I’m on my way to the interior of British Columbia, on assignment for Ski Canada Magazine, as I write this. My job this week is to check out three of the province’s cat skiing operations that run day trips. While most cat companies specialize in multi-day packages, there are about six in B.C. and one in Alberta that focus on day trippers.
On my itinerary are Great Northern Snowcats south of Revelstoke, Big Red Cats based out of Red Mountain and Fernie Wilderness Adventures , which operates across the valley from Fernie Alpine Resort.
There are other operations near Whistler, Valemount, and out of Castle Mountain and one ride lifts at Red Mountain.
Day operations are a good choice for the cat curious or as an add on to a resort trip. They’re less committing, more affordable, a good intro to backcountry skiing and a slower and less frenetic pace than heli-skiing.
Watch this space for brief reports from my trip and one of the print magazines next fall for a feature article on what I find.
RYAN REPORT is a frequent web post by Ski Canada magazine’s technical editor, Ryan Stuart.
