.
Jeff lives at the lodge year round, and is always happy to take you on a tour of the property and tell you his story. In the winter you find Jeff with his skis on with his dog Loki ready to show you the best lines out there. In the summer, he is usually soaking up the sun on the dock with his kids having a blast enjoying the lake and the energy of Keefer Lake.
Dave Gostlin
General Manager / Guide
read full bioDave Gostlin
General Manager / Guide
As the General Manager of Keefer Lake Lodge, Dave has been a key figure in the lodge's growth and success since its inception. Having started skiing as soon as he could walk and snowboarding at the age of 12, Dave brings a lifelong passion for the mountains to his role. His deep connection to the sport, combined with his leadership and experience, ensures that every guest at Keefer Lake Lodge enjoys an unforgettable blend of adventure and luxury in the heart of the backcountry. Dave is proud to be a part of a team that has created one of BC premier Catskiing destinations.
Brett Ritson
Operations Manager / Guide
read full bioBrett Ritson
Operations Manager / Guide
Brett, (code name Skywalker) is basically the MacGyver of Keefer Lake! He grew up in sunny Summerland B.C. and spent most of his time outdoors. Growing up on a cherry orchard allowed him to develop skillsets at an early age that he still utilizes today. He and his wife Jessica currently reside in Cherryville B.C. with endless adventures available by just walking out their front door. Around the lodge Brett is usually behind the scenes ensuring the power is on, water is flowing, and the lodge is warm, as well as a myriad of other things.
Emma Carron-Brown
Administration
read full bioEmma Carron-Brown
Administration
Emma (Keefer Star wars name Asoka Tano) has been part of the Keefer family since 2018, when her and her partner George first joined the Lodge team. After a few years back home in the UK, Emma returned to Keefer in 2022, as a year-round member of the team, and now calls Keefer home! You’ll most commonly find Emma on her laptop looking at spreadsheets working hard to make Keefer to be all that it can be. When she isn’t behind her laptop, you’ll find her ski touring, mtn. biking, drinking beer, and/or shredding pow!
Brooke Astells
Guest Relations Manager
read full bioBrooke Astells
Guest Relations Manager
Brooke grew up in Pemberton, BC where she learned to ski at Whistler Blackomb. She has lived in the Okanagan since 2008. Her favourite things are skiing POW, mountain biking and paddle boarding. Brooke first came to Keefer on her snowbike in the shoulder season where she met the team and fell in love with the lodge. In 2022 she joined the Keefer team and spearhead our summer series of weddings, corporate retreats and private events, along with making sure all of our beloved Catskiing guests have a flawless booking expereince and get to the lodge in time to shred that sweet Monashee Powder!!
Justin "Jay" Darbyshire
Winter Mtn. Operations Manager
read full bioJustin "Jay" Darbyshire
Winter Mtn. Operations Manager
Born on the coast, raised in the West Kootenays and matured in the Okanagan Jay is our resident "Jack of All Trades, Master of Some". When not at Keefer Lake manning the dispatch desk or doing "Jay Jobs" he can be found traipsing around the mountains and wilderness of BC. A fan of all seasons, Jay enjoys climbing and biking almost as much as chasing steep trees and deep snow. If you're looking for some new tunes to help keep the stoke going Jay is your guy. His tastes range from Punk Rock to Bluegrass to Acid Jazz and back again.
Shannon Wespi
Guest Relations Assistant
read full bioShannon Wespi
Guest Relations Assistant
Shannon is back at Keefer after a 1-year sabbatical. She has been with Keefer for 5 years now, this season she has transitioned from Lodge Manager to the Guest Relations team. Shannon is stoked to be back and has missed this place! Despite loving the Winter season, her new role has her focused-on perfecting our summer wedding program. Looking for a place to get married? Keefer is a gorgeous venue! Originally from Ontario, Shannon knew she’d be happiest waking up to the mountains. Her dream came true, she lives in Nakusp now, surrounded by nature. Shannon loves any activity outdoors; mountain biking, camping, skiing, hiking, you name it, she’s down! She has the cutest adventure partner, her dog Jasper. He is always smiling and chasing her around.
Marissa Blaney
Marketing Coordinator
read full bioMarissa Blaney
Marketing Coordinator
Marissa has been part of the Keefer’s Guest Relations and Marketing Team since September 2023 and has loved every minute of it! Although she mainly works behind the scenes posting your amazing powder shots and wedding moments on social media, she works closely with the Keefer team to help spread the Keefer magic as best as possible. Born and raised in Lumby, Marissa has a deep connection to the Monashee area, where she has spent countless hours hiking, camping, and kayaking with her family. When she’s not working, she continues to explore and appreciate the natural beauty that British Columbia has to offer.
Chris Whitehead
Supervising Guide
read full bioChris Whitehead
Supervising Guide
Chris is Lead Guide at Keefer Lake Catskiing. Chris has a CSGA level 3, CAA level 2 and 10 years experience guiding. He is originally from Vancouver Island but likes to spend his winters in the mountains riding snowboards, skiing and snowmobiling. His life long passion for these sports naturally turned into a full time winter career and he couldn’t be happier about it.
Jon Conway
Lead Guide
read full bioJon Conway
Lead Guide
Jon is a Lead Guide at Keefer Lake Catskiing accredited by the Canadian Ski Guide Association, and is a Canadian Avalanche Association Avalanche Professional. Back for his 5th year at Keefer, Jon says his favorite part about Keefer Lake is the friendships with guests and the staff. "At the end of a day of shredding pow, I usually find myself laughing till my stomach hurts with the crew while chewing on a slice of pizza fresh out of the woodfired oven. It doesn't get better than this"
Bill Phipps
Lead Guide
read full bioBill Phipps
Lead Guide
Bill's professional ski career is vast and varied. He has been an avalanche forecaster for ski patrol (yeah the guy that throws the bombs), has taught avalanche courses, was an author/forecaster of a public avalanche bulletin, has worked for Avalanche Canada and has worked as both as a cat and heliski guide. In his spare time Bill manages a climbing gym called On The Rocks and teaches future climbing/mountain guides at Strathcona Park Lodge. When not working, Bill spends his time skiing, climbing, mountain biking, motorbiking and hanging out with his family. Bill loves to be outside as much as the next person and he looks forward to sharing a ski adventure with you.
Michael Wigley
Lead Guide
read full bioMichael Wigley
Lead Guide
Michael is an international splitboarder that has ski toured on 5 continents! He plans to do all 7 one day! Michael has worked for guiding operations in far off lands in Kyrgyzstan to working ski patrol at tiny clubfields in New Zealand. From his own expeditions of camping under the northern lights in the Arctic Circle of the Yukon to touring all day long under the midnight sun in the Arctic Circle of Norway. This is his passion and he is so excited to share days in the mountains with more passionate souls!
Kris Hawryluik
Tail Guide / Practicum Supervisor
read full bioKris Hawryluik
Tail Guide / Practicum Supervisor
Kris came to Keefer to ski, he loved the terrain and staff so much he now works here. Kris has been a professional ski patroller for 29 seasons.
Jeff Ruptash
Tail Guide
read full bioJeff Ruptash
Tail Guide
Jeff is returning for his 4th season guiding at Keefer lake, sharing unforgettable turns with guests is definitely his favourite part of the job. On his days off you'll find him ski touring around Revelstoke and guiding fly-fishing trips around the local rivers/streams.
Guillaume Crepault
Tail Guide
read full bioGuillaume Crepault
Tail Guide
Meet Guillaume, aka G$, our towering Québecois who traded poutine for powder and never looked back. In his search for the finest snow in the west, he found Keefer 4 years ago during his CSGA 1 course and never left. You can find him at the back of the pack to find the best secret stashes, the biggest features, or the worst puns.
Joey Ganie
Practicum Guide
read full bioJoey Ganie
Practicum Guide
Back for his third year on the guide team at Keefer, no one can deny Joey’s passion for the mountains. He has traveled the world honing his backcountry skills from touring in the Southern Alps, base-jumping in the Utah desert to climbing remote granite spires. After a day shredding pow, you'll likely find Joey donning a headlamp and getting in more turns by touring the slopes behind the lodge. Armed with an arsenal of cheesy jokes, he is excited to share his passion for the mountains with you!
George Buck
Practicum Guide
read full bioGeorge Buck
Practicum Guide
George first came to Canada in 2017 in pursuit of deep champagne powder and was not disappointed! After following the snow around British Columbia, George and his partner Emma first found Keefer in 2018 when they came to work in the lodge as servers and bartenders. 3 years later they are both back and this time you will find George outside chopping wood (or ski-touring) with his little orange dog Rodney.
Loki Gostlin
Tail Guide
read full bioLoki Gostlin
Tail Guide
Loki is in charge of security and shreds the pow like no other. Follow his yodel down the hill. “woof . . . . woof . . . woof!”
Kyle Sanguin
Photographer
read full bioKyle Sanguin
Photographer
Kyle was born and raised in Kelowna. He was a Wildland Firefighter for 15 years, where he developed his passion for photography; Kyle fought the Okanagan Park Fire of 2003 and had several photos that he took on the fireline featured in different magazines and newspapers around the world. In pursuit of his passion, he attended and graduated from the Photography Program at the Centre for Arts and Technology. Kyle is now working full time as a Photographer. In his spare time he enjoys being in the outdoors, hiking, camping, exploring and playing baseball, volleyball, golf and of course slashing the insanely deep powder in the Monashees at Keefer Lake Catskiing!!!
Jeremie “Jalapeno” Drainville
Photographer
read full bioJeremie “Jalapeno” Drainville
Photographer
Jeremie “Jalapeno” hails from Gatineau, Quebec. His love for snowboarding brought him to BC in 2008 and he’s been a resident of Nelson, BC for the past 10 years. At the end of the 2014 winter, Jeremie fractured his left kneecap snowboarding in a freeride competition called Wrangled the Chutes.
We first met Jalapeno when he was part of the crew that built the Black Bear Lodge known as Gostlin Keefer Lake Lodge.
After building the lodge Jeremie ventured to Peru to complete a 12-day Full transformational Ayahuasca retreat. From there he learned to confront his fear and enrolled into the Professional Photography program at the Centre for Arts & Technology in Kelowna, BC where he graduated with the best student award.
Soon after graduation Jeremie and Jeff were chatting together, and Jeff invited him to a tryout at Keefer for the photographer position during the Catskiing season. Jeremie’s two weeks tryout turned into 4 weeks and every other winter after that.
Not only can he take good Catskiing photos, but he’s also going to be dropping all the cliffs in sight with his camera gear on!
Since the spring of 2022, Jeremie is now Keefer Lake social media coordinator. We are inviting you to say hello to him on all of our platforms.
Jesse Sanborn
Road Builder
read full bioJesse Sanborn
Road Builder
Jesse grew up in Cherryville and has spent his whole life sledding, biking, hunting in the Monashee mountain range. After finishing college for Aircraft Maintenance Engineering in 2014, he applied at Keefer Lake Lodge and has been here since as road builder and mechanic. You'll find him building roads and jumps during the day on the hill and fixing the cats in the shop during the evening. All requests for side hits and big airs are welcome!
Jackson Prebushewski
Road Builder
read full bioJackson Prebushewski
Road Builder
Jackson was born and raised in Cherryville. He loves all things outdoors and is back for his 2nd year at Keefer!
Pete Bechtel
Cat Operator
read full bioPete Bechtel
Cat Operator
Originally from Toronto, Ontario. I played soccer in the U.S for university. After graduating I moved back to Whistler and started working at Powder mtn cat/heli skiing. I’ve been with them for 4years.
Jim Lagerquist
Cat Operator
read full bioJim Lagerquist
Cat Operator
"Hello there" -Obi-Wan Kenobi
Jim (recently promoted to “Obi-Wan”) was born and raised in Cherryville, BC. Since he was 18, he’s been working out in the woods Timber Cruising and Firefighting, and now Jim is running passenger snowcats at Keefer Lake Lodge since the 2022/23 season. In the evenings, he can often be found playing music in the lodge!
Liam Sanborn
Cat Operator
read full bioLiam Sanborn
Cat Operator
Born and raised in Cherryville Liam has a deep appreciation for the outdoors and the opportunity to spend his time in the surrounding mountains. Growing up Liam and his family spend all their time at Keefer lake and he is super stoked that he gets continue spending time at Keefer!
Travis Hoogland
Cat Operator
read full bioTravis Hoogland
Cat Operator
Travis grew up on a chicken farm in Armstrong BC. In his teens he discovered skiing and fell in love with being in the mountains. From then on, he spent his free time during the winters skiing up at his home mountain of Silverstar and spent his summers dirt biking and camping. After moving around BC for a few years and doing some college, Travis joined the Maintenance team at Keefer Lake Lodge in the fall of 2021 and has now began operating the Keefer snowcats!
Nate Riehl
Property Supervisor / Head Carpenter
read full bioNate Riehl
Property Supervisor / Head Carpenter
His rugged looks may make him look like a Duck Dynasty brother, but he is way more than that. Nate, also known as K2SO, is originally from High River but is now a proud Cherryville resident. As Keefer’s in-house carpenter, Nate has an eye for beautiful, finished furniture and has all the necessary skills to construct anything to help the vision of Keefer come true.
Tim Kolkman
Maintenance Crew
read full bioTim Kolkman
Maintenance Crew
Tim is a returning team member here at Keefer, he likes it so much he comes back every winter! Originally from Ontario, Tim currently lives in Ymir and loves spending his winter snowboarding. You can catch him listening to his favourite tunes while shoveling snow.
Derek Ingram
Head Chef
read full bioDerek Ingram
Head Chef
Chef Derek was born all the way over in Winnipeg and was raised in Ontario. He's cooked his way across the country from St. John's to Vancouver! In his spare he times he likes to bike, snowboard, and make bread for his family. He's stoked to combine his love for the ski and snowboard culture with his passion for food!
Derek Gray
Chef
read full bioDerek Gray
Chef
Big Man is an Alberta born BC resident (of 27 years) sportsman; he enjoys bowhunting, flyfishing and the great outdoors of beautiful British Columbia. He loves cold days, deep powder, and smoked meats.
Oh, and his team got boo’ed off the courts by 400 spectators after winning the 3-3 NBA hoop-it-up championship... they differently weren’t the crowd favorite to win.
Jeremy Rose
Cook
read full bioJeremy Rose
Cook
Jeremy is a new addition to the Keefer culinary team, he joins us from Vernon. Originally from Halifax, Nova Scotia Jeremy has now lived on both the East and West coast of Canada. Jeremy loves snowboarding and is eager to upgrade from Silver Star mountain in Vernon to the powder heavy Monashees. Jeremy is passionate about cooking which is reflected in every dish he helps to create. Recently Jeremy has been dabbling in the world of bread. If you smell delicious baking bread in the lodge it’s all him. Jeremy lived in New Zealand for two years with his partner Jessa, if you want any travel tips for NZ he’s the guy to ask!
Devin Di Giglio
Cook
read full bioDevin Di Giglio
Cook
Devin was born in Windsor, Ontario but moved to Penticton when he was young and has lived there for most of his life. He attended Okanagan College for the culinary arts course and achieved his Red Seal in 2019. Devin has been cooking since he was 18 years old and in his spare time, he enjoys cooking with his 3-year-old son and parkour. It’s been a while since Devin has gone skiing, but he enjoys the outdoors and thinks it's an amazing experience to be able to spend part of the winter season at Keefer Lake Lodge with all the awesome people up there!
Rose Cooper
Junior Prep Cook
read full bioRose Cooper
Junior Prep Cook
Rose currently lives in Edgewood BC and has always lived within the Kootenays. She enjoy being in nature and socializing. Some of Rose's hobbies include hiking, dancing, singing, and reading. She's stoked to be on a team where everyone supports each other and has a great work experience. Keefer Lake offers the opportunity to create connections with amazing people. Go Keefer!
Erin Green
Massage Therapist
read full bioErin Green
Massage Therapist
Erin is back for her second year at Keefer and is the first recipient of the C3PO Sparkle Award. Her magic hands make everything sparkle, from organizing the retail area, to giving magical post ski massages. Be sure to book a massage with her this season, pure bliss! No matter your mood, Erin’s upbeat attitude will put a big smile on your face.
Erin grew up in Blue River and Jasper, making the mountains forever in her heart. She lives in Cherryville, which is not too far from here. A big hugger, Erin loves her days off at home snuggled up with her husband watching comfort shows. In the Summer they enjoy fishing which can’t be argued as Erin has a picture in her wedding dress out on the boat.
Kaylee Gaetz
Massage Therapist
read full bioKaylee Gaetz
Massage Therapist
Kaylee is a charismatic being from Saskatchewan who now calls Haida Gwaii home. Since the beautiful coast doesn't quite have enough powder to satisfy, she has found herself living the ski bum, lodge lifestyle for the past 7 years.
Kaylee is back at Keefer for another season working as a massage therapist. If you find yourself in need of a deep tissue massage, be sure to book in with her. She is passionate about sports rehab therapy and has been a practitioner for the past 16 years. When not at Keefer Kaylee flexes her many skills. She is a kayak guide, lodge manager and business owner of a rad camper rental company. When Kaylee manages to get downtime from working, she can be found travelling around finding amazing mountains to summit.
Nick Jenkins
Sommelier/Server
read full bioNick Jenkins
Sommelier/Server
Nick is a new addition to the Keefer Lake Lodge team, having been roped-in to work as a sommelier for the season – apparently deep pow is quite the motivator! Nick shares his time working in an Okanagan vineyard and wine cellar to help bring some of the best of our local wine region and beyond to the dinner table. When not engrossed in wine at the lodge, you’ll find him skiing, mountain biking, or road tripping with his partner Alexa and their 2 dogs Einstein and Odin.
Gareth Smith
Bartender
read full bioGareth Smith
Bartender
It’s Gareth’s first season at Keefer and you will find him shaking things up behind the bar. He has 15 years bartending experience and you will taste that in his delicious cocktail menu. Gareth’s favourite cocktail is a Chamomile Rye Sazerac. He is from New Zealand but has lived around the world, doing seasonal work in Europe and Canada. Currently Gareth calls Nelson home. From the wee age of 3 Gareth has been hitting the slopes. Starting out on skis, he switched to snowboarding around age 10. The board was the right move, in the Summer Gareth loves to keep planking on a skateboard. When not at work he can be found touring, you may spot him trekking the hill behind the lodge searching for a good spot to rip down. He’s got loads of travel stories and liquor knowledge; he’ll be a fun one to chat with at the bar.
Anna Matikainen
Bartender
read full bioAnna Matikainen
Bartender
Anna is here at Keefer for her first season. You’ll find her slaying behind the bar. She’s sweet but makes a mean cocktail. Currently she lives in Kelowna but has lived all across Canada, from Halifax to BC.
Anna traveled to 18 countries in the last 14 months before coming to Keefer. If you want to hear about her adventures, she’s keen to share- food and climbing were her highlights. If you’re ever in Finland you must try Korvapuusti- think cinnamon bun but better.
In her free time Anna is usually sipping coffee, climbing, or reading. She loves fermentation and enjoys playing around baking sourdough bread. Anna is very close to her older brother and recently became an Aunt. One thing she loves about Keefer is the lodge dogs, she misses her dog so much when she’s here but at least there’s Loki and Athena to cuddle.
Jeremy West
Lodge Hand
read full bioJeremy West
Lodge Hand
Jeremy is originally from Edmonton and moved to BC back in 2015 to immerse himself in the rad mountain lifestyle. Back for his 5th season, Jeremy is switching things up from bartender to server. He spends most of his time as an entrepreneur, you’ll see his product as dress code for our evening servers. If you like chatting e-commerce he’s your guy! Keep an eye out for Jeremy being pulled around on his snowboard by his dog Kong. Gotta burn off his pup’s energy somehow!
Crysta Emerson
Lodge Hand
read full bioCrysta Emerson
Lodge Hand
Crysta is from Lumby and is happy to experience her first winter as part of the Keefer family. Like many of the Keefer staff, she is originally from Ontario and has lived in beautiful BC for a few years now. Crysta is excited to be one of our housekeeper fairies, you won’t see her often but you’ll know she has been working hard!
Crysta has a kind, gentle attitude, which makes sense since she is a busy mom of 3 kids and 2 pups! Her and the family love a good road trip, long drives singing along to their favourite songs. Crysta enjoys living a quiet life surrounded by nature and animals. She has been a vegetarian for many years and loves cooking up tasty veggie meals.
Taylor Wynia
Lodge Hand
read full bioTaylor Wynia
Lodge Hand
Taylor, Tay, Mr. Worldwide- really anything but Tay Tay, is joining the team for his first season at Keefer. Originally from Claresholm Alberta, he is now living in Kelowna. Taylor is well traveled and will be putting his worldwide dining knowledge to work as one of our servers.
A big adventurer and an even bigger eater, Taylor shared some of his travel highlights. Driving a van in England, living on a farm in Finland, eating his way through Greece, drinking wine in France, slurping ramen in Japan and driving mopeds in Laos. Lucky guy!
Taylor will be working on his birthday this year and has requested extra saucy ribs, a yearly tradition for him. When he’s not working or traveling the world, Taylor is climbing his way to Bouldering pro status. Currently about halfway there! If he could be anywhere, it would be somewhere 15 degrees with vertical rocks. If you ever hear “siiiiiiiiiick” don’t be alarmed, it’s just an excited Taylor.
Ali Penny
Lodge Hand
read full bioAli Penny
Lodge Hand
Ali is new to Canada, arriving with a 2-year visa in May of this year. He is coming to us from Scotland, just south of Edinburgh. Ali came to Canada for the snow! He has been skiing since he was a child and cannot wait to hit the powder this season. Ali is no stranger to the lodge life, he worked 5 seasons in Europe, mainly in the Dolomites. If you’re curious about what the skiing is like there be sure to ask him! Ali is a bit of a baddie, he competed against an Olympian in a X-country mountain bike race. He most definitely won the race.
Alex Perry
Lodge Hand
read full bioAlex Perry
Lodge Hand
Alex is from Worcester, England and yes, that is where the sauce is made! She was a Pharmacist in the UK before she decided to travel the world. Alex has been travelling for the last 5 years in search of deep snow and this search landed her in Canada. She is joining Keefer for her first season on the housekeeping team. Alex’s happy place is in the Alpine, she is so excited to be here! She loves sharing experiences with others in new settings. Be sure to share your snow stories with her. When she’s off shift up at the lodge, you’ll find her snuggling the many dogs we have playing around the property.
want to join the keefer team?
We are always on the lookout for talented and creative individuals who love the great outdoors to join the team! If you are an energetic, hardworking, and a positive individual, we would love to meet you.