All Tracks Academy- ski and snowboard courses at Red Mountain, Revelstoke, and Whistler
How safe is it?
We take your safety seriously and our safety record speaks for itself. However there is always risk in the back-country beacuse we are dealing with a natural and uncontrolled enviroment. We can not fully eliminate this risk, but with a good team and with good procedures it is possible to reduce and manage this risk. We believe that we are the only Cat skiing operation of have a mobile safety team on the mountain every day. Some of the many steps that we take to help manage this risk are:
We use only qualifed guides:
Superrvising Guides must be ACMG Ski Guide or Canada Ski Guide Level 3 Lead Guides must be Canada Ski Guide Level 2 or ACMG assistant guide. Tail Guides - must have at a Minimum their CAA 1 and a 40 Hour wildderness first aid. 3 of our tail guides for this winter are professional para-medics
We have a safety and support team out on the Mountains every day - they are mobile on snowmobiles - and can provide rapid extra assistance if required.
We use our own radio repeater - that gives us constant communications. We also have a satellite phone.
We do snowtesting and take weather observations every day.
We are part of Infoex for the CAA - this means that share information with about 100 other operation in Canada every day in relation to avalanche and weather observations
We have rescue Caches in the snowcats and on the toip of the main mountains that we ski.
We use what we think are the Best Modern Transcivers the Barryvox and the Barryvox Pulse.
Our terrain and Cat Roads allow us to get to the top of all the Mountain that we ski - this is helpful as iit means that we do not have large avalanche slopes overhanging what we ski.
Can I rent fat powder skis?
Yes, We have a great powder skis we use Rossignol B4 and Rossignol B squads. But book in early to get the size the you want.
Do you offer discounts for groups?
Yes, Give us a call with you group size and we will get you a great deal.
Food?
Lunch is provided and is eaten during ascents in the snowcat, which allows us more time for skiing each day. We focus on whole and organic foods as much as possible, with two sandwiches, two cookies, and an apple per person, as well as water. If you don't like ham sandwiches, please tell us in advance and we'll make you something else.
What is the weather like?
Big Red Cats is very close to Red Mountain BC which is in BC’s famous Powder Triangle. It snows and snows hard - sometimes it will snow for weeks without stopping. We receive about 40ft of it per year. In general, temperatures range between -1 and -10. However, prior to mid February we potentially can get brief periods of very cold arctic air with temperatures in the range of -20 to -30 Celsius. Please be prepared for all mountain weather conditions. We recommend that you bring a face mask or a snorkel for those days when the powder is so deep the every few turns you have a mouthful of snow.
How many runs can I expect to make in a day of snowcat skiing?
The number of Runs that you can expect to ski depend on the level that you choose:
Lynx (Intermediates) can expect to make about 7-9 runs - about 10,000 vertical feet,
Mountain Lion (Advanced) about 10 runs and an average of 14,000 vertical ft
Cougar (Experts) generally make between 9-12 runs per day. You will likely ski approximately 14,000 ft. to 18,000 ft of vertical per day our record is about 23,000 vertical feet.
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Am I ready for snowcat skiing in deep powder?
If you are a strong intermediate skier or boarder, able to ski with confidence on blue (red in Europe) runs at ski resorts in varying snow conditions (not necessarily powder), you are then ready for snowcat skiing with us. You should have been skiing actively for several consecutive years. Backcountry snowcat skiing is not for beginner skiers. As a local rule of thumb, you should be able to ski Red's Paradise "Mini-Bowls" before signing up for a Lynx tour, you should be comfortable in the "Powderfields" before signing up for a Mountain Lion tour, and you should be able to ski the killing fields of Red's "Cambodia" before considering a Cougar tour. First-time snowcat skiers are urged to sign up for our Lynx – Intermediate snowcat skiing days, where your guides will be giving you as much assistance with gear, instruction, coaching and picking you up out of the snow as necessary.
