Powder Snow
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The snow quality and quantity at Big Red Cats is very good, but it’s not stupendous like it is with some other BC cat skiing operations. The volume of annual snowfall is below average for BC snowcat skiing, so they tend to get “dump-ettes” and a lower frequency of powder top-ups.
On the plus side, the terrain has a variety of aspects so the guides can generally fossick around if it hasn’t snowed in a while, and there are plenty of trees to protect the snow from the sun. On the downside the top elevation is only 2,200 metres (versus an average of 2,380 metres for BC cat skiing) and they seem to have more wind events and warm temp episodes than some other BC cat skiing further north.
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Overall Terrain
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The size of the terrain is a little above average for BC cat skiing tenures. The size is generally way more than adequate, but with up to 4 snowcats going out each day, it only becomes a problem if there hasn’t been recent snow. Whilst we always had fresh lines at the top of the run, there were times when further down we had to ski over tracked snow.
The variety of terrain is impressive, both in terms of the type of terrain as well as the degree of challenge it provides. The unique characteristic of providing different snowcat trips for different ability levels is a major advantage. This gives intermediates an opportunity to go cat skiing, whilst experts can definitely go for it without being relegated to mellow slopes or a slow pace. Despite being a day operator where you can’t ski to and from the lodge, expert groups are still able to cover a decent amount of vertical.
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| Alpine Terrain |
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| The alpine pitches are fairly short before it changes to sub-alpine terrain. Nevertheless Big Red Cats has a decent amount of alpine terrain for a North American cat ski outfit. The alpine terrain is generally steep and littered with lots of treats such as chutes, jumps and other rocky features. Even if the avalanche risk is somewhat high, the shape of the terrain and the presence of various ridges tend to allow access to parts of the alpine areas. |
| Tree Skiing |
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| BRC has plenty of variety with respect to the tree spacing. Some areas have sparse vegetation where you can let the boards fly, some areas have tight trees to make it adequately challenging, whilst other zones are a happy medium with gladed trees. The pitch also varies significantly. |
Strong Intermediate Terrain
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| Big Red Cats has a decent range of mellow terrain that’s not too heavily wooded that’s perfect for novice powder hounds. The segregated trips by skill level are an absolute super bonus for intermediates. The only downside is that the majority of the trips are allocated to advanced and expert riders with only a handful of intermediate trips per season. This is only the product of who books in first, so intermediates, get in and book your cat skiing nice and early! |
Advanced Terrain
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| There is an abundance of fantastic tree skiing and alpine terrain for advanced riders. It’s absolute ecstasy! |
Expert & Extreme Terrain
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Because Big Red Cats can cater so well to intermediates, it seems to attract a reputation amongst some cat skiers as having lame terrain. All fool them because this rep is eons away from reality. BRC has an abundance of steep gnarly terrain that will adequately challenge experts. Some short pitches fall into the “holy fxxx” category, and there are chutes and lots of features for air-time. The only downside is that the steeps are over all too soon, and many of the runs mellow out to a flat commute back to the snowcat road.
Once again the ability delineation is fantastic for experts. Sure there’s the chance that some bloke will overestimate his talents, but the chances of being disadvantaged by slow skiers or boarders is pretty slim.
Expert groups are very common. Generally these include a good amount of hucking terrain but cliff jumping isn’t mandatory. Uber-expert groups tend to have a much greater focus on leaping off little cliffs and other features. These uber snowcat trips are generally less frequent, so get in early or pull together your own posse.
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| Guiding |
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Big Red Cats have a huge number of guides and they all differ somewhat. They often need to pull in casual guides who aren’t that familiar with the terrain. Conversely some of the old hands know the terrain intimately and all the nooks and crannies. The guides are generally fantastic at picking the right lines dependent upon the conditions of the snow and snowpack.
We had high levels of confidence in the lead guides with regards to safety aspects and provision of clear and concise instructions. A little more PR mingling with the guests would probably have heightened the experience further.
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| Snowcat |
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The snowcats are powerful and without heavy arses on them, they purr very quickly up the hill. The cat tracks are also efficiently placed which contributes to a faster uphill commute.
The cabin interior had a few rows of seats so some guests had to sit facing backwards. Other minor shortcomings were a side entrance so you had to get in and out via the tracks, there was no stereo, and it felt a bit sterile. On the plus side, the cabin was bright and airy with great windows to appreciate the amazing views, the snowcat had insulation so we could chitchat to our heart’s content, and there were good storage facilities and gadgets.
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Avalanche Mitigation Strategies
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| As is common with the high profile BC cat skiing operators, the emphasis on safety and avalanche risk minimisation at BRC was very apparent to guests in the field. Having at least one guide out there on a snowmobile testing snowpack stability and the like is really impressive (and the snow pit analysis doesn’t cut into precious skiing time). |
Safety Briefing
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The non-practical component of the BRC safety briefing used to include a fabulous video that guests watched at base camp. This is no longer the case and guides now utilise the time on the bus out to the staging area to do the safety talk. The briefing lacked the structure that it used to have, but it covered most aspects and is now more interactive. If you’re keen for a video, you can always watch the safety vid on the BRC website.
Once at the staging area we did a quick beacon search session but no probe and shovel practice, which is somewhat typical of a day operator.
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Frills
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Lunch consisted of nice wraps and rolls. Water, granola bars and the infamous cookies were also provided during the day, but no hot beverages.
Other than having ski rentals, they don’t provide any other frills such as breakfast or morning coffee, an après session with beers, or a photography service. On the plus side, you don’t have to pay for frivolities that you don’t necessarily need.
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Value for Money
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The rates for day skiing in high season are slightly higher than the average for Canada cat skiing companies, whilst low season prices are a little less than the average. Rental powder skis attract an additional charge, and besides lunch, you don’t get too many other added extras.
Where BRC comes to the fore with respect to value for money is with multi-day packages. Firstly the day skiing is significantly discounted for 3 days or more, and the accommodation rates vary from budget to reasonable. Either way, the accommodation value is much better than what you get with a backcountry cat skiing lodge.
The other bonus is that you don’t have to rent a car to get to BRC, unlike with some cat ski operations that are trickier to get to.
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