Wildhorse Catskiing

Dec 17, 2011 First Day of the Season

2012-01-04T16:51:00.002-08:00

photo by Xenia Semeniuk

The days are short in December. Pretty much dark at 4pm so we have to hustle to get lots of skiing. We offer discounted rates for full cat rentals before Dec 20th. This year we had a good solid base and 10-20cm of fluffy white powder on top. A crew from the Okanagan enjoyed shredding Perfect Glades, Mustang Bowl, Camel's Hump, and a few more as well as Baldy Cliffs. Here is a link to more of their photos. Thanks Xenia for the photos!

The best of my photos from 2011

2011-09-09T22:35:00.000-07:00

Ski Diva at Wildhorse

2011-08-11T21:00:00.000-07:00

A group from SLC visit the Wildhorse last winter for some epic spring powder conditions. Here is the link to their pictures and reviews etc.

Client video from Wildhorse winter 2010/11

2011-07-22T21:30:00.000-07:00

Accepting bookings for winter 2011/12

2011-04-09T12:57:00.003-07:00

If you book your next winter's vacation with a 25% before April 30th, 2011 then you get this years rates. If you pay in full prior to April 30th then you also receive a 10% discount. Bookings after April 30th get next winter's rates. The balance is due Dec 1st, 2011. Prices and Bookings available online. Our Current availability Calendar. Groups that booked last winter have first chance on booking their dates from last winter - until April 30th and then it's all open. See the photographs from the winter. Call 250-358-7277 or email

Custom Backcountry Skiing Adventures

2011-03-25T12:29:00.004-07:00

Interested in learning more about backcountry skiing? Our Wildhorse Cabin is perfectly situated for backcountry skiing adventures. Located high on Wildhorse Ridge we can ski tour from the cabin to the summit of Wildhorse Peak and beyond. Great for mini-avalanche courses, steep and deep skiing, snowmobile assisted skiing adventures with Wildhorse, and custom guided ski touring adventures. Available from December to mid April. Ask for more information. Photos from a group of 4 that did 2 days of ski touring and 3 days of catskiing

Video of a tree well incident and rescue

2011-03-25T12:26:00.001-07:00

incident from silver mtn

incident from a catskiing operation this winter

Rocking Horse

2011-03-21T12:10:00.001-07:00

I like this photo. It shows a little of the type of terrain at Wildhorse Catskiing. Big mountains with some serious terrain and some great steep tree skiing all tucked tightly together. Yahoo!

Counting vertical or overloading the bliss meter

2011-03-21T11:48:00.001-07:00

Skiing Wildhorse Peak for the first time this season. This line blows the bliss meter off the charts. It's only 400 feet but this one you will remember for a long time. Its all about quality not quantity. Wildhorse Catskiing is right in the center of the Kootenay Powder Triangle and the snow quality is some of the best and the terrain is simply mind-blowing. But don't take my word for it - check it out for yourself.

The endless snowfalls of March 2011

2011-03-11T18:18:00.003-08:00

This winter has just continued from great skiing in December through January into February and then March we just got hammered and winter is showing no sign of slowing down. We had one day of sun this winter that was strong enough to put a crust on south facing slopes and then two days later it just dumped again and buried that so great skiing on all aspects again.

The Guest GoPro Video Camera

2011-02-08T20:59:00.003-08:00

Blitz Ridge

2011-02-06T22:13:00.001-08:00

The happy crew after skiing the 2000 ft Blitz Ridge in perfect knee deep powder and sunshine. We even scored the first noboard descent on this one. If you have tried snowboarding and like it take off the bindings and try riding your board - that's noboarding! If you want to see more noboarding check out the video - Say Yes to the No

What catskiing is - Jesse Blencowe ripping it up!

2011-01-28T20:42:00.004-08:00

Back to Powder and Sunshine

2011-01-22T19:09:00.003-08:00

Yahoo! 30cm of fresh powder and sunshine. Not much more to be said. Yahoo! Joaquin ripping it up.

The truth about catskiing

2011-01-17T13:59:00.002-08:00

Sometimes the snow conditions suck and snow stability suck. We cancelled this weekend due to poor snow conditions and poor stability. Our policy when we cancel is to issue a full refund on the catskiing. On average over the last 6 years we have cancelled two days a season. It's hard for everyone but it's always the right decision. The typical conditions when we might cancel would be too much snow and too warm creating a double whammy of poor skiing conditions and high instability in the snowpack. Skiing at Whitewater or Red Mountain is usually a better alternative in this situation. We don't need lots of snow catskiing because we don't have the high skier traffic breaking down the powder like at a ski area. That is why we every day of catskiing at Wildhorse is likely to be your best day of skiing. No picture included because no-one needs a picture of skiing elephant snot.

Playing in new terrain with a new helmet cam

2011-01-06T06:02:00.001-08:00

Customer review by Visual Intensity

2011-01-04T20:06:00.003-08:00

Customer Quote
"Well I gotta chance to go catskiing this past monday, and it was DOPE. Didn’t really get any action shots cause I was a little pre-occupied SKIING! Words really can’t explain the experience, its definitely something I would recommend to anyone into snowsports. It will however ruin every other resort day you have for the rest of the year because it simply cannot compare…"

Video from the guys at Catskiing.ca

2011-01-03T21:24:00.001-08:00

The boys from Catskiing.ca

2011-01-02T14:03:00.003-08:00

These guys have the dream job - cruising around catskiing operations photographing themselves skiing powder. They do a great job so all the power to them. We were skiing together last week. If you are on facebook check this photo collection out.

First day of the season

2010-12-19T09:19:00.002-08:00

Sunshine, 30 cm of fresh powder, no wind, -10C, a snowcat filled with ripping skiers and boarders - a perfect day.

Road Building

2010-12-08T22:20:00.005-08:00

Tyler and I have been out in the Wildhorse for the last couple of days getting the snowcat skiing roads into shape for this winter. We hauled up 160 hay bales into the mountains to fill in nasty traverses, gullies and other trouble spots - I feel a bit like a farmer right now. But the road building is going much better and the crop is looking good. It snowed 20 cm today. Another 30cm is forecasted for the rest of the week - that should put us into perfect skiing territory.

Heavy snowfall warning!

2010-10-20T21:34:00.001-07:00

Some people say it's going to be the biggest snowfall for years this winter. I agree. Let it be billowing over my head. March 8th, 2009

Remembering winter's past

2010-10-18T22:48:00.000-07:00

I was just flicking through some of our older photos thinking about winter. It's almost been ten years since I started taking people up into the Wildhorse mountains. The first five years were all ski touring with Ymir Yurts and then the last have mostly been with Wildhorse Catskiing. Sara took this one two or three winter's ago and did the photoshop thing combining three shots into one. No snow in the mountains quite yet but the temperature is cold enough now and the next snowfall will stay. See you soon.

This winter's La Nina weather forecast

2010-10-08T21:07:00.002-07:00

We’re headed into a La Niña year the likes of which haven’t been seen since 1955, according to Washington state climatologist Nick Bond.

Bond said temperatures for this time of year are the coldest since 1955, and the pattern could continue as we head into winter. Ocean temperatures affect air circulation, and cool air can lead to more rain and snow and colder temperatures.

The Farmers’ Almanac is also predicting a cool year. According to the 2010-11 forecast, “winter temperatures will be a bit below normal . . . with below-normal precipitation and above-normal snowfall.”

Ski Bums on assignment

2010-10-01T20:29:00.002-07:00

Last spring I got a call from a photographer - Cory Leis with an interesting story. Three photographers had been chosen along with ski models to spend three days in the Kootenay's ending in Revelstoke with no money and no car. They had to call up friends, friends of friends and anyone else they could trade photos for skiing. I took them up the Wildhorse for a night at the Wildhorse Cabin and a day of touring and skiing on Wildhorse Peak. Here's a sample photo.

Video shot by Catskiing.ca

2010-04-17T13:42:00.000-07:00

Wildhorse Catskiing Review from John Holman on Vimeo.

Taxes, taxes, taxes...

2010-04-17T13:10:00.004-07:00

Here are two ways to beat the tax man! This summer in British Columbia the government is introducing a new tax they call the HST which is going to make everything better and be better for everyone which is why we are all so happy about it. In the past we have paid a 5% GST tax on all catskiing trips - now we are going to be paying 13% tax - to pay for the Olympics perhaps? However if you pay for next winter's powder skiing at Wildhorse now we get you 10% discount AND you don't pay the additional 8%. Total savings 18%. Just another reason to book before April 30th.
The other method is to pay a share at Wildhorse Catskiing & Powder Mining Co. A share costs a mere $10K but provides you with an annual tax free dividend of a 3 day catskiing package including all meals and accommodation.

You can order online at www.skiwildhorse.com

Events in Ymir

2010-04-11T21:01:00.000-07:00

Job Training for my son - Ethan

2010-03-29T16:55:00.002-07:00

We had a short day of work today picking up a group ski touring at Qua Yurt. Sara and Ethan had decided that it would be a good day to come visit the Wildhorse. We had in mind sunshine and spring conditions but woke to more than a foot of fresh powder snow and wind gusts hitting 70 km/h up at Wildhorse Cabin. We did some job training on snowcat driving and at 6 months old he seems to be doing OK.

A season of Avalanches

2010-03-20T21:31:00.006-07:00

Typically the springtime brings improving stability. Not this winter. We had lots of early season snow and then February and March brought small storms and a series of weak surface hoar crystals creating avalanche hazard. Toward mid-March the amount of snow on top of the weak layers was a huge threat. For the last month we had been treading very carefully in the mountains around Wildhorse keeping everyone safe. Looking carefully at the photo below you can see a 50-70cm fracture line across 300m of Wildhorse Bowl. Great skiing when the conditions permit. Our first priority is keeping everyone safe - even when everyone is saying "steep and deep".

Why Ski at Wildhorse Catskiing?

2010-03-18T15:59:00.007-07:00

When I meet people that have skied at a wide variety of snowcat skiing operations it is always interesting to find out what they like about Wildhorse Catskiing. There are a range of options out there offering a variety of services. Here are some of the reasons:

Accessible Location - for our U.S. customers we are 3 hours away from the Spokane WA airport. Calgary and Southern Alberta - 3-7 hours and people doing the Powder Triangle tour we are on the road with all the popular Kootenay ski resorts.

Snow and Terrain - We have a good variety of terrain that keeps most skiers very happy and we get the snow and the quality is good. We have short runs, steep runs, long runs and awesome views.

Daily Operation and Ymir Palace - Wildhorse is based out of the Ymir Palace in the town of Ymir. Roscoe and Belinda do a great job creating home-style cooked meals, a friendly low-key atmosphere at a great price. Skiers get all of the amenities of a small town BC town including the Ymir Hotel, a liquor store and the town of Nelson just minutes up the road.

We are happy with the results - skiers like skiing at Wildhorse because the price is right for lots of powder skiing, the food is great, the beer is cheap, and everyone is out to have a good time.

Guide - Joaquin

2010-03-08T13:08:00.003-08:00

If you skied at Wildhorse this year or last year chances are you were with Joaquin. If you are in Ymir in the summer and you looked up you might see him flying his paraglider or taking clients for tandem paragliding trips.

Exploring some new terrain

2010-02-15T12:25:00.002-08:00

We opened up a bit of new terrain this winter in a great north facing pocket. Lots of beautiful open gladed sub alpine trees and some good pillow lines. The team from catskiing.ca joined us for a day of skiing and took a bunch of great photos. The powder here is about two weeks old and still perfect.

It has not snowed in awhile - what's it like up there?

2010-02-07T06:56:00.003-08:00

We get this question a lot during the course of a season as local skiers see Whitewater and Red Mountain turning to hardpack. Even the local backcountry spots get hit pretty hard. We are fortunate in the Selkirk's that we get fairly stable temperatures hovering below freezing and generally calm winds. A little bit of cloud cover helps keep the crust off the south facing slopes. After two weeks of no new snow we are still skiing great boot top powder. It comes down to numbers - 12 skiers per day. With great stability in the snowpack we get to ski lines that we might only ski once a season. I love it.

What do we do on our Day Off

2010-01-28T12:26:00.005-08:00

And these blogs for more photos and adventures in the backcountry around Wildhorse Catskiing.
So we put down this line on Wildhorse Peak and then for the next two days dragged some adventurous clients up there too.

Powderhounds

2010-01-26T21:44:00.001-08:00

Greg and Lyndell from Powderhounds.com visited us last week for a day of catskiing. We had a great time skiing with them again - here is their review from last winter. We were lucky again ( as we are every day! ) to be skiing great powder ( with sunshine for great photos! ). We also love it when it's snowing and we can't see for the snow billowing over our goggles.....

Powder and Sunshine

2010-01-26T20:53:00.000-08:00

The last couple of days have been perfect. Sunshine and powder and a stable snowpack. Charlie rips it up down to Wildhorse Meadows. We put down lines into Mustang Bowl, Perfect Glades and Rocking Horse.

Ymir Palace

2010-01-26T20:08:00.002-08:00

Welcome to the Ymir Palace - headquarters of Wildhorse Catskiing during the winter. Hosts Belinda and Ross White renovated an old mining day hotel and now prepare delicious breakfasts and dinners for hungry skiers. Ready to go skiing!

Client video from Jan 15-17th

2010-01-24T18:51:00.007-08:00

First Days for the Season

2009-12-24T08:20:00.004-08:00

We have had a couple of days of catskiing so far this winter. There is a good base - evidently good for big air - and lots of the fluffy stuff on top. Check out our availability calendar. We offer single day catskiing trips to five day packages. Any seats that are still empty are available for standby rates at reduced prices. Currently we have availability for Dec 28 29 and Jan 2nd. That's how you get first tracks.

Investment for Powder

2009-11-24T16:22:00.003-08:00

Interested in an investment for powder? We are planning a major expansion next winter with new terrain, a second cat and further improvements at Qua Yurt. The basic deal is $10,000 for a share in Wildhorse Catskiing & Powder Mining Co. interest includes a 3 day catskiing package paid annually in powder skiing at Wildhorse Catskiing or a week at the Ymir Yurts. Investment returned on demand ( 90 days notice ), or repaid at our option. As the price of catskiing increases your investment increases in value - yahoo! Transferable. Call Trevor at 1-888-488-4327 to discuss.

Ski in Deep Snow - wikiHow

2009-11-07T12:03:00.000-08:00

Did I get it right? It's a start anyhow.

Ski in Deep Snow - wikiHow

Early Season Skiing

2009-11-02T22:23:00.004-08:00

The fall here in the Kootenay's has been cold and wet which for skiers is awesome. There has been snow in the mountains since mid October. Some of the deepest skiing of the year is in December when we get storm after storm of cold light fluff. If you are looking for deep then book the cat. We don't get a lot of requests for December skiing so we only book full cat rentals but at the bargain price of 2400 - that's 200 per person! This year could be the year of the snorkel.

Donate to the Environment Fund

2009-10-21T12:06:00.003-07:00

Wildhorse Catskiing operates on land owned by the Nature Conservancy of Canada. Every year we contribute to an environmental project in the Wildhorse Catskiing terrain. For every dollar in donations received Wildhorse Catskiing will donate five dollars. A tax deductible receipt is available on request. You can contribute online or by calling 1-888-488-4327.

Kootenay Powder Highway

2009-10-02T17:31:00.000-07:00

Welcome to the Winter 2009/10 at Wildhorse Catskiing

2009-09-17T12:27:00.001-07:00

We are now accepting Bookings and showing current Availability for catskiing at www.skiwildhorse.com.

Prices have once again remained the same as last winter. We continue to offer the best value for powder skiing anywhere from 200-400 per day. The rustic style of the Ymir Palace and the Ymir Hotel continue to offer unique apres-ski accommodation, food and entertainment. Wildhorse Catskiing has ordered up lots of fresh snow and the steep and deep terrain you know and love. You can book online or by email reply or by calling 1-888-488-4327.

Our marketing campaign is once again your word of mouth. Please forward this email to your ski buddies and bunnies so that we can all benefit from great skiing at awesome prices.

March Storm

2009-03-08T22:09:00.002-07:00

We got a little suprised in a very pleasant way on March 8th with 40cm of snow falling over the day after 20cm overnight. Yes, it was epic. Yes, you should have been here.

Seeking Fresh Lines

2009-02-19T10:56:00.002-08:00

Some of the most interesting days of skiing at Wildhorse Catskiing are in the days well past the last storm. Storm skiing is great - don't get me wrong on that one! This year we have been challenged by the snow gods with lower than usual snowpack and infrequent snowfalls. We search for the untracked lines, climbing Wildhorse Peak, or traversing into Wildhorse Bowl to ski lines that perhaps get skied only once a year and they are sweet.

Ymir Days

2009-02-16T20:38:00.003-08:00

Rosco let it fly for Ymir Days with a jump from the third floor balcony into the playground. Other activities in Ymir included snow sculptures, antique snowmobile races, The "Toques" playing at the Ymir Community Hall and lots more.

Tyler - Cat Driver

2009-02-13T06:42:00.002-08:00

Argueably one of the most valuable members of team Wildhorse is the snowcat driver. What do you do when you get to the bottom of run - get into the cat and go back up with Tyler driving. On the rare occassion that we let him out of the snowcat for good behavior there are snowmobile and snowcat maintenance or perhaps more enjoyable carrying skis up to the summit of Wildhorse for another wicked run. Thanks Tyler.

High River Huckers

2009-02-02T21:36:00.002-08:00

This is Dylan hucking in Perfect Glades. Sara did an awesome job of stitching the photo together to create this composite. After a bit of a dry spell we are back into the dry and light powder. The next week should be awesome. There is a couple of seats available for standby. Check out availability at www.skiwildhorse.com or send an email or call 1-888-488-4327 and leave your credit card on the answering machine and indicate the number of seats you wish. Or you can also put an order in online. We are pretty much gone from 7am - 7pm most days so we are little hard to get hold off. You can also try to get hold of us at 250-357-2157 which is our number in Ymir.

Road Building and Sunshine

2009-01-13T19:04:00.003-08:00

After a couple more days of snow and low visibility we have a short break between catskiing bookings to finish the road network. We had a bunch of roads built but they were drowned in 100cm of snow in 36 hours and a small avalanche across our upper road network. We got out today and started rebuilding. We built the road to Wildhorse Peak and then were treated to a beautiful sunset. It's good to be getting up high again. The skiing looks amazing.

2009-01-01T20:32:00.003-08:00

First day of catskiing. First Day of January 2009. Happy New Years. Happy skiers skiing 30cm of fresh powder. 20cm the previous day. The arctic high that was dominating December with cold temperatures and low snowfall is gone. Back to Kootenay January storm cycle weather where every day is snows. Here is today's photo of the day. Our guide Andrew leading the charge. More photo will be uploaded shortly to our 2009 Wildhorse Gallery

Bookings Discounted by US Dollar

2008-11-04T05:19:00.004-08:00

Skiers from the U.S. are getting a 20% discount on their bookings currently due to the difference in the value of the US and Canadian dollar. It also means that Canadian skiers can go catskiing at Wildhorse for about the same price as a skiing at a major resort in the U.S.

Some further investment advice: If you had purchased $1000.00 of Nortel stock one year ago, it would now be worth $49.00.With Enron, you would have $16.50 left of the original $1000. With WorldCom, you would have less than $5.00 left. If you had purchased $1000.00 of Delta Air Lines stock you would have $49.00 left.If you had purchased United Airlines, you would have nothing left. If you had purchased $1000.00 worth of beer one year ago, drank all the beer,then turned in the cans for recycling, you would have $214.00. Based on the above, the best current investment advice is to drink heavily and recycle. This is called the 401-Keg Plan. If you had invested your dollars in a cat skiing vacation with Wildhorse you would have powder smiles stretching across your face and memories to last a lifetime. See you soon.

Bookings and Contacting Wildhorse

2008-09-22T10:59:00.006-07:00

Thanks to everyone who has been on the phone and email contacting me booking for this winter. I am typically away from the office and telephone getting things organized in the field and then I come back for two or three days. Thanks for your patience and understanding. We don't have cell phone access in Ymir. Even if we did have a phone we would not hear it with the noise of a generator as we inspect the snowcat and tighten bolts.

Google Earth Terrain Fly Through

2008-08-27T13:03:00.004-07:00

I included in my last email to returning skiers a link to a Google Earth file of Wildhorse Catskiing terrain. It seems to be pretty popular and it does give you a pretty instant feel for all of the terrain available as well as some great memories. Now if the pictures were in winter that would be sweeter. Click on the link here and open the file and it should open Google Earth if installed and run you through a tour. Enjoy. The picture here is a sample and is of Wildhorse Peak.

Transport from Ymir

2008-08-25T15:18:00.004-07:00

The last couple of winter's we have used snowmobiles to transport skiers from Ymir to our snowcat up in the mountains. This winter we are moving to these fine looking vehicles. They will be outfitted with bench seating and we will cruise along the snowy country roads. It takes us about 30 minutes to go from breakfast at the Ymir Palace to loading skis on the snowcat 20 km away.

Nature Conservancy acquires Darkwoods Land

2008-07-29T10:04:00.003-07:00

On July 24th the Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC) publicly announced their acquisition of the Darkwoods Property where Wildhorse Catskiing operates. The management of Darkwoods informed Wildhorse several years ago of the intention to sell and subsequent purchase of the company and its lands earlier this year. We have been informed that all existing contracts are being honored. We are very happy with the acquisition by the new owners and the direction towards conservancy of this land. We also operate our backcountry skiing operation at Yurtopia on the Darkwoods Land.

Snowcat Maintenance

2008-06-30T21:17:00.000-07:00

It's that time of year again when the snowcat gets overhauled. The tracks are removed and pulled upright so that every single bolt, track and grouser can be inspected, tightened, welded, or replaced. Most of the noises that the snowcat makes come from a loose something on the tracks. We will spend a week alone on the tracks. The snow is pretty much all gone now.

California Riders Ski Wildhorse

2008-05-23T11:53:00.003-07:00

Great blog with a great summary of their adventure at Wildhorse Catskiing & Powder Mining Co.
http://kearleys.blogspot.com/2008_02_01_archive.html

Wildhorse Photos

2008-03-20T21:35:00.002-07:00

We have a huge assortment of powder skiing photographs from the winter of 2007-08 at Wildhorse Catskiing. I spent part of the day looking them over reviewing the winter - all of the great ski days and great people. These memories are very special. Photographs are one way we can hold onto the memory of a great powder ski day and let it live within us through the long summer.

Check out this winter's photos

March Powder and Sunshine

2008-03-07T12:49:00.000-08:00

Classic Mustang Bowl

2008-03-05T20:40:00.003-08:00

Under some pressure to produce blogs after a day of skiing.... Another way of checking out what is going on at Wildhorse and how conditions are is to check out Sara's photo gallery at http://www.skiwildhorse.com/. Sometimes it gets a little tricky to get on the internet when Sara is busy downloading images for the photo gallery from our satellite internet connection. But here is some turns from last week in Mustang Bowl.

Wildhorse Bowl Descent

2008-02-24T08:29:00.003-08:00

I've been getting mildly hassled by people requesting me to update this blog. What are the snow conditions like? It has not snowed for awhile? Is there any good skiing? Is there any powder? We have about 10-14 days of great skiing between snowfalls. Every day is a little different depending on conditions and the group. The last couple of days has been beautiful bluebird powder days and we made the most of the conditions by kicking steps up Wildhorse Peak and traversing to Wildhorse Bowl and descending this line. Dave and Michelle pose in front of their line.

Tessa's first backflip

2008-01-31T21:10:00.001-08:00

Tessa found the perfect jump for a backflip. Jordan found the light for the photo. Dave demonstrated how its done. I skied in the powder. I'm still looking at all the amazing shots that Jordan took and I'll find a way to post them. It was too deep at Wildhorse today.... 60cm of fresh snow in the last 48hrs.

Jordan Manley Photography

2008-01-27T07:18:00.001-08:00

Jordan emailed me a couple of the photos that he took around the Wildhorse. There's a good bunch of huckster shots which are always amazing. It was pretty interesting to see the skiing competence and guts to do the cliffs. This was about the last shot of the day on a new exploratory run.

Treadway finds the line at Wildhorse

2008-01-24T20:32:00.000-08:00

Dave worked out the line that he wanted and we headed back up to Wildhorse Pass today to stomp it. Sara and Jordan snapped photographs and we all look forward to seeing some sharp shots. Here is my snapped video.

Ski Model Photography

2008-01-24T02:57:00.000-08:00

The last two days were busy with ski models Dave Treadway and Tessa with ski photographer Jordan Manley. The weather was perfect for photography with good stability, clear blue skies, cold smoke powder and an assortment of cliffs and powder. We cruised around Wildhorse Peak following the light.

Any Live Bands Playing

2008-01-18T10:34:00.001-08:00

Need some more entertainment after a day of shredding. Get up on the stage at the Ymir Hotel. I've seen some of the best performances ever at the Sunday night jams. We heard some pretty good covers from Rylan on this night. Thanks.

Life in Ymir

2008-01-18T10:23:00.002-08:00

The skiing is great. That's a given. But what's the apres ski scene like in Ymir? How do you say it anyhow? - Why AM I 'ere? I have heard of Whistler - Are you guys near Whistler? No. Ymir is small town British Columbia. You can't get any more local than here. Here's the scene in the Ymir Hotel after a great day of powder skiing.

Huckers

2008-01-17T22:02:00.000-08:00

Bluebird day. Cold Temps. Fun skiers and boarders. Ready to Huck. Photo by Sara. 3, 2, 1... Launch.

Deep

2008-01-01T10:36:00.000-08:00

I couldn't resist putting another photo up after Sara finished editing her shots from December 30th. This one captures the feeling pretty good. It sounds like another system is coming in for the 3rd. Another hard day at the office. I think that's Rosco. Correction - It's first time catskier Milena - who purchased the weekend of skiing at the Calgary CPAWS fund raising auction.

Epic Face Shots in Perfect Glades

2007-12-31T09:30:00.000-08:00

December 28th and 29th were the first two days of catskiing for the season and what a welcome mother nature provided. Untracked snow on the whole mountain and 12 lucky skiers with 20 cm of fresh snow overnight on top of a 180cm base. The following day just cranked up the conditions with a further 35cm of light powder at -8C. Rosco, manager of the Ymir Palace and ex-lift maintenance manager at Whitewater claims "that was the most runs consistently deep I have ever skied in a day." You might remember Rosco from the Powder magazine article "The Legend of the Snorkel". It was a fine day. We hope to see you soon.

Road & Run Map

2007-12-13T19:14:00.000-08:00

Here is the latest on the Wildhorse Road and Run Map. Wildhorse Ridge is the main system. We were up today looking at the world. 20cm of fresh dry light powder. Mmmm.

Road building

2007-12-07T22:59:00.000-08:00

The last storm dumped about 50cm and then ended with wet precipitation at 6000 ft. The best thing about this was that it set up a thick crust which was excellent for road building. Sections of road that sometimes take an hour to build were negotiated in minutes. We are ready for the season. There is even 20 cm of fresh dry light powder sitting waiting to be skiied. See you soon.

Trade Shows

2007-11-19T10:58:00.000-08:00

Sara and I did two local trade shows this fall. The first was at the Silver Mtn Ski Patrollers Ski Swap in Couer dÁlene and the second was the Warren Miller & Spokane Inlander Ski Show. We stayed at Coit House in Sandpoint, ID and also sponsered part of the TGR flick at the local cinema. Good food, wine and great people in both Idaho and Washington. Thanks for coming by the booth. Maybe next year we will head over to Toronto and Chicago? for the trade shows back east. As soon as we hit the Canadian border coming back North we could see the snow on the mountains. I guess that's why they call it the Great White North. See you soon.

Sandpoint, ID

2007-11-13T15:43:00.000-08:00

We spent last weekend down in the Sandpoint, Idaho region just N-E of Spokane, WA. There's a bunch of fun patrollers from Silver Mtn and Lookout Pass that organize a great ski swap and we do a small booth to promote Wildhorse Catskiing. Sandpoint also puts on the latest TGR flick on the weekend and we do a little promotion there as well. These are great areas to visit before or after flying into Spokane, WA. Schweitzer Mtn in Sandpoint is on the way from Spokane to Ymir, BC. In Canada - Red Mtn in Rossland, Whitewater in Nelson and Fernie are all great ski areas to drop in on.

La Nina

2007-11-13T15:36:00.000-08:00

I must admit to not having done a lot of research on the forecasting of future snowfalls. Frankly, it just has not seemed necessary. We have always had great snow conditions by early December. I did get an email today which talked about this winter being a La Nina winter which
“....keeps the Pacific jet stream farther north, toward Oregon, Washington, and Canada, so the U.S. Southwest and Southeast get less moisture.” explains Bill Patzert of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory. I'm fine with that. We have been getting snow storms hitting us since early October with another one dropping 12" yesterday. There's a picture on NASA's website showing the differences in the height of the sea due to warmer and cooler water. What we don't know.

Wildhorse Promo Video

2007-10-04T13:21:00.001-07:00

Thanks for watching.

First Snow

2007-10-04T11:44:00.001-07:00

The last few days of September and into early October the West Kootenay's received a good dump of snow and rain at lower elevations. It looks like a couple more days of November type weather and then probably we will get some sunny Fall days and the snow will melt a bit. But it's neat to see. The photos is taken just below Wildhorse Pass below the Baldy Cliffs runs at about 5000 ft. I have sent out a few emails in the last week regarding bookings and the updated website. The next few weeks are the time to get your bookings confirmed or miss out. This will undoubtedly be the best winter ever.

Good Times

2007-08-31T07:50:00.001-07:00

Of course it's not all work. We camp up at Wildhorse Pass. Have a BBQ in the evenings and enjoy a beer in the moonlight. Talk about the ski days of the past. It helps to have pleasant company. This fall Dan and Mary have been helping out. Skiers from the past at Wildhorse would remember Dan as our snowboarding tailguide and mechanic. Skiers from Valhalla Catskiing might remember Mary as their cat driver.

Snowcat Maintenance

2007-08-31T07:40:00.000-07:00

We probably spend a day of maintenance on the snowcat for every 2 days of catskiing during the winter. Every season the tracks come off - and I think they weight about a ton. All the wheels are removed and inspected. This year we are moving to solid rubber tires so no more flats. The suspension is checked and this year we are upgrading to the heavy duty suspension normally found on winch snowcats. All the fluid filters, hoses, wires, cables, bearings, seals, electronics are checked and replaced. The frame of the snowcat is checked for cracks and welded. Then we put it all back together again. Then we go skiing.

PhotoGallery for 2007

2007-03-30T23:07:00.000-07:00

If you have been out skiing this last winter there might be a photo waiting for you at the Wildhorse PhotoGallery

Next winter the plan is to have a photographer out every day and the pictures will be available for viewing and download during the week. The pictures are available for purchase in hi-resolution with or without the Wildhorse logo.

Dave Heath

2007-02-10T22:42:00.000-08:00

We spent the day working a photo shoot on Wildhorse Peak with Mr. Dave Heath. The light was fantastic - even I could take a good photo. Dave had some ski models that had been competing in the Red Mountain Extreme Competition doing back flips on telemark gear. It was a pretty interesting day and then we skied the 2,000 ft. south face that heads down to Wildhorse Pass in perfect knee deep powder.

Skiing the Steeps!

2007-02-10T22:32:00.000-08:00

It's been an awesome season so far. Tons of early season snow followed by awesome skiing. In early February we spent a few days skiing Wildhorse Peak. A 15 minute bootpack to the summit puts us at 7250 ft ( 2200m ) and ready to ski. Over the next few days every single line is skied. The blue skies just made the views even better.

BlueBird Day

2006-12-10T07:59:00.000-08:00

During December and early January we generally get lots of snow. Accompanying lots of snow is many days of flat light and poor visibility. Fortunately the tree skiing at Wildhorse is awesome. Perfectly spaced trees with runs varying from cruising through gentle slopes, 30 degree black diamond runs, and double blacks with the odd cliff or drop off. When the weather does open up it is magical. The snow is perfect and blanketed untracked across everything you can see. The stability at this time of year is usually pretty good except for the odd sluff of loose snow on steeper sections. Today it was perfect and we skiied Wildhorse Peak. Perfect powder on 35 degrees through a little chute and then traversed over to the main bowl and dropped 1000 ft of alpine powder through another cliff band and out into the meadow. Yahoo!

First Turns

2006-12-01T16:14:00.000-08:00

The skiing has been dry, deep and light. The weather cleared up on Tuesday for a bluebird day. The coast of British Columbia has been hammered by storm after storm all November. Record amounts of precipitation for the century have been recorded in Vancouver. For Wildhorse Catskiing the skiing is in perfect condition. See you soon. Huge Discounted rates available for bookings prior to December 20th. Call 1-888-488-4327 for details.

Ready to Ski

2006-11-24T17:25:00.000-08:00

OK. So I didn't go skiing, too busy getting the roads in place so that you can ski. The warm weather created excellent snow for building roads. The snow from the cockpit of the snowcat looked awesome to ski too. At times I was plowing through snow up to the window of the cat. The improvements made to the road systems over the last few years has reduced the job from being exploratory and now it is only occasionally nerve racking. The temperature is supposed to plummet over the next week to -25C so I'll likely be in the office for the week.
The other week I sent out postcards inviting you to come skiing - if you did not get yours please email me with your updated address.

It's Dumping Out There!

2006-11-16T18:26:00.000-08:00

The crazy weather that has been hitting Vancouver and Seattle with historic rain has been dumping the snow at Wildhorse. 80cm fell during the last storm cycle. The snowcat is out and building roads ready for skiing. Our prime road network is built in the summer by excavator so we are ready to ski as soon as we have over a meter of snow. The next storm cycle should put us into prime skiing. I'll show some skiing pictures next blog entry.

First Snowfall

2006-10-23T22:07:00.003-07:00

We have had a few small snowstorms over the last two weeks. Snow down to 5,200 ft but gone pretty fast. There is still a nice dusting on the mountaintops that looks like it is going to stay. The weather forecast is calling for snow over the next two weeks. The tracks are on the snowcat. Bring it on! Winter is coming. The emails and phone calls are coming in. I am spending the good weather days up on the mountain getting ready and the stormy days in the office taking care of business. Thanks for the emails and the bookings. They make the world go round.

New Roads

2006-06-04T13:49:00.000-07:00

It's time to start breaking new ground and building new trails for next winter. The snow is just about all gone.
The chainsaw is out. The trails are getting higher, the terrain is bigger, and the views are spectacular. It is raining every second day, which sucks.

Summer Maintenance

2006-05-25T08:01:00.000-07:00

Over the summer the Wildhorse Bombardier MP Plus Snowcat will be completely stripped down and all systems checked. First we remove the tracks, replace broken grousers, belts and wheels. This summer I will replace all the drive belts which involves almost 1000 bolts being undone and replaced. The snowcat is then placed up on blocks and all engine and hydralic systems overhauled. At the conclusion of the service the tracks are then replaced and we are ready for winter.

If you can't have fun here

2006-05-05T19:31:00.000-07:00

This is how the name Wildhorse Catskiing & Powder Mining Co. was derived. The small town of Ymir ( current population under 300 people ) used to be a bustling center of several thousand with a couple of serious mines and a crusher mill in the townsite. Those days are no longer. Powder Mining is a lot more fun anyhow. In the late 1990's the Ymir Hotel was owned by a couple of harley motorcycle guys who coined the phrase for Ymir: "If you can't have fun here - give up"

Huge Snowpack at Ymir Yurts

2006-05-02T13:16:00.000-07:00

This winter we recorded the deepest snowpack in the mountains in our 6 year history. In April we made the final journey to the Yurts to shovel off the last snowfall. We could ski right up onto the roof and there was over 5 ft. of snow on the roof. This summer I will be rebuilding the Yurts with regular 2x6 solid walls and a boot room entranceway. This should make the Yurts warmer and roomier.

2006-04-16T22:27:00.000-07:00

I had another great winter working at Wildhorse Catskiing & Powder Mining Co. and look forward to many more. The skiing this winter was epic. We had day after day when we would arrive to yet another foot of fresh dry light powder. Thanks to all the great people that came skiing this year. It was awesome skiing with you. I look forward to doing some more turns next winter.

2006-04-16T22:07:00.001-07:00

Many thanks to Jeneka Plug our trusty and reliable tailgunner for this winter. Here is Jeneka taking the group to the summit of Wildhorse Peak for a run down the steep Wildhorse bowl.

2006-04-16T22:07:00.000-07:00

This winter refuses to end. Over the last week over four feet of snow has fallen in the mountains. The last yurt group came out of Yurtopia on Easter Friday. Great skiing in the upper elevations and the temperature dropped with great powder skiing on Sunday.

2006-03-29T17:42:00.000-08:00

The Season is drawing to a close. The powder is still there just needs a little more work to get there. Looking to do so photo shoots and working out what needs to be done for next winter for everything to be better. Yahoo! We had a great season. Many thanks to Danny LaRoque our driver this winter.

2005-12-23T10:23:00.000-08:00

Working on getting the Snowcat Passenger Cab installed. The season is ready to roll. Christmas time and then let's get skiing.

2005-12-06T08:32:00.000-08:00

Life is getting easier. All the summer road work development has paid off. In a 5 hour push Dan Morton and Trevor Holsworth pushed 50% of the winter's trails and got a good start on preparing for the remaining trail work. It looks like the storms are tracking to the North and South of the Kootenay's for now. That's fine - it will be our turn when you are here skiing in January and February.