ChrisC
Well-known member
I went on a resort/cat/heli ski holiday with 3 other guys in late January. The itinerary was Big Red Cats, Valhalla Cats, Whitewater, Eagle Pass Heli, K3 Cats, Revelstoke, and Stellar Heli. Snowfall totals were at record levels for the time of year - nearly 300+' had fallen - creating 120"+ bases and 20-foot snowbanks in towns of Revelstoke & Rossland.
There was snowfall before our arrival, but most of our week was classic mid-winter inversion. Foggy valleys and sunny alpine. There was a couple of inches of snowfall (up to 6") the night of January 23rd. Unfortunately, a wind event occurred before our arrival, so the extremely highest alpine areas for heli domains (i.e. glaciers) were a bit too compacted to enjoy, but most alpine areas were great - and of course, the trees are almost always great!
Border Crossing
Getting across the border to Canada proved to be quite the adventure. First, one of the guys in our group still had not gotten his Covid PCR test results back, so we had to search for a rapid PCR lab in Spokane - which we luckily found - but that was a 1-2 hour diversion.
After a Covid household outbreak in early January, one of the guys in our group had his wife take the PCR test for him (she was under a blanket with children in the back seat of a drive-thru test). However, at the border, he was selected for random follow-up screening. This entailed scheduling an online meeting via MS 'zoom' app and dropping it in a FedEx box within 24 hours. Luckily, he was not able to connect via the app and they allowed a phone administration of the test and one of us took the test for him.
Rossland
Rossland had more snow than I ever saw in it! Amazing snow depths in town for a place not necessarily known for vast quantities.
Ski Day
Big Red Cats normally stage at the base of the Red Mountain ski area. However do to Covid protocols, they were requiring everyone to meet them up at their actually ski domain about 20 minutes north of Red Mountain. We were able to complete one (of many for the week) avy drills and start skiing by 10:15 in a cat of 10 guys.
Red is not known for steeps, alpine terrain or the massive snowfalls in mountains further north, but it has nice low expert, well-spaced trees. Great first day out!
The guides were pretty good and simply said - today is why we save some north-facing aspects - and we are going to hit them all! However, a few south-facing aspects were required as we navigated the tenure. All aspects were preserving a soft powder surface.
Map of Day
Photos of ski day:
Run#1 - nice well-spaced trees
Run #2 - Ditto
Run #3 - some open burn areas
A new section of Big Red - They have about 5 peaks in their tenure/ten-year
One of the steeper runs - one by one
New aspect - getting marked
Perhaps the best run of the day is the return home since it is the longest - 2.5k - and faces NW.
Overall, Red Mountain is a solid cat operation reasonably priced with nice varied terrain. However, it is prone to snow drought and thaws more than places furth north. But they are generous with the ability to reschedule ski days to a later date (same year or later).
There was snowfall before our arrival, but most of our week was classic mid-winter inversion. Foggy valleys and sunny alpine. There was a couple of inches of snowfall (up to 6") the night of January 23rd. Unfortunately, a wind event occurred before our arrival, so the extremely highest alpine areas for heli domains (i.e. glaciers) were a bit too compacted to enjoy, but most alpine areas were great - and of course, the trees are almost always great!
Border Crossing
Getting across the border to Canada proved to be quite the adventure. First, one of the guys in our group still had not gotten his Covid PCR test results back, so we had to search for a rapid PCR lab in Spokane - which we luckily found - but that was a 1-2 hour diversion.
After a Covid household outbreak in early January, one of the guys in our group had his wife take the PCR test for him (she was under a blanket with children in the back seat of a drive-thru test). However, at the border, he was selected for random follow-up screening. This entailed scheduling an online meeting via MS 'zoom' app and dropping it in a FedEx box within 24 hours. Luckily, he was not able to connect via the app and they allowed a phone administration of the test and one of us took the test for him.
Rossland
Rossland had more snow than I ever saw in it! Amazing snow depths in town for a place not necessarily known for vast quantities.
Ski Day
Big Red Cats normally stage at the base of the Red Mountain ski area. However do to Covid protocols, they were requiring everyone to meet them up at their actually ski domain about 20 minutes north of Red Mountain. We were able to complete one (of many for the week) avy drills and start skiing by 10:15 in a cat of 10 guys.
Red is not known for steeps, alpine terrain or the massive snowfalls in mountains further north, but it has nice low expert, well-spaced trees. Great first day out!
The guides were pretty good and simply said - today is why we save some north-facing aspects - and we are going to hit them all! However, a few south-facing aspects were required as we navigated the tenure. All aspects were preserving a soft powder surface.
Map of Day
Photos of ski day:
Run#1 - nice well-spaced trees
Run #2 - Ditto
Run #3 - some open burn areas
A new section of Big Red - They have about 5 peaks in their tenure/ten-year
One of the steeper runs - one by one
New aspect - getting marked
Perhaps the best run of the day is the return home since it is the longest - 2.5k - and faces NW.
Overall, Red Mountain is a solid cat operation reasonably priced with nice varied terrain. However, it is prone to snow drought and thaws more than places furth north. But they are generous with the ability to reschedule ski days to a later date (same year or later).
