Helicopter Skiing at Chatter Creek

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Chatter Creek will operate a two-week introductory heli-skiing program in late March and early April, 2006.

A year ago, Chatter Creek was awarded a heli-skiing tenure that lies mostly outside of the cat skiing tenure (which has more recently been expanded by an additional 108 sq km). The heli-skiing terrain is to the north, east and south of the cat skiing areas.

This will be a limited program, with space for just 40 clients among four tours, so anyone needing a last shot of great powder skiing and interested in exploring Chatter Creek's new heli-skiing tenure should contact the office ASAP. The Bell 407 helicopter will be used. It's a fast and very comfortable machine that will accommodate a skiing group of just 5 clients plus a guide.

In the event of stormy weather, there will be no down-time. Heli-skiers will be bundled into snowcats to sample some of Chatter Creek's great cat skiing terrain. When the weather clears, the helicopter is there waiting to whisk you back to the more remote heli-runs.

Follow this link for more information about the Chatter Creek Helicopter skiing program, another opportunity to indulge yourself in Chatter Creek's exceptional powder skiing.

The photo shows a view east from Chatter Creek's Vertebrae glacier. Many of the distant snowfields will be within reach of the Chatter Creek helicopters. Mount Columbia rises in the distance on the right of the image. Click the image to enlarge it.

Autumn Days are Upon Us.

The summer has come and gone at Chatter Creek and the final push is on to complete the "summer" projects. Very soon, all hands will be "on deck" for final preparations for welcoming guests to Vertebrae and Solitude Lodges.

A lot of finishing carpentry has been completed in the lodges this summer; jobs that were not finished last summer, when Solitude Lodge was built. There has also been quite a bit of work completed on the Chatter Creek access road. The partners expect to complete a second woodshed this fall, with a second outdoor furnace to act as a booster to the existing hot-water heating system. This will allow the propane booster installed last year to be retired and will provide much more heat during cold snaps. One of the remaining tasks is a wood-choping "bee". A crew will be going in to the lodge shortly to cut the winter firewood for the two furnaces.

There are a lot of people looking forward to powder skiing in the new "Lakeside" terrain. It won't be long now! The annual mailout to guests is "in the mail". Watch for it and remember to mark the November "due date" on your calendar.

For more information on these two great lodges, look at our "Lodge Life" Web site or, for the story of the construction of these lodges, look at our "Vertebrae Lodge" and "Solitude Lodge" sites.

Golden, a popular North American destination

Golden BC, located in Western Canada between the Purcell and the Rocky Mountains is becoming an ever more popular destination for skiers and snowboarders wanting a variety of mountain experiences. Few places in North America offer such a wide choice of winter holiday excursions. Skiing at beautiful Lake Louise is a 50 minute drive to the east, on the way to the nearest international airport in Calgary, the Panorama ski resort is an hour's drive to the south and, of course, the Kicking Horse Alpine Resort is just minutes from the center of town.
Besides alpine skiing, Golden offers a wealth of other winter holiday experiences. Great Canadian Heli-skiing and Purcell Heli-skiing are both in or close to Golden and, in the mountains around Golden, there are many backcountry lodges including Mistaya Lodge, Amiskwi Lodge, Sorcerer Lodge, Purcell Lodge and Golden Alpine Holidays with a collection of small backcounry lodges.

For competent intermediate and expert alpine skiers and riders having no backcountry experience, a three-day snowcat skiing tour at Chatter Creek provides an easy but memorable introduction to the joys of backcountry powder and probably by far the best skiing of the trip. Our dream trip would be a few days of alpine skiing at the resorts in or near Golden followed by three or four days of cat skiing and then a day of heli-skiing. After that, try dog sledding or snowmobiling, because more resort skiing will be a little anticlimatic. If you share that kind of dream, make sure you book at least a year in advance because a lot of people have similar plans. Chatter Creek has perhaps the largest area of cat skiing terrain in North America and also boasts the highest and most extensive glacier skiing for cat skiers. It is becoming a very popular spot for intermediate and expert skiers.

By the way, the cat skiing and heli-skiing require no special equipment, just your usual ski clothing and boots. For Chatter Creek, you'll also want your toothbrush and a swim suit for the hot tub. Operators rent powder skis that are well adapted to local conditions and they also look after safety gear and they train you in its use. The cat skiing and heli-skiing tours are fully guided by very experienced and well trained guides.

Scroll down to lean more about snowcat skiing. If you want to try backcountry powder skiing, this is the easiest and most accessible way to do it. You don't need to be a star. The photos we show on the Chatter News tend to be of the better skiers and riders. Don't be put off. If you are a strong intermediate, you'll have a blast! If you've never tried powder skiing in untracked snow in the trees or on big alpine slopes, Chatter's the place to start. There's no hiking, warm comfortable snowcats take you to the top and pick you up at the bottom. In between, you ski untracked powder at a pace that's right for you. Fresh tracks, every run on an endless variety of hills. Check out our Cat Skiing Articles to learn more. Our Ski Run Index shows many of the major runs and ski areas at Chatter Creek.

Cat Skiing at Chatter Creek

Chatter News is a personal Weblog (blog) that provides an independent client's view of powder skiing and boarding at Chatter Creek, in the Canadian Rocky Mountain backcountry. There is also lots here about mountain lodge construction.

This is NOT the Chatter Creek Mountain Lodge Web Site. For cat skiing tour schedules, prices, booking informtion and the OFFICIAL word about snowcat skiing and boarding at Chatter Creek, go to www.chattercreekcatskiing.com

Click here for information on Getting Around the Chatter News Site

View earlier posts in our Chatter News Archives for Jul ., Aug., Sep ., Oct., Nov., Dec., Jan., Feb., Mar., Apr.
All Archives are listed to the right >>.

The links at the top of each Chatter News window connect to 19 photo galleries plus other info. These contain photos and information on:
 1. Glacier skiing in the Rockies, at an elevation of almost 10,000 ft.
 2. Cat skiing terrain and views from the road to Vertebrae glacier
 3. The Bombardier Snowcats used by Chatter Creek.
 4. Our group's Favorite Chatter Creek photos.
 5. Skiing in the Clamshell, a high bowl contining a small glacier.
 6. Ski Photography by Mark Gallup, great riding and ski photos.
 7. Ski Photography by John Dougall, Chatter Creek's in-house
     professional photographer.
 8. Dan Hudson Ski Photography , more great ski photos.
 9. Cat Skiing the Cut Blocks, cleared areas at lower elevations.
10. A sampling of Lodge Life at Chatter Creek
11. Happy Campers, guests enjoying themselves at Vertebrae Lodge.
12. Cat Skiing on the East Ridge with its old burns and forest glades.
13. Cat Skiing the Lodge Ridge & it's "Home Run" to the lodge door.
14. The helicopter flight to Chatter Creek
15. Travel information for skiers and boarders heading to Golden.
16. The story of the construction of Vertebrae lodge.
17. The construction of the Solitude lodge bedroom annex.
18. A photographic tour of the Cat Skiing Terrain at Chatter Creek.
      Visit all points of the Chatter Creek tenure.
19. A collection of ski articles on the Chatter Creek Web site.
20. Where is Chatter Creek uses maps and satellite images to locate
     Chatter Creek.
21. Photos and "bios" of the Chatter Creek Winter Staff
22. Ski Run Index provides photos and information on most Chatter Creek ski runs.
23. Chatter Creek Ski Runs is a large collection of photos and information referenced by the Ski Run Index. The Index provides quick access.
24. Cat Skiing Photos - a collection of prior "photos of the week".

Also, there is our illustrated Cat Skiing Articles all about cat skiing.

Scroll down to see our recent postings to the Chatter News.

Chatter Creek Ski Run Index

We are developing a Ski Run Index for the Chatter Creek tenure. Click the above link to find two sets of links to collections of ski run photos and descriptions. The first set organizes ski run links by the five major cat road networks, while the second set lists all ski run names alphabetically. Click any link to view a collection of photos and a description of the selected ski run.

The Ski Run Index is relatively small and quick to load. This references individual postings to our Chatter Creek Ski Runs Weblog, which is large and slow to load. However, the latter permits the user to scroll through descriptions and photos of all the ski runs, organized in alphabetical order.

The Cat Skiing Terrain Weblog provides a top-level description of the Chatter Creek tenure and introduces the five major ski zones (cat road networks). From here, link to a separate Weblog that provides a detailed description and many ski photos from one particlular zone. Use the Ski Run Index to see our collection of ski photos for any particular run. The index is a work in progress. The Ski Run Index also provides access to an index of all names associated with Chatter Creek.