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This is the archive for February 2006

February 18, 2006: Cowboy for a day
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The free Ralph bucks showed up, so the family and I headed to Fernie for the weekend. The family and I rode together on the Saturday. There'd been a bit of a drought at Fernie - so conditions weren't great, but since 3/4 of us are learning it didn't really matter. The next day, I found a standby spot with Powder Cowboy cat skiing.It was me, and a cat full of Swedish skiers. Luckily they were a fairly strong group. Snow conditions were much better than Fernie - no fresh snow, but given their tenure size and only a single cat in operation, there was still untracked to be found.

We even hiked for 15 or 20 minutes to drop a line that the cat couldn't get us to. That alone says something about the calibre of group we had. A good day all in all.

Daughter on the chair with me at Fernie. It's a rewarding experience riding with your daughter. She's still learning, but in a few years, I hope we can take a cat trip together. Powder Cowboy is owned the same group that owns the infamous Island Lake Lodge (one of these years) and Mica Creek Heli (I've got 4 days in an advanced group booked for March 2007) I saw a lot of Pisten Bully cats this winter - seemed each one had a different config for the cab. For the price of a 2 bedroom ski in/out condo, you could buy your own snowcat... I've thought about it. Much like Valhalla, these guys seem to play nice with the local touring/sledding crowd. When I get a sled, I think I'll pay them a visit Some sledders we ran into up in the tenure area And another sledder, who had his board and dog along with him Same sledder on the way down, with the dog following him. I want a dog that'll ride with me too! Blue bird day. Those Swedes are a wacky bunch. Good skiers though So much terrain, so little time. Bootpacking at a cat ski location? Yep. It was worth it too. Here we are looking back up the gulley we wound up in. Longest run of the day and the top had great snow, because the cat couldn't get there and no other groups had hiked it all year Powder Cowboy is right behind Fernie. If you got there by heli, you'd be there in seconds. Instead you drive around the range to Galloway, BC which turns out to be a hole of a town. Gotta like the name though

A 360 degree view just before dropping in

February 04, 2006: Kicking Horse
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We headed west early one Saturday in February past the usual resorts of the Calgary area and found ourselves just inside the BC border at Golden. The closer we got, the more the snow fell. Along for trip was the family, plus Derek, Scott, Neil and Craig. It was on the long climb up to the "village" that I realized I needed new tires for the van. By the time I got the parking lot, I couldn't even manage the slight incline. It was the first time there for everyone and was to be the first day riding for the wife and kids. They were all put into lessons, complete with rental gear. What a way to lose a bunch of time on a powder day. There's a huge line up at the base. Powder day and a single Gondola lift to the top equals a long wait. Overall, we were very impressed with Kicking Horse There was new snow falling all day, lots of new terrain to explore, and a good time was had by all. The downside, lots of traverses, not many lifts, and not a very good setup either in terms of where they put them. With only one day, I'm sure we missed lots of good stuff, but I'd go back again for sure.

After a short hike, we found ourselves dropping into some chutes. Here's Derek trying to see. Visibility was near complete white-out. Couldn't tell how big this first drop was - turned out to be about 5 feet. Derek and Scott picking their way down through the soup Derek feels out a turn I think this is Derek - and once again, I'm early on the shutter. Craig and Scott on the upper traverse into the bowl. You can see Eagle's Eye restaurant. Supposed to be an amazing dining experience, but we never made it in? And everyone skating out on the lower traverse. It's a weird place - crazy steep one minute, flat as fuck the next. Neil charges down a pillowly tree. Every once in a while I take a nice picture. This is one of them Daughter at the end of the day with her instructor. Was it worth it? Move to the mountains to be a ski bum and you have to teach my daughter to ride on a powder day? Here's Treepilot Jr. quite pissed off. Dad snowboards, your sister and mom are learning and you have to ski because you're too young? I learned to ski when I was his age, so fair is fair I guess. I don't know where everyone else went, but here's me, Neil and Derek celebrating a good day's riding.

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