 Poster: A snowHead
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Will also be keeping an eye on this thread. Looking at 3 options for a trip next season and Red/Rossland and Whitewater/Nelson is one of them....
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Try heliskiing with CMH in BC - the ultimate powder trip.
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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Just to let those who asked know, we've sorted out an itinerary and even got a deposit paid.
28th January. Fly: Heathrow – Spokane (via L.A. - 17 hours) We arrive just before midnight, so stay in an airport hotel.
29th January. Drive: Spokane - Rossland (approx. 2hours 45 mins) We might stop at a resort on the way (49* North) for a warm up day
30th January. Ski: Red Resort
31st January. Cat Ski: Big Red Cats
1st February. Cat Ski: Big Red Cats
2nd February. Drive: Rossland - Nelson (approx. 1 hour 15 mins) Ski: Either ski Red again or at Whitewater near Nelson
3rd February. Ski: Whitewater
4th February. Cat Ski: Valhalla Powdercats
5th February. Cat Ski: Valhalla Powdercats
6th February. Ski: Whitewater - probably hire a guide for slackcountry touring
7th February. Ski: Last ski day, so Whitewater again or stop at Schweitzer on the way to the airport. Drive: Nelson - Spokane (approx. 3 hours). Stay overnight in Spokane near the airport
8th February. Fly: Spokane – Heathrow (via Seattle – 12 hours)
9th February. Fly: Arrive Heathrow
The flights are still coming out, so the cost and (hopefully) outbound flight time may vary.
Cost per head is currently £3,200 but might drop depending on the flights. That price includes flights, "Full Size" SUV rental, hotels and the Cat Ski days. Cat Skiing is actually about 50% of the total cost, and they're already getting booked up for next year so I'm glad we moved quickly.
On top will be: travel to/from Heathrow, ski carriage (I think we can get everybody's skis in one bag), food, drink, lift passes and guide if we use one.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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@Mosha Marc, Blimey that's a trip.... 
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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Good trip - think you'll want the second day on Red hill. You should definitely stop at 49 Nth for your warm up day unless you want to bet on jetlag and get up at 6am to get to Red to ski that day. The drive isn't long or interesting enough otherwise to justify a day of your time.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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Thanks Dave
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Bit odd. Do none of the car hire companies at Spokane supply snow tyres on their rentals? I can't even book them as an extra.
M+S rated are ok, but I'd much prefer the snow ones as they are WAY better.
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@Mosha Marc, neat trip, but I would say no chance on full-on winter tires from a US rental car agency. They might say it, but you're gonna get M+S which is routinely available in snow country. While winter tires are indisputably better in winter, when you think about it, it makes no sense for the rental car companies....too much seasonal swapping of expensive tires that don't last very long. That's not their game. Ideally they never touch the original equipment tires, they just sell the car.
Everyone should care about tires, but only car people and skiers seem to.
You didn't ask this, but you can often reserve a AWD vehicle. Since you recognize and seek the benefit of winter tires, perhaps this is a work-around.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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I think you'll struggle. BC requires "winter tires" for the mountain passes but anything with M+S on the sidewalls counts.
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@Scooter in Seattle, thanks. We've also booked a guide on the 6th now and we're all getting a bit excited about it.
I didn't know that about US renters. In Europe it's either normal to supply them, or they can be added as an extra.
We will go for a big AWD though.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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I've got a day's cat skiing booked through Nonstop (though they use a local provider in Fernie, so I'm guessing it may well be FWA). It cost £350 for the day.
Just out of curiosity, how much does a day of heli skiing cost? And how many runs (ballpark figure) might you get on 1 day of cat vs heli?
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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@Mosha Marc, How did it go? After our exchange I met a pair of Belgians who had been out with CMH and said it delivered the goods, would have been 6th and 7th.
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@Mrs Val D, a good trip all in all. But it seems like we hit a bit of a dry/warm period.
We used the local Ski Hosts at Red on the 30th. The bloke was a laugh and came out for beers with us afterwards. Showed us through tree runs we wouldn't have found without him; as a result we did get some nice snow.
31st was on the cats at BRC. Us Brits really had a blast, but some of the other customers were a bit put out by the "euro powder" as it was pretty warm. A front passed through overnight which, as you know, gave us rain and not snow!
1st: Cats cancelled to shite conditions. It was drizzling so we sacked the day off and went to a hot spring.
2nd skied Red, 3rd WH2O. On both days the off piste was described by Patrol as "marginal" - read a big fat rain crust with a dusting on top.
4th & 5th were on Valhalla cats. Lower runs in their area were rain affected and crusty, but upper slopes were great fun.
6th Guided day from top of WH2O. Nice tour, very hard for the guide trying to break through the rain crust on some climbs, but still found decent snow.
7th Tired from previous three days out, so took it easy. Resort side country still "marginal"
So all in all; no real new snow all the time we were there, resort side country got worse as the days rolled by but the host, cat and guide scored us some good stuff.
Naturally it was snowing on the day we drove down to Spokane to fly home!
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You know it makes sense.
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Bummer about the conditions. Just put it down as a recci for next years mission. 
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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We're going back in 2022. I have a credit note from Big Red Cats and I'm from Yorkshire!
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Poster: A snowHead
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On the guided day were you touring from top of Cat drop? Did you take the kit? Splitboard or skis?
Sorry for questions, just curious of alternatives if snow is poo-poo.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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@Mosha Marc, sounds like you were at the interior the same period I was at Whistler. Similar weather pattern: rain, frozen crust, dusting of snow that didn't quite bury the rain crust completely. Mostly marginal condition interspersed by occasional good hits.
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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@dozofoz, we toured out from the resort. Bought a single ride ticket and went straight out of the ski area at the top of the lift.
We were all on touring skis, but the guide was on a splitboard. At times we bootpacked through the crust to get quick vertical gains.
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FAQ
