Cat Skiing BC Canada Reviews
Cat skiing BC is paradise for powder hounds. With all that fresh powder to sniff out and face shots galore, a powder hound’s tail will definitely be wagging if they go British Columbia cat skiing. Many avid skiers and boarders around the world don’t know what
cat skiing is, but the Canadians certainly do, and for them “knowledge is powder”!
What is Cat Skiing?
So why would a powder hound (a dog) want to go cat skiing in BC Canada? Shouldn’t it be dog skiing? So if you’re wondering what the hell cat skiing is, it’s a fabulous form of guided backcountry skiing and snowboarding, and cat skiing BC is the finest in the world!
Cats or snowcats are large grooming style machines that transport about 14 skiers and snowboarders up to backcountry areas in a purpose built cabin. Whilst skiers and snowboarders are guided down fresh powder runs, the cat makes its way back to the bottom to pick them up to take them on the next run. Most BC cat ski operators have exclusive access to a large ski area that’s big enough to ensure riders always have fresh tracks for powder skiing – awesome!
Benefits of Cat Skiing Canada
BC cat skiing offers an opportunity to get away from the congestion and crowds at the ski resorts. “There are no friends on a powder day” is a common saying, but when you go cat skiing there is no powder panic and no need to use your elbows to get fresh lines. Freshies are almost guaranteed, and you only have to share the powder with a small group. Of course another huge benefit of Canada cat skiing is that there are no mogul runs and definitely no unruly lift queues.
Snowcat skiing has some similarities to
heli skiing, with one of the main differences being that it’s much cheaper. Heli skiing also has grounded days where the helicopter can’t fly due to the weather. Thankfully snowcats can still go out in snow storms, and when the powder is falling is when you most want to be out there skiing.
The only downside to cat skiing BC is that it’s very easy to develop an addiction. You have been warned!
Where is Cat Skiing in Canada?
Cat-skiing was pioneered in the Kootenay Rockies in 1975, and British Columbia Canada continues to be the home of cat skiing.
The British Columbia Interior is renowned for cat skiing within mountain ranges such as the Rockies, Monashees, Selkirks, Purcells and Valhallas. The cat skiing areas in these mountains are renowned for receiving large quantities of light dry powder with phenomenal annual snowfalls of 12-18 metres. Pack your snorkel!
Due to the legendary snowfall, the area in the south-east corner of British Columbia has been called the
Powder Highway. There’s a bit of debate as to how far the highway extends, but it includes the areas near Nelson, Rossland, Fernie, Meadow Creek, Revelstoke and Golden.
The Nelson region has the greatest concentration of BC cat skiing operations, which includes
Retallack and
Valhalla Powdercats, a day operator.
Big Red Cats near Rossland is also in the vicinity of Nelson, and Meadow Creek about 1:45 hours north of Nelson has a couple of cat ski operators including
White Grizzly and the famous
Selkirk Snowcat Skiing (the inventors of cat skiing).
The
Fernie area in the southeast corner of BC has two companies:
Island Lake Lodge; and
Fernie Wilderness Adventures. Not far away over in Alberta is
Powder Stagecoach at
Castle Mountain.
The Golden and Revelstoke regions have various operators including
Mustang Powder,
Chatter Creek and
Great Northern Snowcat Skiing is at Trout Lake, about 1.5 hours from Revelstoke.
Near Cherryville in the vicinity of Vernon and Kelowna are the BC cat skiing operators of
Keefer Lake Lodge and
Monashee Powder Cats.
There are also a couple of Whistler cat skiing operations in western BC, and
Skeena Cat Skiing is located in northern BC.
See our
cat skiing Canada stats comparison for an overview of the locations of the BC cat ski operations.
BC Snowcat Skiing Safety
The discipline of cat skiing is not without risks considering that it occurs in the remote backcountry. Avalanches are one of the primary hazard concerns and the operations put various strategies in place to lessen the risk. Tree well submersions are also a key issue.
The BC cat skiing industry is highly regulated so the emphasis on safety is much higher than with cat skiing in other parts of the world. Cat skiing BC has very high standards in relation to avalanche mitigation strategies and the safety briefings provided, and all operators provide highly qualified lead and tail guides to accompany the cat skiing group.
Types of Cat Skiing BC
Multi-Day Packages
The most common format of cat skiing in Canada is that of multi-day trips that range from 2 to 7 days (i.e. destination cat skiing). The packages include all meals, and accommodation is provided in an exclusive remote lodge (or in a tented camp in the case of
Skeena Cat Skiing). Sometimes these wilderness lodges can be only be accessed by snowcat or helicopter.
Multi-day operations include:
Single-Day Packages
Another category is operators that offer single day cat skiing. Of course you can go cat skiing more than one day, but accommodation is not necessarily included in the package.
Most day cat skiing operations tend to be near ski resorts or significant towns. This is ideal for people visiting the area to get a taste of what cat skiing is all about before plunging in head-first to a cat ski powder holiday.
Some day cat skiing operations are:
Our
cat skiing Canada stats comparison provides an overview of the type of package on offer for each company.
NB Many of the BC cat skiing operations fill up quickly, so try to book ahead to avoid disappointment.