Your first cat skiing week: what to expect
A cat week is five days of skiing and five nights at the lodge, and weeks start on Saturday. Your first morning starts with transceiver practice and a confirmation run. From then on each day keeps the same clock: the guides meet at 5:45, the first cat rolls at 08:00, and dinner is at the long table at 19:00.
- 05:45Guides' meeting: snow report, the board, the run list, radio check
- 06:30Breakfast
- 07:30Guest briefing, day one adds beacon practice and the confirmation run
- 08:00First cat rolls
- 12:30Lunch in the cab or the warming hut
- 16:00Last pickup at the creek road
- 19:00Dinner at the long table
- Castlegar, 13:30Take the 13:30 shuttle from Castlegar. About 1 hour 45 to the lodge. $180 return.
- Castlegar, 16:30Take the 16:30 shuttle from Castlegar. You're at the lodge before the 19:00 cutoff.
- Trail, 14:00Take the 14:00 shuttle from Trail. About 1 hour 30 to the lodge. $180 return.
- No shuttle leaves after 16:30 from Castlegar or 14:00 from Trail. Call the lodge and we'll plan your way up. If you reach the lodge after 19:00, we send the cat down for you for $150.
- Kelowna is our fog fallback, about 4 hours 30 on the shuttle, $260 return. Call the lodge to book it.
- Fog cancels flights at Castlegar more often than at Trail. If weather cancels your flight, we hold your seat and give you the missed day as full credit.
The three airports
- Castlegar (YCG)Shuttle to the lodge: about 1 hour 45 · leaves 13:30 and 16:30Return fare: $180
- Trail (YZZ)Shuttle to the lodge: about 1 hour 30 · leaves 14:00Return fare: $180
- Kelowna (YLW), the fallbackShuttle to the lodge: about 4 hours 30Return fare: $260
Reach the lodge by 19:00 on arrival day. After that we send the cat down for you, for $150.
One soft duffel up to 23 kg, plus a ski bag.
Getting in
On arrival day our shuttles leave Castlegar at 13:30 and 16:30 and Trail at 14:00. Plan to reach the lodge by 19:00. After that we send the cat down for you, for $150.
Pack to our limit: one soft duffel, 23 kg, plus a ski bag. Arrival night is for landing, eating and sleeping. The guides fit rental skis or boards for anyone who needs them.
Day one
Day one starts at the 07:30 guest briefing with transceiver practice. Every guest does it, every trip, however many weeks you've skied with us.
Then the guides watch every guest ski one pitch. That is the confirmation run. It checks the group you picked against how you ski on the day, and anyone in the wrong cat moves, at no cost.
How a day runs
Every ski day keeps this clock.
Days two to five
The middle of the week finds its pattern. You ski a run, regroup at the cat, warm up and go again. The guides read the group's energy and ease off when legs are cooked.
You will be tired in a good way by midweek. The schedule expects it. If you booked a heli add-on, it flies on the day the pilot and the forecast agree.
Evenings at the lodge
Dinner is at 19:00 at the long table, cooked by Sofie Halloran. The lodge has 14 rooms, two guests to a room, so the table knows everyone by midweek.
Gear dries overnight, and most people are asleep earlier than they would admit at home.