40 Tribes is the inspiration of Ryan Koupal. As the founder and director of this adventure travel company, Koupal shares his passion for unexpected places combined with splitboarding (backcountry snowboarding). He says it’s a loooong story of how he got to where he is now.
Koupal’s road to adventure started just after high school when he traveled the world as a guide and program director for a Boulder- based adventure travel/cross-cultural education company in 2004-2009. His day-to-day logistics were complicated by international travel variations. He loved this work but the focus on education of high school and gap year students wasn’t quite his thing. Splitboarding became his mode for exploring far-flung parts of the world.
Introducing 40 Tribes, a company that offers unique backcountry ski and splitboard focused expeditions in mostly untrammeled, less known worldwide locations. Kyrgyzstan was the first destination offered starting in March of 2011. Travel in this country is offered through tours, both guided and self-guided originating at a private yurt camp. The camp is managed by locals at the village at the base of the destination mountains.
Offerings have expanded to include Svalbard (arctic Norway), Georgia (the country), Russia (Siberia and Kamchatka), France (La Grave), Chile and Greenland. Svalbard is the land of the midnight sun starting in June with bird colonies that teem with life including rare king eiders, kittiwakes and Brunnich’s guillemots. It is also the land of the polar bears. Spectacular fjords can be found throughout the islands. Some of these islands were the starting points for the first expeditions to attempt to reach the North Pole.
Georgia is spectacular with some of Europe’s highest peaks. It is sparsely populated which leaves pristine scenes of evergreen forests, mountain glaciers and pristine lakes.
Kamchatka is a 1250 km long peninsula in the Russian Far East. It is one of the most mysterious regions of the former Soviet Union. Some of the largest grizzly bears in the world roam here. Salmon invade the streams during the summer. This island is one of the five major geothermal areas in the world, a main link in the Earth’s ring of fire. Roads are scarce in this distant land of Siberia’s wilderness.
La Grave is a small ski resort in the French Alps that is visited by off-piste and extreme skiers. It is a sleepy resort town situated in the shadow of the peak of La Meije. It is surrounded by coniferous forests, glacial lakes and rocky overlooks. The town is ranked as one of the sunniest in France, so it offers a plethora of sunny, clear days for adventure.
Chile is stunningly beautiful which welcomes backcountry travel. The Andes are the spine of Chile and are the spectacular backdrop for adventure. There are views of glaciated peaks, active volcanoes, fjords, high altitude lakes and green forests.
Greenland has one of the wildest coastlines in the world. The mountains are heavily glaciated with stunning lines to ski and explore rising from icebergs in the fjords. This icecap is second in size only to Antarctica. Greenland was given its name by Erik the Red as a medieval marketing ploy. It was said that people would be attracted to a settlement if it was given a pleasing name. Greenland actually is a land of ice and snow.
Three years ago, Koupal started a “mystery trip” where the only information disclosed to the clients is when and where to meet to start to the destination and what to pack. This is his favorite part of his job, dreaming up and scouting new destinations and unthinkable experiences.
Koupal, his guides and local partners provide these rare adventure opportunities and try to add a destination a year. The mystery trip destination hopefully becomes a regular location in the yearly lineup in following years.
The inspiration for 40 tribes was heavily influenced by two trips to Kyrgyzstan in 2009 and 2010. Some friends joined Koupal to create a documentary video on the potential for development of winter tourism in this country. Some relationships did not go well, and the documentary was never completed. But Koupal felt making the story happen was more important than the telling of it. Since the creation of the camp, yurt- based backcountry skiing has been a major part of Kyrgyzstan’s winter tourism.
Koupal holds a joint BA from Middlebury College in Vermont in Mandarin Chinese and Studio Art. Might we expect some future locations in China?
40 Tribes Backcountry Adventures is located in Ward, Colorado. To contact Koupal to plan your wild place snow adventure contact the company at 303-552-6034 or email info@40tribesbackcountry.com. You can find more information at the website: https://40tribesbackcountry.com or on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/40Tribes/
Paid for by Rebuilding Business in the Peak to Peak grant funding.
