Ski good or eat wood

Ski good or eat wood.

That’s only one of two mottos for White Grizzly Adventures, a cat skiing operation based in tiny Meadow Creek, British Columbia.  The other motto is considerably less family-friendly.

I was a little excited to see the lodge sign...

I should say, this was my first time ever cat skiing – it’s quite the splurge but can truly make a ski vacation a vacation – no worries, just lotsa skiing and eating (yes, we had sushi for lunch in the snowcat one day!).

Appetizers.  Seriously. 

The first question Carole asked when I called to give them my credit card - I’d already filled out about 3 pages of forms online! - was whether I’m an expert skier.  Did I know they ski steep, tight trees most of the time?  Did that sound fun?  Am I fit enough to ski a whole day without getting exhausted and increasing my chance of injury?  Um, yeah!!! 

Epitome of a 'tree bomb'. Without a lot of wind, snow piles at the top of trees can be a problem. These stumps were more photogenic than the tippy tops of the surrounding pines.

This screening process was effective – the group we skied with was strong and mostly returning clients.  While I think most of my friends should try cat skiing, if you’re not comfortable in some of the steeper treed offerings at Snowbird, Jackson Hole and the like or are out of shape, an operator with more moderate terrain would be a better fit.  The tree wells are a little more magnetic here than inbounds.  Not that I would know.

Just a picture of the terrain. Drooling yet?

Brad won’t let a weak skier hold the group up and will instead ask them to sit out a run or two of gnarlier terrain (this didn’t happen in our group, though).  I’ll be 100% clear about it – if you’re timid in the trees (even as a PSIA Level III instructor) you might survive but might have enjoyed different terrain more.  Just sayin’.

Amanda found Eric's ski in a tree well.
It took us until day 4 to lose one.

But for a steeps and tree loving junkie like me and a bunch of people I know, it was awesome to be with a strong group of skiers on a wicked awesome mountain.  Brad and Carole run a one cat operation – this means at most there are 15 people in the ski group (12 guests, 3 guides) and 12 guests in the lodge – they weren’t fully booked when I was there.

Chapstick application.  Carole and Brad.

I drove into the White Grizzly lodge, listened carefully to the rules during a safety briefing (hey, I am a compulsive rule follower!), and sat down to dinner with the group of 8 plus guides that we’d be skiing with on Monday morning.  

Grizzly bears live in there.  In the winter.  They are still asleep. 

Dessert was apple pie a la mode.  Steve, the evening cook, is no slacker in the kitchen – you might even say he’s cute with his apron on! Baked salmon, profiteroles, steak and scalloped potatoes, rocky road fudge… Breanne, the breakfast and lunch snowboarder extraordinaire can knock your socks off with some warm scones, too.

Breanne.  I'll bet her garden is amazing.
Photo: Brad Karafil.

A bright ‘n early start – we drove about 20 minutes to the staging area each day.  Along a creek in the valley.  With herds of elk a couple of the days.  Not a bad drive, but it would be smart if you’re a group to rent a 4wd.  I tagged along in someone else’s car.  Remember to get beer before you get to Meadow Creek and bring some for the end of the day.  Our group wasn’t very good at this.  We had at least 3 bottles of wine at dinner each night, though.

Brad, co-owner, tail guide, and photographer.  He's got some positive energy for sure.

It was time to meet Felix – one of the two cats that White Grizzly uses on a regular basis.  They have a 3^rd cat dedicated to road maintenance, and the parts are interchangeable between all three.  That’s really a testament to how much Brad and Carole think about how to minimize down time if something breaks.  The cat's got two doors and is nicer than my car on the inside.  Bucket seats, personalized mugs, and a soft top for sunny days...

Our lift for the week.

We did a beacon drill with lead guide Dave while Brad dug a pit and the apprentice guide Jesse checked the weather station.

Jesse, apprentice guide. Spends his time in the back, picking up the pieces.

Then back in the cat and up we went.  By the time we got down after every run, the cat with its hot tea, mocha java, pepperoni bites, croissant sandwiches, and Vitamin C (chocolate) was waiting.  Thankfully, Ben, the cat driver, makes "ladies rooms" at some of the drop-off points for when the tea rental comes due.

Brad - probably telling us 2 minutes until the next awesome run. Soft top open. Cruising with the disco ball.

The skiing.  Well, they say pictures are worth a thousand words.  

Day one.  It wasn't bad skiing.
Photo: Brad Karafil

It was steep.  It was deep.  

Day two was better. Jesse - really, that's him.
Photo: Brad Karafil

And some of the trees left marks - a little blood on the face is not uncommon!

"We have a little pole dancing going on here"
(Jesse, over the radio as he dug each of my skis out from either side of the tree)

On day one, we did 5 ½ runs – time taken when a few of us landed in tree wells or lost sight of the guides’ tracks, and of course, the morning beacon/safety briefings meant it was our shortest day.  I skied down the rutted, not recommended but be stubborn and do it anyway cat road around 5pm with Dave and a couple of others.  Fresh snow would improve the road the other three days.  But really, when else do I get to ski 6km with 2500ft vertical in one shot?

Head of safety, Dave.  He doesn't see his kids much in the winter.
He also believes in death before download and skis the cat road every day.

~15 cm of blower powder overnight made for a good morning on day two.  Another 20cm on top of that during the day… well, we could say choking on snow and that would be accurate.

It was 'cacking'  on day two.

Day three was even better – great visibility and the snow had settled a bit.  I didn’t bother to count runs.  Dave claimed that on day 2 we skied 9.  Hey, he’s keeping track so they can ski with the next group in freshies, right?  For the record, a run at WG is 600-800m of vertical and takes about a half hour with very little traversing.  The cat ride back up takes 25-35 minutes, depending where the pickup and drop-off points are. 

Steep.  Deep. Blower pow.
Photo: Brad Karafil

With these kinds of trips (cat and heli), you really have to rely on the guides for local knowledge of the terrain, snowpack and avalanche conditions.  Even with storm snow and some wind, it was obvious Brad and Dave were taking care of us – and warning us about sloughing, expected soft slabs, etc.  Surprisingly, I’ve skied in so much sloughing snow at Snowbird that it didn’t make me as nervous as some of my peers. The guides asked for feedback from us as we regrouped and, to me, this really set up an open environment where sharing information made me more comfortable.

Dave.  Only a little steep here.
Photo: Brad Karafil

Did I mention that Brad has personally done a lot of the glading on their terrain?  And he's only missed a handful of guest days in 14 years - most of them were when he blew his ACL out a few March's ago. He knows every rock on the mountain and exactly how to get the back of the group snow just as good as the front.  And, his knowledge and enthusiasm meant he could convince even me to jump off of "rock-like features".

3 meter-ish 'rock like feature'.
Photo: Brad Karafil

The powder landings didn't hurt, either. 

Not the same jump.
Photo: Brad Karafil

I'll land that one next year.

Logistics 

This was part of a trip for me in which I flew into Spokane and skied at Whitewater and Red Mountain as well.  The drive from Nelson, BC is about 1:45, so from Spokane you’re looking at 5 hours.  It’s also possible to fly into Cranbrook or Kelowna and keep the drive under 7 hours, but coming from the US, Spokane is the smarter bet.  One regret about Spokane, though – I still haven’t gotten to ski Revelstoke – the place that put interior BC on my radar. 

I had a hard time making a snowman - the snow was that fluffy.
Photo: Brad Karafil