Powder Skiing For The Young At Heart
By Lockie Brown, Thu Dec 8th

About 8 years ago, I got a call from the daughter an oldfriend. “It’s Dad’s 60th birthday soon and the family wants tosend him on a ski trip. We are hoping that you and Bill and Owenwill keep him company”. “Sure”, I said, expecting a destinationlike Sun Peaks or Rossland. “Where are we going?” “Cat Skiingnear Fernie.” “What skiing?” “Cat skiing!” “What’s Cat Skiing?”“Its backcountry from snowcats, sort of a poor man’sheli-skiing.” “Can I afford it?” “You can’t afford to miss this!”

That four-day trip was the start of seven years of superbskiing. On that first trip, we had a marvelous time and powderskiing, the likes of which none of us could remember. Run afterrun in fresh, untracked snow. There were steep rollovers thatput my heart in my throat, where the deep snow seemed to supportus like an invisible hand, letting us down the fall line slowlyand gently. Wow! Face shots galore! I thought, “Life is tooshort not to be doing this every year!”

On the second day of that tour, I presented myself at the lodgeoffice and requested a booking for the following year. “Sorry,full up”. “No!” “Yes!” “However, the year after has an opening,and you could have a whole cat.” “Done”, I said, and thought,“You fool, what are you doing?”

After much effort, evening after evening of phone calls,hounding old friends and a very long wait, we were back twoyears later with twelve good men and women. Some were old skifriends of almost 50 years. We had another wonderful trip withgreat skiing, great snow and great company.

Now, years later, we are still at it. We’ve changed venue fromnear Fernie to a spot near Golden, B.C., where the is alittle higher and the snow seems to be a little more reliable.Our host is Chatter Creek Snowcat Skiing(www.chattercreekcatskiing.com), a partnership of fourpersonable young men who run an excellent operation, about 20minutes by helicopter north of Golden, on the western flank ofthe Rocky Mountains.

The 130 sq. km. tenure includes a large glacier at just under10,000ft. elevation, huge open alpine slopes and bowls and anumber of enormous ridges that offer superb tree skiing. Aftermany trips to Chatter Creek, we have yet to ski the entire area.Each summer, snowcat roads are extended to open up ever moreterrain. An application has been made to increase the terrainsize by about 85%. See Cat Terrain(http://www.cat-skiing-terrain.blogspot.com) for a photographictour of the Chatter Creek tenure.

Skiing on the Vertebrae glacier is “mellow” and the views arespectacular. From the highest point, the view spreads to thewest, over nearby peaks and ridges to the distant Adamant Rangeand Selkirk Mountains. To the east, much nearer and in clearview, are countless peaks and snowfields of the ContinentalDivide, including the Clemenceau Icefield, Mt Columbia and theSnow Dome. The latter is the source of the famous ColumbiaIcefield and contains the hydrographic apex of North America. Asskiers ski on the glacier, the unusual “squiggles” of theSullivan Fault fill the view and forms the backdrop of many aguest photograph. See Glacier at Chatter Creek(http://glacier-skiing.blogspot.com) for many photos from theVertebrae glacier.

On bluebird days, the guides usually head to the high alpine fora few runs on the Vertebrae glacier, or in one of the many largebowls or slopes such as the Clamshell, upper Lodge Ridge, SuperSpruce, South Park, Lakeview , and Oyster Bowl. After a few ofruns, the group will move on to nearby areas, here andthere on the way, never staying long in any one spot. Every runin untracked snow!

Snowcat rides are rarely more than 15 to 20 minutes long,usually just long enough to enjoy half a sandwich and a drink,to rest the legs and to share a couple of bad jokes with ourcompanions. The Bombardier snowcats(http://www.bombardier-snowcats-at-chatter-creek.blogspot.com)are warm and comfortable. They accommodate 12 guests, two guidesand a driver. The

three cats move independently and are usuallyout of sight of one another all day.

When skiing, the guide keeps the group together, while allowingeveryone their own line in unbroken snow. There’s no pressure to“farm” snow.

The speed of the group and number of stops depends on the group.Faster groups of expert skiers may ski non-stop to the bottom.Groups of intermediate skiers may stop along the way, toregroup, rest, share experiences and take pictures. Cat skiingis laid back and relaxed. The guests “call the shots” anddetermine the pace. The guides concentrate on the preferencesand needs of the group and provide a “tailor made” skiingexperience.

A favorite with many skiers is the tree on the greatridges. A group can ski for many days on any one ridge and notrun out of fresh snow. Runs pass through old burns with widelyspaced snags, living forest with open glades and cut blocks withdeeply buried stumps that form “pillows” and undulations ofendless variety.

Intermediate skiers who rarely ski “the trees” not only findthey can do it, but that it’s fun. The snow in the trees tendsto be deeper and unaffected by sun and wind. Snow is soft andconsistent and there are no moguls and lumps. The short, fatpowder skis that can be rented from Chatter Creek make it allpretty easy. Novices learn very quickly. Cat does notrequire prior experience or special equipment, just boots andclothing and enthusiasm.

Cat at Chatter Creek is well suited for skiers andsnowboarders having a wide range of ability. My group of expertskiers has enjoyed every trip and is always challenged andexperiencing new terrain. Chatter Creek recommends that guestsbe at least strong intermediate skiers. However, I haveorganized “friends and family” groups that have included skiersof lesser ability and everyone got on fine. Good physicalcondition makes up for a lack of experience. Ages have rangedfrom the 20’s to 70, with most group members in the 50 to 65year range.

As the ski-day wears on and people may begin to tire, guests arewelcome to sit-out a run and ride back down the hill with thesnowcat driver. If someone wants to “call it a day”, a staffmember will drive the guest back to the lodge on a snowmobile.

Runs can vary from about 800 vertical feet to over 2000 ft.Typical runs drop 1200 to 1500 ft. The amount of done ina day depends entirely on the strength of the group. Daily“vertical” usually varies from 9,000 to 14,000 feet. Very fastgroups may do 16,000 ft, or even more. Our group has always wornitself out, day after day.

A nice feature at Chatter Creek is that almost always, the catpicks up the group where they finish their run. Unlike someoperations, there is very little on hard-packed roads toget to the cat.

The perfect end to a day at Chatter Creek is a run on LodgeRidge, ending at the door of Vertebrae Lodge(http://www.lodge-life-at-chatter-creek.blogspot.com). We stepout of our skis and boards and into the bar, dropping into softcouches, with cold beers in hand. After some laughs with ourmates and browsing on the afternoon snacks, we stumble off tothe outdoor hot tub to enjoy another beer or a Caesar and towatch the sunlight disappear from the peaks.

In 2004, Chatter Creek built a second9000 sq. ft lodge and expanded to 36 clients. All guestsenjoy double occupancy bedrooms, each with a private bathroom.Our group has expanded to fill the lodge and we have 36enthusiastic skiers and snowboarders all signed up and waitingpatiently for next year. Some of the old-boys are now takingalong their grown offspring, and one cat is set aside for twoentire families. It’s going to be a great party, with greatskiing!

About the author:Lockie Brown lives near Vancouver, Canada. He skis regularly atWhistler and gets the odd trip to Chatter Creek. He recommendsthe Chatter News photo journal(http://www.powder-skiing.blogspot.com) for many photos of allaspects of snowcat at Chatter Creek.