Cat skiing with Island Lake Lodge

Getting there:
From Calgary:
4 hours

From Kalispell, MT:
2 hours

Closest airport:
Cranbrook, BC (1 hr drive)

Season:
Late December to early April

Details:
Like many cat skiing operations, Island Lake offers an expansive tenure area (7,000 acres here) and a variety of terrain guaranteed to keep you grinning. Many of the runs can be skied right to the door of the Island Lake Lodge.

You will ride terrain ranging from the Three Bears peaks with a 3,000 vertical foot descent starting in alpine bowls and leading down through gladed tree lines, to the Cabin Bowl with its chutes and tree runs, to the Faceshots alpine bowl, to Mt. Baldy with its steep tree runs and cold powder shots, and to Mt. Fernie with it’s perfectly spaced tree skiing.

If you decide on a multi-day package including a stay at the Island Lake Lodge, you will sleep in one of three guest lodges, eat gourmet meals in the Bear Lodge, and relax, play darts, and share stories in the Tamarack Lodge. Televisions and phones are not provided in the guest rooms, but wireless internet access is available to let you send the day’s photos to your friends stuck skiing groomers back at the resort.

Contact:
A year-round office is located in Fernie, B.C., Canada and responds to all guest/media inquiries, personalized requests and reservations.

Island Lake Resort Group
Box 1229 602a 2nd Ave
Fernie, B.C. Canada
V0B 1M0

Toll Free North America – 1-888-4CATSKI (422.8754)
Telephone – 1.250.423.3700
Facsimile – 1.250.423.4055
Email – info@islandlakeresorts.com

Island Lake Lodge Cat Skiing Website

British Columbia Catskiing with Powder Cowboy

Getting there:
(Detailed directions are available on the Powder Cowboy website)

From Calgary:
4 hours

From Kalispell, MT:
2 hours (van transport is available from the Kalispell airport)

Closest airport:
Cranbrook, BC (1 hr drive)

Season:
Late December through late March

Details:
At Powder Cowboy, guests are treated to a luxurious 3 or 4-day experience based out of the main lodging area, named the Bull River Guest Ranch. You will sleep in one of eight guest log cabins with in-floor heating and wood stoves. Gourmet meals, a variety of stocked beverages, and the day’s stories are shared in the main lodge, called the Bull River Saloon. Of course, there’s a hot tub and sauna cabin, too, and you’re also treated to a massage after a tough day (ha!) ripping through trees and open bowls.

But enough about that fancy stuff – you’d sleep in your car to ski here, right? Powder Cowboy recently expanded its operating area by 3,500 acres, leading to a new total of 6,000 acres to be shared by the maximum of 24 guests at a time. The Lizard Range of the Canadian Rockies offers up great terrain, including bowls, open slopes, and most notably some of the best tree skiing you may have ever experienced. The area recieves an average of 350+ inches of dry interior BC snow annually. Guests average 8-14 runs per day for a total of 10,000 to 14,000 vertical feet. The longest run offers a 2,500 foot vertical drop.

For those looking to borrow a pair of skis or a snowboard for your maximum shredding pleasure, Powder Cowboy offers K2 skis and Burton snowboards that you may use at no charge. That’s pretty cool. Just bring you’re own boots (and for snowboarders, bindings!) and they’ll set you right up.

Contact:
Powder Cowboy Catskiing
Box 1229 602a 2nd Ave
Fernie, B.C. Canada
V0B 1M0
Toll Free North America – 1-888-4CATSKI (422.8754)
Telephone – 1.250.423.3700
Facsimile – 1.250.423.4055
Email – info@powdercowboy.com

Powder Cowboy Website

Cat Skiing with White Grizzly

Getting There:

By car:

Spokane, Washington: Approximately 5.5 hour drive
Calgary, Alberta: Approximately 8 hour drive

Closest Airport: Castlegar, BC (shuttle to Nelson from Castlegar Airport is available)

Season (2009/2010):

Early December through late March

Details:

Located about 1.5 hours north of Nelson, British Columbia in the Selkirk Mountain Range, the White Grizzly Adventures operation offers 80 large-vertical runs on primarily north and east facing slopes. Most runs average 3,200 feet long, and the average six runs per day are claimed to put your total vertical tally right up there with the best around! In fact, the operation guarantees that you will cover more vertical than anyone else. Snowfall in the vicinity generally averages about 50 feet per year.

The terrain is varied and includes alpine bowls, chutes, and gladed tree skiing. About 50% of the terrain consists of steep tree runs. Over 11,000 skiable acres are included in the terrain area – more than the total area of Whistler and Blackcomb combined.

To start the day a maximum of 12 guests are conveyed 13 miles from Meadow Creek to the staging area, where everyone piles into the heated snowcat for a 6,200 vertical foot climb to begin the day at 8,000 feet. Packages are customizable from 1 day on up, and include guided skiing, safety equipment, and with or without lodging. If you opt for lodging, all meals are included. Rental skis and snowboards are available for $30 per day; your own boots are recommended.

Contact:
White Grizzly Adventures Ltd.
Carole and Brad Karafil
Box 129
Meadow Creek, BC
V0G 190

Phone: (250) 366-4306
Fax: (250) 366-4425
Toll Free N. America: 1-800-843-5557
Email: snowcats@direct.ca

White Grizzly Cat Skiing Website