Here's a video we put together showing what it was like during our 2-day visit to Valhalla Powdercats January 16th and 17th. The first day was great, the second day was mind blowing. When we rolled into Nelson on Sunday night the mercury was somewhere 18 below freezing and the streets where silent. Even in the morning things where quite. But as you can see in the video, the deeper into the Valhalla's we went, the more Kootenay Pow we found!

We hope you enjoy the video. The music is Set em Up by Langhorn Slim. For some reason our Valhalla trips seem to involve banjo music...

Island Lake Lodge, long heralded as a premiere backcountry lodge and catskiing destination, will now be offering guided ski touring as well. Guests will be transported by snow cat into the mountains where they can enjoy touring 7,000 acres of Island Lake property. The terrain, which includes alpine bowls, gladed trees and an extensive road network, is ideal for both catskiing and ski touring. “We have always known our property is great for touring and are very excited to offer the opportunity to a wider audience,” said guiding manager Niki LePage.  Multi-day stays will include all food and accommodation.  Island Lake will offer packages for all levels of skiers from beginner to expert. Ski touring will be available as single day trips or as two, three or four day tours starting in April.  Each day starts with a snowcat-ride into the ski terrain to get as much elevation as possible.

Island Lake Catskiing is located in the Lizard Range of the Canadian Rocky Mountains, 10 kms from Fernie B.C.  Island Lake offered ski touring in the mid 80’s and for the past 24 years has been providing catskiing experiences for skiers and snowboarders.

For more information, check out our Island Lake Catskiing Listing >>>

"20 on the 24 boys. It's gonna be a great day!"

These were the first words we heard as the big metal door to the snowcat swung open at the staging area of Valhalla Powdercats. You see, we were skiing the day before and the conditions were good. At the end of the day we were feeling good, but being skiers we wanted more. The end-of-day conversation gravitated towards comments like, “wouldn't another 10cms overnight be nice?” or “I wonder if it will be blue-bird tomorrow...” At any rate, we had a fantastic first day at Valhalla Powdercats but had no idea what we were in for the next day.

After Clarke opened the door and gave us his version of the weather report we hopped out of the cat to realize the true nature of what he was saying. 20 cms had fallen in the past 24 hours. And that was at the bottom of the mountain! Our best estimate was a 40cm foot penetration. That's our story and we're sticking to it!

Since this was day 2 of our trip to Valhalla we could skip the beacon training and head out for an exclusive first run. You know, just to test it out for the rest of the group. First turn on the first run and we knew we had struck gold, white gold to be exact.

Turn after turn after turn the light, blower pow was flowing around our bodies. Every run seemed to get better each time we got out of the cat and started skiing. Valhalla is known for having varied terrain and something for everyone. It is also known to push you out of your comfort zone no matter what level of skier you are. This 'hero' snow as it is called gives you the confidence to ski steeper, dig deeper and for those that are into it, go bigger.

And go bigger we did. Our guides this season felt the vibe of the group and took us to some legendary Valhalla Powdercats terrain features. Everything we hit seemed to be perfectly set up for us. And if you didn't want to huck yourself for the camera, you could ski around the features in the sweet pow and watch the action from below.

Runs varied for us both days. We skied long consistent tree runs, open pitches with little tree ski outs, steep chutes, and wide open bowls. Runs with names like Pissy Pants, White Stripes, Berry Pie, Lindsay's Shoulder, and our favourite, Huckleberry Bowl. See, like I said, something for everyone.

Now back to Clarke our cat driver. This guy lives for driving snowcats. His energy and attitude adds so much to the day. He is pumped to pick you up and the bottom and wishes you a wicked ride down at the top. This guy is no slouch when it comes to driving cat either. He knows the roads like he was born there and it is like he is one with the machine. Seriously, I rode up with him once and was amazed at how he handled the snowcat. He was often down at the pick up point before our group was!

And the guides...well, let's just say that these guys know their terrain. That can make or break a day. Josh and Tyler are skiing almost every day so they know where all the best lines are and they love to ski powder. We felt confident in their ability to lead the group safely and were stoked that they showed us all that Valhalla had to offer. For one of the most memorable days on record, Thanks!

Enjoy the pics below from our time at Valhalla and stay tuned for a video edit that we are putting together.

In the meantime, give Valhalla Powdercats a call and book a trip. We have gone 8 years in a row now and have had an unforgettable time every time!

It was a grey day at K3 Catskiing for us this year. Well, grey and white since it was snowing so hard! When the light gets low we tend to lean more towards shooting pics with our fancy new strobe set up but as it turns out, we got some pretty enticing video too. Looking back at this footage makes me want to get in the truck and head right back to K3 for some more!

Enjoy.

“You are so lucky to have this so close to you”

These remarks came from our new friend from Holland at the end of an unexpected powder day at K3 Catskiing. I say unexpected because at the valley bottom it was + 5 Celsius and raining. But up at the K3 staging area it was -4 and snowing...heavily. Our Catskiing.ca headquaters is located in Kelowna BC which is an easy 2 hours drive whereas our new ski friend from Holland has to travel quite a ways and gamble on the conditions in the Alps being worth the trip!

Expectations are very high this year for BC backcoutnry operators after an epic La Nina season in 2011. The weather gurus up and down the west coast of North America are calling for a repeat of last year so all eyes are watching the storm patterns in BC. And K3 has had it's fair share of powder dumps.

Beginning with a huge hit of snow in November, K3 got an early jump on road building and the stoke level was high. Then some high pressure systems killed the snow cycles and all has been a little quite in the catskiing world around the BC interior save for a few northern operations. But at K3, the base has been steadily building each day. As we rode up the access road with David and Rod, operators of K3, they told that small dumps of 10cms at a time have led to a base of over 2 metres with an average of a 30-40cm foot penetration. That means that you could be skiing knee deep powder at any given time in their terrain!

With all the hustle and bustle of the Christmas season now behind us, we were pumped to be headed to K3 Catskiing for our first turns of the 2012 season. It was January 3rd as we headed north out of the Okanagan Valley and into the Monashee range where K3 operates as the only day trip operation in the area. This is one of our favourite areas to hang out and search for powder. You see, within the same area you will find not only K3's operation, but Mustang Powder, Chatter Creek, and Revelstoke Mountain Resort. It is a powderhound's playground!

This year we were treated to 7cms of fresh snow first thing in the morning with another 5cms or more falling throughout the day. Combine that with a foot deep powder penetration and needless to say, the group in the cat was all smiles. If you are a returning visitor to this website then you will know we have been to K3 a few times before and we have mentioned the South Park area of their terrain. The South Park is an old burned forest that has a nice pitch and is always full of powder. It also makes for some pretty dramatic photography. This year we pulled out the strobe lights and got some really cool shots that you can see in the gallery below.

We had a few German guests skiing with us so there was certainly a language barrier, but given the look on their faces each run, we knew they were thinking what we were thinking. Also joining us was a young lady who was catskiing for the first time. We love to see this because many people see catskiing as this extreme, cliff dropping, chute skiing dangerous adventure. And it can be that. But more often than not, catskiing is the perfect way to get acquainted with the backcoutry and experience bottomless powder that you would never find at a resort.

K3 Catskiing is in its 5th year of operations and the word is out. They are mostly booked for the season but have a few single days here and there left in their schedule. It is best to give them a call directly to see what you can get. We recommend getting on the waiting list in case there any last minute cancellations. With the snow already in fantastic shape we can only imagine what it will be like up there mid-season.

If you do end up skiing with David, Rod, Kris, Todd and Carl this season, be sure to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it and let us know what you think!

Enjoy.

Soft Shells are a great piece of clothing to have in your outerwear arsenal. They can offer so many of the waterproof/breathable options of a hard shell, but in stretchier and often more breathable versions than their hard shell counterparts. Stretchy, breathable, it's like a good pair of underwear, but better.

The Motto Jacket is a descent-inspired soft shell offering maximum weather protection for bitterly cold ski days. The fully waterproof Ventia soft shell fabric sheds snow, while the clean-finished, seam-taped interior slides comfortably over layers. And for those blustery days when a helmet is not enough, a helmet compatible hood can add a second layer to your wind protection to keep your brain thawed out on the coldest of days.

The Mithril Jacket provides ultimate protection when you're trolling about in cold, wet conditions. Also constructed of waterproof Ventia soft shell fabric, but this time with exterior seam tape for a different look, and a great ability for shedding wet snow and preventing soak -through. A great all round jacket that you could wear to work, just as you could while working your way up or down a mountain.

The mountaineering inspired Alibi Jacket is a combination of different materials strategically placed in all the right places ( Ventia Hybrid ). Tough, weatherproof fabric is used on the hood and shoulders where the elements hit hardest, a warm soft shell lower body holds in core warmth while providing breath-ability, and stretch fabric along the torso allows easy, unrestricted movement for the longest reaches. They say the long reach is for climbing, but we think it could also be very useful for those long reaches for a cold beer in the snowbank after a day out with your friends. This is a jacket that will out work you before you are able to outwork it.

You can find a lot of the OR gear at Outdoor Adventure Gear in Kelowna BC. ( See Below )

Circa Hiberna is a new webisode project from Matchstick Productions. They promise new videos on a 'Regular Basis'. Now we are going to be scouring the web weekly searching for our next ski flick fix. Thanks MSP...

Here is the cool thing: to kick off the new project and to show how incredible last season's La Nina was, MSP decided to lead with footage from two of BC's Catskiing Operators: Chatter Creek and Selkirk Wilderness Skiing. Now that's sayin' something!

Enjoy.