Backcountry Skiing: Getting there can be Half the Fun

Author: Lockie Brown

Western Canada is a land of mountains, lakes and rivers. There
are also deserts (yes, Walter, small deserts), huge forested
plateaus and lush farmland, but mountains are a predominant
feature. From the Coast Range in the west to the Rockies in the
east, from the Cascades in the south, to the Cassiar Range in
the north, there is one range after another; the Caribous, the
Monashees, and the Selkirks, to name just a few.

The mountains of British Columbia offer untold opportunities for
every kind of skiing, including backcountry touring, snowcat
skiing and heli-skiing. There are many ski resorts and many
backcountry lodges, mostly located near small interior towns,
away from the large population centers and international
airports.

Getting to a backcountry skiing holiday can involve travel on
roads that traverse narrow valleys and high passes. After heavy
snowfalls, roads can sometimes be closed while crews clear away
debris from slides.

At the end of January 2004, a heavy snowfall caused overnight
closures on some BC highways. Two days later, a second storm
closed other roads, including the Trans Canada highway. This is
a tale of getting from Vancouver to Golden BC in the midst of
these storms.

The weather in Vancouver was mild. There had been a recent
gaggle of small disturbances, but no big storms. The freezing
level was too high. We prayed for snow. We watched the
forecasts, but things looked “iffy”.

After months of anticipation, our trip to Chatter Creek was
nearing. In two days our annual powder-bash would begin. Four
days of cat skiing in Rocky Mountain powder!

This year, we had a group of 24 old friends and regular ski
buddies. Many had been to Chatter Creek before and knew what to
expect. We were all anxiously counting down the days.

Most of us live in Vancouver, Squamish and Whistler.
Individually, we had made our arrangements for getting to
Golden. Some would fly to Calgary, rent a car and drive together
to Golden, a four-hour trip through Banff, Lake Louise and the
Kicking Horse Pass. They would arrive in Golden just in time for
our 3:00 PM helicopter flight into the lodge.

Others would drive from Vancouver or Whistler, at best a long
nine-hour trip. With an early start on flight day, and with hard
steady driving, they should easily reach Golden in time. I would
leave a day early, stay with one of the group in Kamloops, and
have a leisurely drive to Golden the next day.

Missing the helicopter flight to the lodge was to be avoided. No
one’s budget covered an extra night in Golden and a private
helicopter flight.

The flights don’t wait. They have to go on time. They would
deliver us to the lodge and bring out departing guests. The
transfer starts in mid-afternoon (time varies as the winter
progresses) and has to be to be completed in daylight.

Two days to go and the telephone rang. “Hi, it’s Merle.”

My heart sank. A call this late from Merle McKnight, Chatter
Creek’s marvelous manager, could only mean trouble. What was
wrong?

“We’ve had a 'dump'! The passes are closed in both directions.
No one is getting though. Crews will work all night and the
roads should open sometime tomorrow. However, there is talk of
yet more snow. Get here a day early. Come tomorrow!"

Good news and bad news! Lots of fresh snow at Chatter Creek, but
getting there would be a challenge.

One always heeds Merle’s advice! As my group’s organizer, it was
time to start phoning.

Hours later, everyone had been alerted. Most were changing their
plans but some could not or decided to chance it. Not a good
plan! Weather in the Interior can be unpredictable.

I called Al in Kamloops. “We’ll be there by 10:00 AM tomorrow,
let’s go right through. We can ski Kicking Horse in the morning,
before our flight”. “Fine”! Al would be ready.

A few hours later, a mate and I were on the road. After days of
drizzle, the day dawned sunny and mild. It was like spring! The
first mountain road is the Coquihalla. It was bare and the sky
was clear. There was no hint of a storm. The roads ahead were
reported open.

I thought to myself, “I’m never going to hear the end of this!
After getting all those people to change their plans, I’m going
to get some rockets.”

We were in Kamloops in less than four hours. We picked up Al and
six hours later we were in Golden. There had been a delay at
Three Valley Gap, where road crews were cleaning up a slide.
However, there had been no real problem and the driving had been
easy. False alarm! Oh well, we would get a morning at Kicking
Horse Resort before our afternoon flight to Chatter Creek.

Morning dawned, and I arose to look outside. My car had become a
huge white mound. Not even the tires were visible! It had dumped
overnight and it was still dumping! On went the “telly”. The
road to the east was closed again. The road to the west could
close at any time.

Some of the lads were leaving the coast in the “wee” hours, much
earlier than usual to give themselves extra time. Would they
make it? Would they get through Three Valley Gap and then the
high Rogers Pass before things shut down? The road was bound to
close, it was just a matter of time.

At 2:00PM, shaking off the Kicking Horse powder, we headed for
the airport. The radio advised that all the passes were now
closed. Had our friends made it?

As we drove up to the hanger, we saw all sorts of activity.
There was Owen, and Jim was there too. The others from the coast
had arrived, the last cars allowed through. Great relief!

However, as we assembled to count heads; 17,18,19,20….?? We were
missing the four who were flying to Calgary. They were not to be
seen.

A cell phone rang. Chris and Kevin were stopped on the Radium
road. The Kicking Horse Pass was closed, so they had tried the
alternate route. No luck, it was closed too. They were there for
the night. Disaster!

Guests fly to the lodge in three flights, one flight of 12 and
two flights of 6. If all 20 of us were to fly to the lodge that
night, the stragglers would have an expensive private flight the
next day.

Merle and her husband Mike came to the rescue. A radio call was
made to the lodge.

“Were there six departing clients willing to stay over and fly
out in the morning?” Affirmative! No problem! There were many
volunteers.

Merle then asked, “Now, are any two people willing to stay
tonight in Golden? Then the last flight of 6 will fly in the
morning”

Silence. Glum faces. Hands in pockets. No volunteers!

There was more discussion. “Was anyone willing to snowmobile to
the lodge tonight?”

Hesitation, then Tony, good old Tony, raised his hand. He would
do it. A ninety-km trip on a snowmobile, following a leader at
high speed on a cold night with fresh snow on an unplowed road
was not anyone’s idea of fun! Tony would have a 90-km blizzard.

Merle explained, “If we sled the luggage to the lodge tonight,
and one person sleds too, then we’ll put an extra person in the
large ‘bird’ and the last flight will go in the morning. There
will be no extra charges and everyone that’s here will get in
tonight.

Perfect! Relief! We would have warm drinks and a meal waiting
for Tony.

The flight to Chatter Creek was spectacular, with shafts of late
afternoon sunlight striking the surrounding peaks. In 20
minutes, back on the ground, we stumbling though the fresh
“powder” to the welcoming door of Vertebrae Lodge. Eighteen
glum-faced skiers and boarders passed us on the way. After a
great tour, no one wanted to leave. Six smiling faces greeted us
at the door. They would get another great meal and an extra
night at Vertebrae Lodge, an unexpected bonus.

Two hours later, Tony arrived, a frozen “Michelin Man”. It took
a while to thaw him out. Next morning, not long after breakfast,
we heard the familiar sound of an approaching helicopter. The
last four were arriving.

Our group was complete, the weather was clear, there was lots of
fresh snow and our Chatter Creek tour was launched. It turned
out to be the best tour yet!

Travel to Golden is not usually difficult. This was an
infrequent, but very possible case. The roads from the east and
the west both go over high passes, and can pose a problem. The
road from the south (Spokane WA) follows valleys and is rarely
closed.

For more information on getting to Golden for your cat skiing
adventure, look at the “Getting to Golden” page on the Chatter Creek.

About the author:
Lockie Brown has cat skied for about 10 years, taking groups of
12 and 24 friends to different cat ski venues in British
Columbia. He now takes his groups to Chatter Creek near Golden,
B.C.