Getting Cat-Siiiiiiiick at Retallack
Submitted by amym on Mon, Jan 25, 2010
Amy McDermid and Holly Walker hit the road for a whirlwind ski trip featuring the following: cats (both live and mechanical,) lasagna (vegetarian and bison,) and snow. Read more for the story.
Caption photo:
Holly Walker filling up the trusty steed en route to Retallack.
Nelson is a long drive from Whistler with only two drivers, both exhausted from a week of work and skiing. Holly and I left Whistler at 9:30pm and by 2am we just couldn’t do it anymore. I pulled over to a random pullout on the side of Highway 3 East somewhere between Princeton and Osoyoos and we slept in the car. For 4 and a half hours. And it was very, very cold.
Waking up at 7am with ice cubes for toes and blue lips (it wasn’t THAT bad but pretty close,) we continued on our way and kyboshed our original plan of skiing Whitewater for the day. Friends told us it hadn’t snowed in a few and the resort was skied out, so we chose instead to search Nelson for friends before leaving town at 4pm to drive to Retallack for a day of catskiing.
Dudes at Retallack. Lots of dudes.
Retallack is approximately an hour and a half drive from Nelson. The big stylized R on the cat operation’s sign at the entrance is a welcome sight after countless twists and bends on the snowy road, which, if you continue for another few hours, lands you in Trout Lake, the birthplace of noboarding.
Retallack is certainly in powder country and they have some fantastic, steep terrain in their tenure to enjoy it on. We pulled into the lodge shortly before 6pm, the usual arrival time for guests, as dinner is served at 6:30pm. Before I even opened the door I ran into lodge manager (and friend) Leah Scheitel, who keeps all the Retallack boys whipped into shape.
Jake, the token Aussie employee, showed us to our room then we headed to the dining room for a supper of bison lasagna with about 26 dudes. Who seemed REALLY surprised to see two girls at the dinner table. There was also a small crew from Absinthe films staying at the lodge doing some sled-accessed snowboarding and filming for their most recent film.
Bison Lasagne for dinner.
It was the last night for everyone at the lodge and the dudes seemed keen to celebrate days and days of “the best pow ever,” according to one of the guys. Jake gave us a guided tour of the lodge and we checked out the K2 games room downstairs, and played some fooseball after admiring the wares available in the Retallack Boutique. The t-shirts feature Carl the Gnarl (I wish I knew the story behind that) and some sweet skull graphics that make you feel super badass. Since Armada and Orage sponsor the lodge, Retallack has Orage clothing available in the boutique and Armada and K2 skis for rent.
Holly getting her game face on.
Thursday morning came and we were treated with a huge buffet for breakfast. The best part was the bigger-than-your-face blueberry pancakes and the fact that the supply of food was endless, which the gentlemen certainly appreciated.
We quickly packed the car before a short talk with Bryn our guide, and two other new guests at the lodge. Retallack provides guest packs in each cat and beacons to everyone. You’re welcome to bring your own pack with a probe and shovel, but Retallack insists on using their own beacons, which they then trained us with while everyone in our cat took their first lap.
We were passengers on the Orage cat while the rest of the dudes took the Armada one. Jonny 5, our tail guide, regailed us with a detailed description of the Target cat, (pronounced with a soft ‘g’) and its flat screen tv and bumpin’ sound system. We were joined in the cat with some gentlemen from Massachusetts, Vermont, Minnesota, and then 2 brothers, Ian and Neil Provo from Utah.
"I swear I know you from somewhere." Jonny 5 our tail guide.
It hadn’t snowed in about 4 days once we went up in the cat, but Bryn, our lead guide, was able to show us the goods every lap. The powder was light and fluffy and there was a ton of steep skiing everywhere we went. Retallack is definitely for more advanced skiers, but each run Bryn could point guests in an appropriate direction for their skill level.
The Provo brothers were rocking helmet cams and a POV setup and followed each other down each lap. They were beyond excited about the terrain we were confronted with each new run, and their footage from the day will be rad. They had the right idea, because I was sporting my camera-baby chest harness all day and it was really, really tempting to drop pillows and cliffs with it on, but I held back somewhat to protect the precious cargo.
Camera baby!
Neil and Ian Provo from Utah.
Lunch was served in stages on the quick cat rides to the top, and our runs were mixed between tight tree runs and open powder fields. Bryn pointed out the location of the Red Bull Cold Rush event that happens at the lodge and the possibilities for gnarly lines in the venue were seemingly endless.
Holly crushing a pillow.
Nice view from up here.
The day came to an end around 4pm and we celebrated with a cold Kokanee after skiing back to the lodge. They serve soup and goodies for hungry skiers once everyone goes back inside and it was a great snack before hitting the road back to Nelson. We also checked out the trail map and remembered some of the runs we did like Eureka, Low-Grade, and Stovepipe.
Holly and snow. Lots of snow.
Both Holly and I left Retallack that day with huge smiles on our faces and an urge to go back there. Immediately. Seriously, we won’t stop talking about it.
