Heli-Skiing & Snowcat Skiing
Snowwater:
Get Intimate With HardCore Terrain
Susan leads the pack during a short hike to an open bowl of snowcat-served terrain.
Just outside of Nelson, B.C., a road cuts across the winding river and your shuttle turns onto a logging road that climbs up to the dreamland of Snowwater Heli-Skiing and Snowcat Skiing.
After a sometimes rugged drive 5 km. up the logging road, you’ll come to a road less traveled, unpack your gear and luggage, and board a thrumming snowcat with other guests anxious to get a taste of the pure untouched snow. If you’re lucky enough to arrive on a clear night, look out the window as you lumber along and gaze at the mystical hints of trees and mountain peaks…that’ll set you up for sweet dreams later on.
Forty-five minutes later, you’ll reach 5,440 feet and arrive at a gorgeous custom timber-frame lodge, lit up and warmly awaiting your weary bodies. Everything you need is right here: from delectable gourmet meals to massages and, of course, some of the best powder skiing in interior British Columbia. And with only 12 guests at a time to share the experience, the Snowwater world pretty much revolves around you and your every whim.
Snowwater Heli-Skiing
& Snowcat Skiing
British Columbia
Location: Near Nelson, B.C.
Mail address: Box 1340
Rossland, BC V0G 1Y0
Reservations: (866) 722-7669
or (250) 354-8238
Internet: www.snowwater.com
E-mail: info@snowwater.com
Acreage: 150,000+ acres
Highest summit elevation: 8,669 feet
Base elevation: 4,500 feet
Founder and President Patric Maloney not only built the lodge but also his own hydroelectric plant using the nearby river, so even though you really are in the middle of nowhere, you might just as well be smack in the middle of town as far as creature comforts are concerned. Hand-hewn logs soar towards the heavens, creating majestic cathedral ceilings encasing floor-to-ceiling windows that look out into the surrounding wilderness of the Bonnington Range of the Selkirk Mountains. The interior has an understated luxuriousness to it, with attention to details including tiled bathrooms and countertops, beds with down comforters, modern bathrooms with showers and outlets, overstuffed leather furniture in the common room, sauna, hot tub under the stars, and fresh flowers in the dining room. Yet you still have a rustic experience, so peaceful and quiet that if you listen closely, you can hear snow dropping off the tree branches.
We wake up to snow—another powder day in the Selkirks. We will be getting a sweet taste of the average snowfall of 500 inches. The day begins as any backcountry trip should: A lesson in using the lodge’s avalanche beacons. Then everyone clambers aboard the snowcat, where tunes get your blood pumping and chatter reaches fever pitch as comments on the bounty of untouched terrain fills the cabin. Snowwater is known for its tree skiing and riding in old-growth forests and all around you, gnome-like snow-covered trees crop up amidst towering pines. Once the cat drops you off, some runs have a 10-15 minute hike to warm you up and ready you for your next adventure. You read that right: Snowcat skiing with a taste of backcountry touring. It doesn’t get any better than this.
Snowwater is known for its tree skiing and riding in old-growth forests and all around you, gnome-like snow-covered trees crop up amidst towering pines.
Excitement is palpable as everyone slaps their climbing skins on the fat skis with alpine touring bindings that the lodge provides its guests (snowboarders can hike in their boots or use snowshoes). The snow falls all day and every run is deeper…and steeper. Ridge runs that drop you into 45-degree trees; cornices that launch you into beckoning wide-open bowls; chutes cut by old avalanches; you name the terrain, it’s here somewhere and they’ll take you to it. And through it all, the air is filled with the song of giggles, hoots and hollers as you and your joyful cohorts arc through the billowy powder. Just be careful not to get a mouthful, eh!
Experienced skiers and riders, hear this: Unlike some heli and snowcat operations where you can end up with guests who simply can’t keep up, this lodge caters to only advanced and expert skiers and riders. With runs varying from 1,000 to 2,500 feet of vertical on snowcat terrain and 1,500 to 4,000 on heli terrain, you’re sure to be satiated by the end of the day. The lodge also boasts prime heli-skiing and riding terrain with just five people in the helicopter. And unlike most other heli-skiing operations, Snowwater has a unique and much appreciated guarantee for its overnight guests: If the weather is too unfriendly for flying, you’ll still get fresh tracks via one of its snowcats. No worries here about spending the day in the lodge instead of out exploring the mountains.
Snowwater has a unique and much appreciated guarantee for its overnight guests: If the weather is too unfriendly for flying, you’ll still get fresh tracks via one of its snowcats.
The credentials of the owner and head guides are impressive, and certainly engender a feeling of safety and comfort. Maloney, a former avalanche technician at nearby Red Mountain and a consultant to the Canadian Forest Service, has spent 17 years mapping, exploring and guiding on Snowwater’s vast terrain. Guide Maria Grant, a former ski patroller at Red, has more than 10 years of patrol and guiding experience. Lead Guide Tim Rippel rounds out the leaders of the pack with not only 17 years of heli-ski guiding, but also 17 years of guiding Himalayan expeditions. All guides here have attained at least assistant winter guide status, and all have received certification from the Association of Canadian Mountain Guides (ACMG) or its European equivalent (UIAGM), or the Canadian Ski Guide Association (CSGA) or equivalent training. For extra measure, Snowwater is home to a fully certified avalanche rescue dog. The lodge also is a member of HeliCat Canada (formerly B.C. Helicopter and Snowcat Skiing Operators Association), which sets the industry standards and provides continual on-site training for all its members, as well as inspections to ensure standards are consistently met.
Day trips are available for both snowcat- and heli-skiing and riding, but really, why miss out on staying in this luxurious remote haven for a few days to get the full experience? A variety of packages meet most needs, and customized vacations fulfill the rest.
In September 2006, Snowwater purchased nearby Valhalla Powdercats. For details, read our headline news article, Snowwater Buys Valhalla Powdercats.