Skill-Testing Question

Did you know that Chatter Creek is running a heli-skiing program next March? Click here for info on more opportunity for great powder skiing.

Busman's Holiday

What do Chatter Creek guides to after a winter of powder skiing at Chatter Creek? Well, some of them go skiing.

Last spring, Dani Loewenstein and some friends did some touring on Mt. Freshfield, which is a 3336m peak located in the Rocky Mountains, about 45 km southeast of Chatter Creek. Dani has been kind enough to share a few photos from his ski trip.

We believe the photo above is the Freshfield Icefield. Mt Freshfield lies on the Continetal Divide, between the Freshfield Icefield and the Campbell Icefield. If you click on the photo and make your viewing window as large as possible, you will see their tracks and two figures on the icefield. Someone took a real hike for that photo.

Dani says, " We skied a beautiful line off the summit of Freshfield that ended in that amazing glacial compression tonque".

The second photo above shows seracs on the Freshfield Icefield and the last photo was taken inside an igloo that Dani and his friends built for shelter.

We understand that Dani will be back guiding at Chatter Creek in early February.

Cat Skiing News Update

We've just heard from cat driver Brenda Lenahan that "Dale has been zooming around in the new Bombardier BR 350 snowcat getting a lot accomplished". The good snowpack permits very easy travel and Dale has already built roads to Spruce Pass, through Megahooped & the Windlip, and halfway down Vertabrae Glacier. The Super Road is built on the East Ridge and the Clamshell road is in place, all the way to the Pearl. Dale says it's the best early season snowpack he's seen at Chatter Creek!

The rest of the crew are keeping busy with projects around the lodge. However, they will soon be switching gears - the powder skiing is here and first guests arrive in less than a month. As Brenda says, it's time to play in the mountains!

Thanks for the update, Brenda.

Vertebrae and Solitude Lodges at Chatter Creek Cat Skiing with their brand new entryway under a mantle of fresh snow. There is over a meter of snow at the lodge, and things are just about ready to go. Finishing touches are in progress and the lodge is being stocked. For a look at what's new at at Chatter Creek, take a look at our "Summer at Chatter Creek" Weblog.

The first tour kicks off on December 17. If you have a hankering for some early-season powder skiing, we notice that there are some openings still available at discount rates.

Click any image to enlarge it. Use the browswer's "Back" button to return to the Chatter News. The Chatter News is a collection of Weblogs about all aspects of Chatter Creek. Follow the links at the top of the page, and those in the right hand margin. Dont miss our our tour of Chatter Creek's Cat Skiing Terrain and our Ski Run Index.

The bar in Chatter Creek's Vertebrae lodge has bee tarted up and re-varnished and awaits the first contingent of cat skiers. There has been lots of finishing details completed within the lodge, this summer, including individual cubicles in the drying room for each guest to dry their boots and outside clothing.

A month ago, the road to Chatter Creek was impassable, due to mud. However, it is now well frozen, plowed and the cats are being used to haul supplies to the lodge.

The Wood-Mizer sawmill at Chatter Creek has been "put to bed" for the winter. In a month, the helicopter landing pad will extend over the end of the bed of the mill. The sawmill has had lots of use this past summer, milling lumber and finishing materials for the new woodshed, the lodge entrance and the lodge interiors.

We expect that John Dougall will be on hand again this year to capture your great moments in the Chatter Creek powder, with or without the Pink Purse.

We're always happy to display John's great photography, or photos of Chatter Creek by the likes of Mark Gallup and Dan Hudson, but most of our material comes from Chatter Creek guests.

We hope that lots of Chatter Creek guests will come to our rescue again this year with some well taken photography. We've relied on your contributions and we've received some great submissions. Please don't be shy. Don't forget "lodge shots" for our "Happy Campers" site and your "Tales of the Pink Purse".

Many Chatter Creek ski groups use the Webshots photo sharing Web site to share one anothers photos among the group. They send us the URL for their gallery and the Chatter News can take whatever it needs. It's pretty easy for group members to upload their photos to the groups' Webshots ablum.

There has been lots of finishing work done this summer in Solitude and Vertebrae Lodges. Door casing have been tarted up and completed. More insulation has been added and our bedrooms await us. With a second outdoor furnace, the hot tubs should be hot, even in the coldest weather. For a rundown on the summer's projects, look at our Summer at Chatter Creek Weblog. The major projects have been a second woodshed and outoddr furnace, a covered entryway for the lodges, finishing work in the lodges and some road work. The "Summar at Chatter Creek" site tells all about it.

Accommodation Deals in Golden BC

Chatter Creek Cat Skiing Guests are offered special rates at the Prestige Motor Inn and at the Kicking Horse Canyon B&B Guest House in Golden BC. When you arrive a day early for your powder skiing trip at Chatter Creek, these are the places to stay for room rate discounts.

The Kicking Horse Canyon Guest House offers homey lodging for individuals and groups in a quiet forest setting, a short drive from the center of town. Proprietor Jerry Cook is a chef at Chatter Creek. If you like Jerry's cooking, try out wife, Jeannie's great breakfasts! Also check out Jerry's hand-crafted rustic local-wood furniture. For special rates and bookings call Jeannie at (250) 344-6848 or email kicking_cook@hotmail.com

The Prestige Inn is a comforable, 4 1/2 star "Canada Select" hotel conveniently located on the TransCanada Highway, about 5 minutes drive from the center of Golden. An ABC Country Restaurant is in-house. For special rates and bookings call 1-877-737-8443 or email golden@prestigeinn.com. Click here for on-line reservations.

Click on any photo for an enlargment. Use your browser's "Back" button to return to the Chatter News. That's the Kicking Horse Resort on the hillside behind the Prestige Inn. You have time for a full morning's skiing there before your flight to Chatter Creek.

Snow Alert

Nov 4, 2005: Sixty (60)cm (about 2 ft) of snow is reported at the Lodge and the glaciers above nearby Rogers Pass have 260cm. It's snowing at Chatter Creek and more snow is in the forecast. The alpine snow pack appears to be well settled with no depth hoar (layer of instability). Tomorrow, Blackcomb Mt. at Whistler will have its earliest opening in 20 years. Things are looking very good for the early cat skiing season.

A new roof over the entryway to Vertebrae and Solitude Lodges will provide protection from snowshed off the main roof. Cat skiing at Chatter Creek starts in about six weeks.

Our "Summer at Chatter Creek" Weblog has some new photos from this summer's projects at the lodge site. See what's new at the lodge site and follow the progress of mountain lodge construction at Chatter Creek from 2001 to the present. How do you build 20,000 sq ft of log buildings in the middle of nowhere?

Where is Chatter Creek? Click the link for maps and satellite images.