Albert Keller
Kate Keller
Sarah Richards
Operations Manager
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.
Administrative Jack-of-all-Trades
Kate grew up in the mountains, and still seeks out the high country in the wintertime, but has also found a love for the ocean that keeps her coming back every summer. A lover of wildlife, photography, and adventure of all types (especially with four-legged friends), Kate can be hard to pin down, but can most often be found behind the lens or behind the scenes in a ‘jack-of-all-trades’ role. Kate is mom to Cedar’s BFF Luna, and spends much of her winter in Nelson, BC. Kate handles most of our communications and is the friendly voice on the other end of the telephone when you call us up!
Multi-day Kayak Guide
Sarah recently completed the Canadian Outdoor Leadership Training program, and could not be more excited to be joining the team at Coast Mountain Expeditions for her first full season of sea kayak guiding! She grew up with the outdoors as her classroom and playground, and feels most at home in the ocean, mountains, rivers, and forests of the BC coast. Besides paddling, her favourite parts of expedition life are music, quiet moments with tea and a good book, experimenting with backcountry baking, and sharing her love of marine critters large and small! When not kayaking, Sarah fills her time with her other outdoor passions including sailing, rock climbing, scuba diving, and hiking. In the winter, she can be found seeking out whitewater, teaching rock climbing, and studying marine biology in Victoria.
Liam McIlvenna
Katrina Laube
Rachel Dufort
Multi-day Kayak Guide
Multi-day Kayak Guide
Katrina was born in North Vancouver and raised to be a lifelong learner and keen adventurer. She has kayak guided for multiple seasons in the Gulf Islands, Greater Vancouver, and even Costa Rica. Her favourite kayaking memory is becoming surrounded by six magnificent orca whales circling a group of sunbathing seals. When not kayaking she enjoys yoga, hiking, jamming to live music, skiing, and a good pun. Beyond her love for the Canadian outdoors, she enjoys exploring the world, having travelled extensively in Central America, Europe, China, and the South Pacific. Katrina is completing her degree in Geography and Global Development at the University of Victoria and is eager to share her love of life by the ocean with guests in the Discovery Islands!
Multi-day Kayak Guide
Rachel grew up on the lands of the W̱SÁNEĆ and Lekwungen peoples, or as we call it Victoria. Surrounded by the Salish Sea, Garry oak meadows, and coastal rainforests, she inevitably developed a love for natural spaces and their inhabitants. Now a geography and environmental studies student, she’s further developed her curiosity of natural systems and deepened her understanding of social and climate justice issues. This will be her first guiding season with Coast Mountain Expeditions after spending 4 years leading day and overnight trips at summer camps. In her spare time, you can find Rachel hiking, skiing, slowly tackling a growing collection of crafting projects, or out on the trails with her newfound love of mountain biking.
Shawnai Hollanders
Ralph Keller
Lannie Keller
Coast Mountain Kitchen
Shawnai is a long-time Read Island local – she lives by the waters edge with her husband, children, and many animals. She enjoys creating gourmet feasts with local flavour (especially of the plant-based variety). Shawnai works with Lannie to create the delicious meals and treats that fuel participants on our kayak trips. Fun fact: Shawnai’s dog Marley is Cedar’s mom!
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, picks up people and supplies and delivers them to the right place. He 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!
Co-owner, General Operations
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.
Cedar
Luna
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 came to us in 2015 via the BCSPCA. She spends her winters as a powder hound in Nelson BC and her summers cruising the beaches of Read Island. Her main duties include: generating enthusiasm, squirrel monitoring, stick & branch inventory and food-waste consultation. This one has a real zest for life, and it is contagious.