Powder Cowboy Catskiing In The Bc Rockies - Ready For The Ride?

I have never ridden in a tank but I would imagine that trundling up a mountain with 11 ski companions in a Pisten Bully snowcat is infinitely preferable. North American cat-skiing" which always prompts feline jokes is a little like helicopter skiing but a good deal slower (the journey to the snow, not the skiing, that is) and considerably cheaper.

Skiers climb into a specially designed cabin that is hitched on to the back of a snowcat, so called originally because it's a caterpillar-tracked vehicle.Then, slowly but surely, the driver hauls all of you along a variety of cat-tracks" roads, this time, not caterpillar tracks to numerous peaks in succession.

At the top, once you have jumped out of the vehicle (waiting for it to stop first, of course being flattened and chewed up by such a machine does not bear contemplation), the operation is almost identical to heli-skiing: a qualified guide leads you off-piste, down major snowfields that eventually give way to forests of fir. Here you'll plunge on, hooting and hollering your way exuberantly through the trees, floating in the white smoke" that envelops you.

Far from interrupting the deep-snow skiing experience, tree-skiing, which helps no end with visibility in white-out conditions or freshly falling snow, is considered by many to be the ne plus ultra of back-country adventure as long as you go gingerly through the snow ghosts" (trees smothered in snow and ice). And with any luck, the cat" will be waiting for you at the bottom to transport you to another exhilarating run.

For skiers in a rush who still prefer cat to helicopter, Powder Cowboy Catskiing an operation run near Fernie, in British Columbia has introduced a Cheetah" programme that uses two snowcats to serve a group of 12. While one drops the group off, the other is ready and waiting to pick them up at the bottom of the next run. This, says Powder Cowboy Catskiing, is the fastest cat-skiing on the planet".

Powder Cowboy Catskiing enthuses that it combines the legendary powder of Canada's Rocky Mountains and the Wild West culture of the Columbia Valley, with 6,000 acres of awesome terrain, equalling the size of many ski resorts. Imagine your favourite resort covered in deep, dry, untracked powder, all for just you and 11 friends. Call Powder Cowboy Catskiing today and saddle up, partner!"

When you think about it, being hauled up to the finest off-piste in a vehicle designed to groom pistes is a little quirky. Although it takes a lot longer than a helicopter to reach the peaks, not all snowcats rather like cars or tanks travel at the same speed. At Powder Cowboy Catskiing, our rookie driver, Ryan Grootveld, was slow, steady and reliable. Things moved a little faster at the Island Lake Lodge operation a sister company on the other side of Fernie's Lizard Range, where Martin, a French Canadian, drove with a little more urgency. Must be the French blood in his veins," suggested one of the members of our group.

Certainly the terrain in this part of the world, along with the luxurious lodges and fine dining (we enjoyed such delicacies as prawn and crab salad rolled in smoked salmon and finished with lemon crme fraiche and mango coulis drizzle), along with the gung-ho atmosphere, is just like a heli-skiing operation, only more relaxed. Instead of fighting to be heard above the roar of a Bell 212's engines, we could sit back, snack on sandwiches, cookies and hot cider, and tell mountain tales. Or you can listen to your iPod through an auxiliary input rather like one of the old pirate radio stations," as someone put it. Laughter comes easily in the back of a cat.

Before you start skiing, there's the inevitable signing of waivers in which you swear in writing that come what may, you will not sue the company in the event of an accident. At Powder Cowboy Catskiing, this seems slightly more intense than usual. Do you understand the wording on the form?" asks Brent MacDonald, in his 14th season as lead guide, echoed meaningfully by Owen Day, the tailgunner" guide who acts as sweeper, mopping up any fallen skiers. I do," I say earnestly, wondering if someone will add: "You may kiss the guide."

Should you, for any unimaginable reason, wish to sit out one run (I did on the rare occasion that the group had to bootpack" up a steep climb to reach a run called Yeti, after being dropped off as high as the cat could get to), it's quite fun to sit in the passenger seat of the luxuriously warm cab while the driver trundles down the mountain to the next pick-up point. Getting in is quite tricky you have to climb on to the cat runners and somehow get in through the suicide" door. Once inside, you can enjoy the ride.

Taking pity on me for having missed this glorious run, the group insisted that I go first on the next. It was called Lucky Loonie. Were they trying to tell me something?

On one occasion, we shuddered to a halt (screeching to a halt would be over-stating it) when a female moose, chewing innocently on a leafy branch, barred our route. Everyone piled out something you can't do in a helicopter grabbing their cameras. Everyone, that is, except for one silver-haired and moustachioed passenger who sat and smiled benignly, saying: I see them all the time in New York City."

Powder Cowboy Catskiing can be reached at 1-888-4CATSKI or visit www.powdercowboy.com for booking information.