Valhalla Powdercats

...Welcomes you to the winter of 2006!


We had a glorious fall in the Kootenays and finally... the snow is here! There's a 135cms (54") of settled snowpack at 7000' and it's setting up to be a perfect base.

The old-timers here have a saying: "big berry year - big snow year "... and we can say without any exaggeration the wildlife are all under thick and healthy furs this fall and that the bears went to sleep fat & happy with the extraordinary crop of huckleberries this year. Early snow has kick-started the season in British Columbia with many ski hills already open and boasting the best opening conditions in 10 years.

Our New Tenure:
We've been touring heavily in the backcountry across just a tiny portion of our 49,000 acres of new snowcat terrain, spread across two separate ranges - the Valkyrs and the Valhallas.

Our new fast access cat trails have been designed and built especially for our cats and our skiing style and therefore maximize efficiency both up and down. For people familiar with our previous tenure in Russel Creek, the new snowcat area has opened more than 10 times the terrain boasting unforgettable features on all aspects and elevations.We spent the fall building 16 miles of high sub-alpine roads to access the remote interior of the Valkyrs along Voodoo ridge to reach Pica Bowl, Nirvana Bowl,and our showcase area - Cariboo Creek. Instead of predominantly low angle alpine bowl rolling into steeper trees, our new terrain starts right out at, "Oh mamma!" steeps and stays that way to the bottom

Too remote and exposed for cat roads, another 32,000 acres of terrain has now been opened for heli skiing from our chartered A-star. Two, three, or four private groups of four determine their own speed and route of descent together with their own guide. There aren't many names up here and most routes have never been explored, including by the guides, so no matter where you choose it will surely be an adventure not soon forgotten.

Our Cats and 'Copter:
We have three of the best snowcats ever made. They are Pisten Bulley 300's and what they offer over the Pisten Bulley 200's & Bombardier 400's that most other cat operations have, is fully independent suspension and... power. The suspension gives a smooth - Lincoln Continental - ride, and the power lets us build a steeper up-track for quicker ascents. They have had extensive summer servicing and are ready for the major vertical that's sure to come from our new terrain this season.

Our helicopter is a A-Star B2 from Eurocopter - "the" name in performance high altitude rotor-craft. This machine carries groups of 4 skiers and 1 guide each up the mountain at such a rapid pace that you can feel your cheeks slide down past your jaw. The drop-off is so quick that you barely get your bearings before the heli dusts off, leaving you and your group kneeling on a pristine mountain top above another powder run of pure bliss.

Our Day this season:
This season, we are conveniently located in a new base at the junction of Route 3 and Highway 6 in South Slocan, just 15 minutes from Nelson and 35 minutes from Rossland. We head up from here in our new off-road bus to the staging area, and then a 30 minute cat ride to the top of the first run... close to half the cat time of our old terrain. The end of the day is a 3700' run to the vans instead of the long cat ride out in the past. This not only adds onto our vertical but allows for extra skiing and snowboarding each day.

Our Guests:
Valhalla continues to focus strictly on catering to advanced-to-expert skiers. In an effort to keep our groups as compatible as possible in ability, we screen our guests in hopes of dissuading any that might not be physically fit enough, keen or experienced enough to keep pace with the rest. Whether champagne powder, or it's less forgiving permutations, Valhalla Powdercats guests stand apart in their ability to adapt, consisitently rack up as much vertical as possible and enjoy the best lines on the mountain.

The West Kootenays:
Perhaps one of the most important experiences of any trip is the setting... the people... the culture... and all of you who have visited Nelson know it doesn't get much more real, anywhere. The eclectic mix of loggers, miners, hippies, poets, politicians, and artists, all with the one common denominator of enjoying playing in the outdoors, still has yet to be watered-down by the modern world. This is not the place for shopping. It's the place for going back to the simple basics - good food... great beer... world-class powder. If you expect something else, then the Kootenays are probably not going to deliver.

Bookings:
As usual, February bookings are close to being filled while seats in January and March continue to steadily fill. We are happy to offer, via this newsletter, a special 10% discount on all high season seats and a 15% discount on all low season seats booked and paid for in full by November 30th for snowcat skiing only. Please just quote this newsletter to receive your discount when you call.

Our regular rates are as follows:
High Season Jan 15th to March 11th
Low Season
Snowcat
Single day
$395 (US$320)
$350 (US$280)
3-day package
$1400 (US$1130)
$1300 (US$1050)
4-day package
$1850 (US$1500)
$1700 (US$1380)
full cat rental
$4000 (US$3200)
$3500 (US$2800)
Standby
$299 (US$240)
$259 (US$210)
Heli
Single day
$965 (US$780)
3-day package
$3150 (US$2520)
4-day package
$4200 (US$3360)

Valhalla Powdercats Ltd
Nelson, BC
1-888-352-7656
www.valhallapow.com
info@valhallapow.com

We look forward to hearing from you and skiing or snowboarding with you soon!