Headline News
Big Red Cats Opens Luxury Lodge, Expands Terrain with 2 Mountains for Winter 2009/10
Big Red Cats Snowcat Skiing & Riding has opened a new lodge for their guests at the base of Red Mountain Resort in British Columbia. The lodge is called “Big Red Lodge” and is ready for the 2009/10 winter season.
The cat-skiing operation also has expanded its terrain, adding two new mountains and about 100 new runs. The tenure area now covers about 19,000 acres.
Kieren Gaul, president of Big Red Cats, said, “The lodge will cater for groups of 12 people—one whole snowcat!—in the highest quality, comfort and style. It is perfect for our guests, as it allows the whole group to stay under one roof and all eat and socialize around one table. This is some of the finest ski lodging anywhere.”
The luxury lodge includes six bedrooms (each room has two beds), two living rooms, three full washrooms, and all the amenities, including:
• Private hot tub
• BBQ
• Wireless Internet
• TV & DVD
• Real wood stove
• Central heating
The lodge has cathedral ceilings in the great room and south-facing timber-framed windows with a stunning view of Red Mountain, as well as a luxury kitchen with granite counters and stainless appliances.
For groups staying in the Big Red Lodge, the guide will meet them in the lodge on their first day of cat skiing, Gaul said. He added, "Your guide will present a briefing on safety, show you how to use avalanche transceivers and then take you outside the lodge to practice group rescue and transceiver use. Your guide will then transport your group right from the Big Red Lodge directly to the waiting snowcats. From the time that you leave the lodge to the time you start your first run is as little as 30 minutes."
An optional private chef is available to cater your stay. For C$25 per person plus ingredients per day, you will get après-ski prepared snacks, a three-course dinner, breakfast supplies and no shopping or dishes to do. A massage therapist is also available at the Big Red Lodge if booked in advance. The lodge is only 150 meters (about 500 feet) from the lifts at Red Mountain, for those who would like to combine resort skiing with their cat-skiing vacation.
The price will be C$700 per night—with a group of 12 people that is just C$58 per person per night. There is also a C$200 cleaning fee. A four-night/three-day group cat-skiing package at the Big Red Lodge costs C$1,300 per person before tax.
Big Red Cats is one of the largest cat-skiing operations in B.C. It runs up to three snowcats a day on eight mountains and more than 450 runs. It is the only cat operation in B.C. to offer separate cats for intermediates, advanced, and experts, and is one of a few operations to have a full-time snow safety team in the mountains each day, in addition to the guides in the snowcats. It is based in Rossland, B.C., a two-hour drive from Spokane, Wash., and just 30 minutes from Castlegar airport.
For more information and to book reservations, visit www.bigredcatskiing.com or call (250) 362-2271.