Any British Columbia snowcat recommendations?

ChrisC

ChrisC

Well-known member
I am planning a trip through BC/Alberta next year and looking for 1-day snowcat recommendations. Not interested in overnight/extended stays like Island Lake Lodge, etc. for time and money reasons.

My loop will look like the following....Calgary --> Lake Louise-Kicking Horse-Panorama-Red Mtn.-Fernie/Big Mtn/Castle --> Calgary. I've done this trip before and will definitely skip Sunshine, Norquay and possibly Panorama. Planning to go during February.

I see a lot of small snowcat operators but it's hard distinguishing what might be good -- snowfall, terrain, etc.

I did RK Heli Ski one last time and had a great day with 12" new while Panorama had less than 1" fresh (a few miles down the valley). Obviously microclimes exist all over these hills.

Any advice would be great.
 
The only cat operators near the Calgary loop trip are Island Lake, near Fernie, and Chatter Creek, near Golden/Kicking Horse. Both are first rate, but 3 day minimums, hard to get in, and not cheap.

Red Mt, as great terrain as it is, is a 4-hour one way detour from the loop you describe, which I have done twice. Unfortunately most of the snowcat operators are on the west side of the Selkirks between Nelson and Revelstoke, starting about an hour north of Red Mt.

You should try Baldface. They used to take skiers from hotels in Nelson. They have a lodge now but may still offer the other option. Valhalla also takes day skiers from Nelson, but I've read some negative comments regarding the professionalism of that operation. Retallack and White Grizzly are a couple of hours north of Nelson, may have 2-day minimums.

Monashee Powder Adventures has the best reputation of catski quality for the dollar and also has a standby program. They are even farther west, with two locations, one west of Revelstoke and the other between the Okanagan and the Columbia Valley.

If cat skiing is an important part of this trip and it's only one week, you should run your loop out of Spokane rather than Calgary. That way you can ski Fernie, Red, Whitewater and some cat skiing from Nelson. The 5-hour drive between Spokane and Fernie also goes right by Schweitzer.

If you still want the Calgary loop for the lift-served areas, I would go back to RK, or maybe Purcell Heliskiing which is near Golden.
 
Snowcat skiing is important because the quality is so high. However, I would rather spend money on gear, Tahoe, Telluride and SLC before giving a lot to snowcat operation for a few days.

Actually, Kalispell/Big Mtn for a starting point is a good idea.

Something like Big Mtn-Schweitzer-Red-Fernie-Castle. Maybe add Silver Mtn in Idaho? Any good?

I am going with a group of guys -- some went on last tour, most did not -- so convincing to do something different is a little harder.

I have been to Lake Louise (yes, I know it has snowfall issues) and think it's one of the best. I have not been to Kicking Horse. Sunshine -- I want to like it...seems to have all the ingredients, but it comes up short....it's too easy or a little wind blown or does not have enough vertical off of certain lifts. Is Red Mtn. and a snowcat operation near Nelson worth the trade off of not skiing Lake Lousie and Kicking Horse?

curious about your opinion....
 
Red is a really great mountain. not the biggest vert out there, but some really crazy in-bounds terrain. I spent a week out there in the mid 90's during a freeze-thaw cycle and still had a great time (though I was 16 at the time, so I could handle the bone shattering abuse a bit better).

But the real question is the trade-off between that & cat vs. Louise & Horse:

If the snow is going to be good at Red and in the cat area, then i would go for it, but if you going to go when the snow might be questionable (before Jan, after early march) then it may be safer to hedge your bets and stick with the two big mountains, which will offer the "big mountian" experience, and stand a better chance of hitting snow later in the season.

In terms of snow quality, Tony is the authority, i'll let him weigh in here.
 
There are a few unanswered questions here, like time of year and length of trip. Turning the triangle trip into a rectangle and adding Big Mtn. to Red, Fernie, Schweitzer makes some sense, but that's a lot of driving for just one week, especially if you want to check out Castle, Whitewater and/or cat skiing. Airfares will be much cheaper to Spokane than Kalispell.

I share your opinion of Louise and Sunshine. Louise's snowfall numbers are meager, yet I've been there in 4 different seasons and always been able to find some decent snow and ski a lot of interesting terrain. Sunshine has intermediate terrain with superb snow conditions and an advanced mountain (Goat's Eye) with much less reliable snow due to southwest exposure. If you have the required gear, Delirium Dive is outstanding though logistics will likely limit you to 2-3 runs there.

Lockie Brown and I both analyzed Kicking Horse after our trips this January:
http://www.firsttracksonline.com/boards ... .php?t=619
http://www.firsttracksonline.com/boards ... .php?t=608

The "rectangle" areas are all known for outstanding tree skiing. Of these, Red is the most expert, Fernie gets the most snow and Big Mtn. is a little higher and thus less vulnerable to the rain events that are the major climate flaw of these areas. Whitewater's snow conditions are much better and comparable to the cat skiing, but lift served terrain is very limited vs. the other 4 areas. If you do AT or telemark Whitewater is a must for its extensive backcountry.

If the trip is in January I would go for the "rectangle" areas due to much higher snowfall, thus likely better coverage. The colder month should mean less rain incidence but it sure didn't work that way this year. If the trip is in March the Calgary loop is a better bet as those areas should have adequate cover by then and snow preservation is better in their colder climates and higher altitudes.

February is a good bet for either. The cat/heli skiing fits the above recommendation also, with the lower altitude and high snowfall Selkirk snowcat areas being safer before the onset of spring conditions, while the Purcell heli and cat (Chatter Creek) areas are at higher altitude with some glacier skiing.
 
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