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.
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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.
