BC B U S I N E SS NOVEM B ER/ D ECEM B ER 2025 | 49 Steven Wells Photo
L O C A L G E TA W AY S
"It's
just like an airline flight safety
briefing." I've buckled a seatbelt
hundreds of times. But poking a
long collapsible probe into deep
snow at the urging of Andy Cole, guiding manager at Big Red Cats?
This is new. Probing powder and learning how to operate my beacon
are necessary parts of the avalanche training protocol I need to
know before setting foot into the gleaming red snowcat that is our
heated mobile home for the day.
The bluebird skies and plentiful powder snow conditions are
perfect for my off-piste backcountry ski adventure with Big Red Cats,
one of the largest cat ski operations in the world. Located about
30 minutes north of Rossland, B.C., the outfit has been ferrying
intermediate to expert skiers and riders into this Kootenay Rockies
powder paradise for more than 20 years.
BACKCOUNTRY BLISS
AND PRISTINE POWDER
AWAIT IN THE
KOOTENAY ROCKIES
Going off-piste on
B.C.'s Powder Highway
is the ticket to a
thrilling backcountry
alpine adventure.
By Claudia Laroye
CAT TRACKS AHEAD
Big Red Cats has
spent the last 20 years
taking intermediate
and expert skiers to
pristine backcountry
spots in the Kootenay
Rockies.
