Whitewater B.C. Opinions...

I think I asked for feedback on this place last summer, but I didn't get too much, so I thought I'd try again now that things are rolling along into winter..

We are heading to BC in Late January..and plan to hit the following...

Sunshine/Louise
Kicking Horse
Red Mtn
Fernie

We were considering going to Revelstoke for some Cat riding, but I hear there are some places near Nelson, which would fit in nicely if we decided to ride at Whitwater for a day.. I also have read a bit on Whitewater, and the good amount of snow they get. The terrain looks "OK", but nothing too spectacular. I suppose I am justy wondering if it is worth a stop for a day. It would also be a nice driving break from Golden to Rossland..
We are not expecting it to rival any of the other places mentioned, but if it is a complete waste of time, I'd like to know.

Things we like..

POW (duh)
Trees
Bowls
Steeps
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good vibe
nice town..

If anyone is in these areas around January 22-31, give me a holler, and a beer is on me.
Thanks for any feedback...
Sno

The terrain in bounds @ wh2o is mediocre, but the touring access from the lifts is phenominal.

whitewater rules! nothing in bounds like kicking horse, but traversing/touring out from the lifts is well worth it if there is fresh. my personal favorite mountain. super chill. super good skiers. zero attitude. cheap tickets. awesome poutine in the lodge. face ripper bud. etc. :D

edit: to answer your specific inquiries, pretty safe bet the snow will be good in late jan., the trees are amazing, steeps you have to hike to but there is enough to make ya poop...

paging powderpyg & beaver...

Quote:

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Originally Posted by truth

The terrain in bounds @ wh2o is mediocre, but the touring access from the lifts is phenominal.

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Neither are any good, go to Red...it's soo much better, right Beav.

I did a dozen years there. If they have been getting fresh snow, it's worth the stop, otherwise, move on.

You'll get bored of the skiing pretty quick if all that is available is "packed powder." It used to be that you could get untracked for weeks after a storm but with the new-found popularity of the hill, it gets punched pretty quickly. The inbounds area is actually quite small, but there is lots of stuff that you can access from the lifts which is out of bounds that is excellent. When they do get a good run of snow, you really would have a pretty hard time beating the place for snow quality.

If you wanted to take your touring gear and go anyhow, there is lots of sweet touring close to the hill, but again, that gets punched a lot more quickly these days.

Things we like...

Pow(duh) - No, go to Red, they get at least twice as much...right Beav!
Trees - Use to but, they clearcut the whole area last summer.
Bowls - That depends on what kinda "bowl" your lookin for?
Steeps - Nope, flat as a pancake

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Vibe - That also depends on the "bowl" question
Nice Town - Nope, just one of those strip mall hell's
;)

Actually JR is pretty close with his discription. Although what ski area doesn't get tracked out within a day of a storm these days, I've seen worse at bigger resorts.

Woo hoo, free beer.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Beaver

Woo hoo, free beer.

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This is called thinking ahead, but maybe not so far ahead as scaring the poor feller away.

If you're going down that way might as well check it out. Might be unbelieveable, might be mediocre. OK I never have when I've gone to Red but there were reasons and I'm not a good study case.

Take a bit of avie kit. Talk to a local and do some morning hitchike runs.
Most locals are pretty cool and dont give a crap if you ask about stuff.

Touring is sic. from either lifts you can just skin traverse so easy and so much to access.

As others said its not got great inbounds terrain. the blast is fun if you rip it riders left and hit some of the cliffs there. Its a BC access hill

If you couldn't have good day at Whitewater, maybe you would need to re-evaluate what you want from skiing. I think the little area rocks, I would definately drop by.

Keep in mind that for our Aussie friend ^^^^^^ skiing on a garbage pile in Saskatchewan or a riverbank in Red Deer would probably rank as a memorable day.

Hey Thanks for the all the advice and info.(even the loving sarcasm was hilarious :wink: ) I think we will play it according to the snow. If no new, we will probably Cat for a day or two , otherwise we are passing by there enroute to Red regardless, so...we'll see what happens.. again, give me a holle rif anyone wanta a free beer.. :tdo13:

All these places are in Canadah, Eh?!

Speaking of beer...

Are there any chill pubs in Golden, Nelson, or Rossland that I shouldn't miss..?

http://tetongravity.com/forums/showt...164#post257164

Quote:

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Originally Posted by snowave

Speaking of beer...

Are there any chill pubs in Golden, Nelson, or Rossland that I shouldn't miss..?

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In Nelson I used to like the Savoy and the pub in the Heritage Hotel (Mikes Place?) was good. Then there is always the Zoo at the Civic :eek:

powda

http://www.skizone.nl/atc/atc.php?ur...blpic29687.jpg


steeps

http://www.skizone.nl/atc/atc.php?ur...blpic29689.jpg


bowls

http://www.skizone.nl/atc/atc.php?ur...blpic29688.jpg


trees

http://www.skizone.nl/atc/atc.php?ur...blpic29686.jpg


There, now I just havta make em bigger!

Those are some badass red "x"s there Doug. I don't think I've ever skiied stuff like that before. ;) :D

Edit: If you want to get an idea of what the terrain and snow inbounds and OB at WH20 are like before deciding whether or not to go, try to check out Sinners and Ski Your Ass Off 2, both shot in and around Whitewater by Bill Heath. Those two flicks should help ya make up your mind. :biggrin:

If you go cat skiing in Nelson, don't go with Wildhorse. The owner is a complete douchebag.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by powderpyg

OOPS :wink:

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Steeps
http://www.biglines.com/photos/blpic29689.jpg
Bowls
http://www.biglines.com/photos/blpic29688.jpg
Powda
http://www.biglines.com/photos/blpic29687.jpg
Trees
http://www.biglines.com/photos/blpic29686.jpg

It is pretty technical, I must admit.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by JR

Steeps
http://www.biglines.com/photos/blpic29689.jpg
Bowls
http://www.biglines.com/photos/blpic29688.jpg
Powda
http://www.biglines.com/photos/blpic29687.jpg
Trees
http://www.biglines.com/photos/blpic29686.jpg

It is pretty technical, I must admit.

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Ya, ya, ya, I fucked up, you da man JR! :redface:

I'm stiff now. :biggrin:

I knew I could count on you guys for the lowdown..

Also, thanks for the heads up on the Wildhorse Cat Skiing place. Speaking of the Cat thing... since we're on a roll for info..Does anyone have any suggestions for Cat places in either Revelstoke orNelson? I realize alot of places only do multi-day trips, but we can only do 1 or 2 days, thanks in part to the great almighty dollar begin so strong this year..;)

Valhalla Powdercats is a fairly new outfit so they are quite likely to do single or double days.

Retallack may have some open days.

Highland is another new operation. They are about 2 hours north of Nelson. If you planned it so you were on your way to Revy or Golden, it would be on the way.

White Grizzly is about 20 minutes south of Highland so same deal with fitting it with a drive to Revy or Golden. Older operation though so not so likely to get 1 or 2 days. I hear that they have expanded their terrain this year which is good cause they were a bit limited.

Baldface Cat Ski out of Nelson.

Boldface Lie, you mean. They are assholes, I'd stay away from them.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by freshie247

Baldface Cat Ski out of Nelson.

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I don't believe they do less than a week at a time

They are a little out of our price range anyway (Baldface)..with the helicopter fee an all..


We did Fernie Wilderness Avdentures last year on a whim..it was our first CAT experience..that were cheap, (about $280 CDN /day) and it was fun, but the terrain was rather mellow.. Some of those other places look feasible. Anyuone ever heard of CAT POWDER SKIING in Revelstoke? they seem to have good last minute prices..although, they skunked us last year at the last minute..and gave our seats to some "snowboarder mag" people, or so they say..Luckily, we hadn;t gone out of our way yet to go there..

BTW, thanks for the ski town bar link JR..did some cut and paste for my trip notebook....(I get a bit anal that way)..but hey, if its for good beer and fun times, its all good..better than sitting in Travel-lodge on a Saturday nite..?

I went for dinner in Nelson last night to a little place called Kas. A little dumpy looking little building but man, the food was fucking amazing. Highly recomended.

Does Nelson still have a pealer bar?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Beaver

Does Nelson still have a pealer bar?

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Nope, you gotta go to the "Gar" for that...or sometimes the Ymir Hotel, right Gonzo :wink:

Quote:

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Originally Posted by powderpyg

Nope, you gotta go to the "Gar" for that...or sometimes the Ymir Hotel, right Gonzo :wink:

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Time your trip with the coming of "Charlie's Angels".

I'm pretty sure that this event doubles as the Ymir town hall forum.

One guy yells, "Titties!" as loud as he can and the whole bar seconds the motion. Democracy in its most basic form. Beautiful.

Last thing..

Rogers Pass..I have heard of the place many times before, but have no idea what its like. My only experience with something that "may" be similar is Loveland Pass. Is it along those lines? Drop in off the road, ride back down to the road below, hitch up....?

If so, is this place of decent Avy concern?..We honestly don't have the time/space to bring much touring stuff on this trip, so if it is considered to be a big slide hazard by any means (which I understand most stuff unpatrolled/outside of a ski area is) We will most likely just slow down on our way by and watch...I usually don't condone ever riding outside of a ski area without the right equipment, but I really have no idea what to expect from Rogers..
Thanks again for any info!
edit: I may have found my answer doing some research!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by snowave

Last thing..

Rogers Pass..I have heard of the place many times before, but have no idea what its like. My only experience with something that "may" be similar is Loveland Pass. Is it along those lines? Drop in off the road, ride back down to the road below, hitch up....?

If so, is this place of decent Avy concern?..We honestly don't have the time/space to bring much touring stuff on this trip, so if it is considered to be a big slide hazard by any means (which I understand most stuff unpatrolled/outside of a ski area is) We will most likely just slow down on our way by and watch...I usually don't condone ever riding outside of a ski area without the right equipment, but I really have no idea what to expect from Rogers..
Thanks again for any info!
edit: I may have found my answer doing some research!

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Don't go to interior BC w/out tourning gear or knowledge, seriously. No, it is not anything like GaperPass except that the snow is white. Most of the ski areas have sidecountry zones that get hit pretty hard but are not patrolled/controlled (Fish Bowl, Ymir peak or whatever its called, the hike at Red - Roberts?). I suck with remembering names.

Rogers pass - start at the road, walk up as long as you want or light permits then ski back to the road. Terrain consists of everything from low angle sliding to steep trees, big open alpine bowls, glaciers, cliffs, couloirs.....y'know, the usual [announcer voice with reverb] big mountain skiing[/announcer voice with reverb] stuff. There is a hotel at the summit that offers skier rates that are pretty decent. Definately need avy gear. There is no ski resort nearby. There are area that you are not allowed to ski because if you kick off a slide you put the highway at risk and because you could step on an unexploded mortar shell or even get picked off the mountainside by mortar fire. Generally people sign in before they head out touring. They were going to start charging a user fee a few years ago but I think they bailed on it. I know that when I was last up there 2 years ago there was no fee.

If you have touring gear and you don't bring it to Red/WH2O you will kick your ass all the way home. Lots of amazing short tours from the hill.

Thanks for the heads up. RP is what I gathered from the minimal research I did, and your info about sums that up. Not something to be done without the right equipment.

I have to admit, my partner and myself are not Backcountry gurus..we have done a bit.... mainly through semi-patrolled gates at ski areas with guides or experienced locals, and rented equipment more than what we own, but not much more than that.

This trip (as most of ours are!) is more about travel, good times, enjoying new places and people, and mainly lift served terrain(..and of course, finding great new beers).

Cat skiing is about as adventurous as we will get on this trip unless there is an opportunity for some reasonable out of bounds stuff that is reasonably accessible, safe, and legal. (I know those words don't go too well together either!) If thats the case, we will look into rented some equipment if that is possible.


Thanks...

In Canada we don't have "gates" to the b/c. You just leave the ski resort wherever the fak you want and go wherever you want whenever you want in general. Once you leave the area you are on your own. If you fuck up and get injured or lost you better have someone expecting you at the end of the day who can call you in as missing and presumed fucked.

Having said that, at Red there are lots of short tours to amazing skiing that are well traveled and generally safe. Judgment calls are in order sometimes but places like Grey or Roberts trees are pretty safe. You can get from the top of the chair, to the top of Roberts and back to the top of the chair in about an hour if you know where you are going and haul ass.

This is Roberts bring your touring gear. You'll kick your ass all the way home if you don't.
http://www.firsttracksonline.com/red4.jpg

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Beaver

Having said that, at Red there are lots of short tours to amazing skiing that are well traveled and generally safe. Judgment calls are in order sometimes but places like Grey or Roberts trees are pretty safe. You can get from the top of the chair, to the top of Roberts and back to the top of the chair in about an hour if you know where you are going and haul ass.

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The same can pretty much be said for Whitewater, most of what is toured to can be seen and accessed from the chairs. The patrol are a pretty kewl lot (led by Kirk Jensen of RAP Films fame) and are more than willing to advise of the current conditions. Touring gear here is a definate plus also, unless it pukes while your here...then it's Backside Betties!

OK, now you guys got me itching and dreaming..thanks. ;)

So...help again..I'm sure you all own your AVY gear...We have limited gear, so we would need to rent our stuff. Do you guys have any suggestions/favorites for places that you may know who rent in Rossland or Nelson?

Thanks again for your help..It is greatly appreciated.

In Nelson , try Valhalla Pure / Roam (Both on Baker street) or Kootenay Experience ( Maybe see Wildhorse cat skiing note before) for hiring any additional avy gear. But then again as an Aussie I know nothing :wink:

I know Trevor at Kootenay Experience is none to popular with some here, but he has always treated me pretty well. But I only buy gear from him and then I grind him. He does rent everything you might need to go touring though.

I'm not sure if ROAM rents stuff or not.