Albert Keller

Kassandra Tymoshuk

Kian Farrokhi

Operations Manager, SKGABC Level 3 Lead Kayak Guide

Albert grew up at Coast Mountain Lodge where he taught himself paddling skills, first in the sheltered waters of Evans Bay, later in nearby tidal rapids. After 19 seasons guiding in the Discovery Islands, Albert’s love of sharing his big backyard has only grown stronger. These days, Albert spends most of his time ensuring that our trips are well-equipped and run smoothly, which involves answering the phone, packing trip food, boat driving, maintenance….and he still fits some guiding days in as well! In addition to kayaking, Albert enjoys mountain bike adventures, backcountry skiing, and fun times with kids Koda and Shiloh, as well as his dog, Nova.  

SKGABC Level 2 Lead Kayak Guide

Kass comes from Ontario where she was raised in the outdoors paddling the Great Lakes and exploring Algonquin Park. She attended Algonquin College for the Outdoor Adventure Naturalist program, then migrated to Vancouver Island to pursue life as an outdoor instructor and divemaster. Her passion is to connect others with nature and empower folks in the outdoors. When she is not paddling, she loves foraging, scuba diving, hiking, cooking, photography, and trying new outdoor activities. 2026 will be Kassandra’s third season as a lead guide for CME.

Kass holds a wealth of knowledge about the region’s flora, fauna, and marine life. Ask her a question; we bet she’ll know the answer! 

SKGABC Level 2 Lead Kayak Guide

Kian grew up in Deep Cove, North Vancouver. Canoeing in Quetico Park, sea kayaking on the BC coast, and white water paddling any river his Honda will get him to have fueled his passion for the water. In the winter, you’ll find Kian, hopefully, chin-deep in powder, cruising the backcountry. The COLT program at Strathcona Park Lodge honed his technical skills and solidified his love for
teaching and outdoor adventure. Kian ups the fun factor on any trip he guides with a steady stream of knowledge, fun facts, and silly puns. He’s spent the last several seasons guiding across Vancouver Island; this is his second season at CME. 

 

Madeleine Luntley

Jasmine Harvey

Cody Chamberlain

SKGABC Assistant Overnight Kayak Guide

Madeleine is an outdoor enthusiast and lifelong learner who thrives on connecting with people while exploring wild places. Whether sea kayaking, skiing, or leading community events, Madeleine brings curiosity, calm, and a genuine love for learning to everything she does. She fell in love with paddling on Canada’s west coast on a trip to the Octopus Islands with Coast Mountain Expeditions in 2013, and has returned as a guide!

Madeleine’s focus lies in facilitating outdoor access for all; she has previously worked in adaptive recreation. She also led a research project in Colombia focused on evaluating the effects of over tourism in vulnerable communities. An artistic soul, she has just finished a Bachelors of Music at the University of Toronto, so she’s always ready with a paddling song, whether you like it or not!

When not playing outside in the sea or snow, Madeleine loves to cook for friends and family, and can always be found with a book somewhere close by. Above all, she’s dedicated to creating safe, inclusive, and joyful outdoor adventures — and she’s always eager to learn something new along the way. This is Maddi’s second season with CME. 

SKGABC Assistant Overnight Kayak Guide

 

Jasmine has lived her whole life on Sonora Island (just north of Quadra Island), where she grew up kayaking, sailing, and boating herself to school at Surge Narrows. A true local, Jasmine brings the kind of familiarity and local knowledge that only comes from growing up in a place. In her free time, Jasmine loves to go hiking, backpacking, sailing, kayaking, swimming, and when its rainy, doing lots of art, crafts and reading. Find her outside identifying and photographing birds and plants. This is Jasmine’s second season with CME.
 
 

SKGABC Level 1 Guide

 
 

Jen Leggett

Nela Pospisilova

Ralph Keller

Coast Mountain Lodge Cook

Jen has lived on Read Island with her husband full-time since 1998, and raised two wonderful kids on the island. Jen is Lannie’s “right hand” in the Coast Mountain kitchen and is responsible for much of the tasty food our trip participants enjoy on kayaking trips. Jen commutes to work by quad and boat and considers her occasional sighting of whales and bears to be a real perk of the job!

Discovery Islands Lodge Chef

Nela grew up in Europe, which enabled her to taste many various cuisines and learn a couple languages in her early years. In her 20’s, Nela adopted a “travelling chef” lifestyle, which took her to Spain, Georgia, Israel, Bali, Turkey, New Zealand, the Bahamas – and you’ll taste some of the inspiration drawn from this experience during your stay with us. A trip to the Discovery Islands convinced her to stay, and she’s happy to call BC her long-term home. If you want to strike up a conversation that isn’t about food, she’ll gladly chat away about intrepid travels, yoga, music and art. When not in the kitchen, you may spot her swimming (usually far away from the dock), strumming her guitar on the porch, running the local trails or sketching in a quiet corner by a tree.
 

Co-Owner, General Operations

Co-founder Ralph moved to Read Island in 1979 where he founded Coast Mountain Expeditions with wife Lannie. A passionate advocate for the preservation of island ecosystems, Ralph is a key organizer of the Coastal Tourism Working Group, a body of local businesses that advocates for conservation and responsible logging practices in the Discovery Islands. Ralph remains a jack-of-all-trades for Coast Mountain; he runs the boat, and operates and maintains all the complex off-grid systems that make the operation run and still finds time for kayak guiding. To say the place would fall apart without Ralph is no understatement!

Lannie Keller

Cedar

Luna

Co-owner, Coast Mountain Lodge Chef

Lannie co-founded Coast Mountain with Ralph way back in 1987. Today, she tends the garden, rules the kitchen, helps get dinner or breakfast on the table and…she makes sure trip food gets packed out right. Lannie is reason everything happens on schedule ’round these parts. Passionate about the preservation of whole ecosystems, Lannie is the organizational drive behind the Discovery Islands Ecosystem Mapping (DIEM) Project, a community initiative to collect sensitive ecosystem data and make it accessible to conservation efforts.

Lodge Dog

Cedar was born and raised on Read Island.  He graced us with his presence in 2012 and knows the business well! Nobody at Coast Mountain wears more hats than Cedar! Official welcoming committee, cuddle therapist, food disposal expert, stick fetcher, and wildlife manager are just a few of his many job descriptions.

Branch Manager

Luna left us earlier this year after a lengthy illness. She left a lasting impression on us, and many CME guests with her fun-loving attitude, hilarious antics, and amazing cuddles. This one had a real zest for life and we all miss her dearly.