Big Red Cat Skiing - New Lodge, New Mountains and New Machines

We were expecting a quiet summer, but our ambition to make Big Red Cats the best cat skiing experience has overridden the attraction of a quiet life.
So here is the news:
* 2 new mountains - and about 100 runs.
* a new Big Red Lodge for this winter 2009/10
* Another Pisten Bully 300
* 24-passenger shuttle bus
* Rossland Winter Carnival new dates 22-24 Jan 2010
* Red Mountain Ski Free Day 15 March 2010

2 New Mountains - Claw Mountain and Mt China
Kieren and Jason the excavator guy just got past the crux of building a road that will give fast access to 2 additional mountains, bringing our total to 7 - so we will now be skiing on almost all of the 19,000 acres in our tenure! This is the biggest summer expansion that we have ever done, and is especially exciting as it gives access to about 100 new runs, half of which are north-facing. Kieren believes that many of the new runs are some of our best - steep, north facing, and fairly open - so there will be plenty of interesting terrain features to enjoy, even for those who've been coming to BRC for 5 years in a row. If you're handy with a chainsaw and feel like cutting your own run, let Kieren know, and in return, he'll let you ski it this winter for free (a day for a day, for good cutters). Check out the photos below and imagine them once they're covered in a couple of metres of snow...
One of the 5 aspects of Mt China.
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The New Big Red Lodge at Red Mountain
Yes you heard it right. We have a new Big Red lodge at the base of the ski hill. Imagine 6 bedrooms (each with 2 beds in each room), so finally there is a perfect place for a grop of 12 men to stay. It has 2 living rooms, balcony with private hot tub and BBQ, garage, wood stove in main lounge and gas fireplace downstairs (as well as cental heating) Huge catherdral ceilings and great big south-facing windows feature a a great view of Red Mountain. The cost is C$700 per night plus a C$200 cleaning fee - that works out to be about C$60 per person per night if you have a group of 12. Since we announced this on Tuesday we already have 23 nights booked! So get in early before all the nights are booked for the Big Red Lodge!
We are still looking into the possibility of building a lodge in the backcountry, but this will be an excellent offering for this season.
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More Machines
Great news in the machinery department as well - we now have 3 PB300 snowcats! Not only are they all the same, which we love for parts-swappability, and much more fuel efficient, which we all have to think about these days, but also all of the passenger cabins will be the new red ones, though this one will probably have rear-entry stairs, a new ski and board rack system, and capacity for 13.
Now that we have a 24-passenger shuttle bus and a 21-passenger bus, there should be no more riding in the cramped van out to the area, and we will be able to save time by doing some of the briefing while en route!

Ghana´s Snow Leopard in Whistler, British Columbia

Kwame Nkrumah-Acheampong from Ghana, nicknamed the 'Snow Leopard', first stepped on skis six years ago at an indoor ski slope in the United Kingdom. Now, as a qualified athlete for the Vancouver 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games next February, Kwame is the sole member of the Ghanaian 2010 Winter Games team.

In July, through an invitation from Tourism British Columbia, Tourism Whistler and the Canadian Tourism Commission, Kwame visited Whistler, BC – the Host Mountain Resort for the 2010 Winter Games – to check out the Olympic alpine venues and experience summer skiing on Whistler's Horstman Glacier. Tourism British Columbia field reporter Chris Wheeler caught up with Kwame in Whistler and videos of the extraordinary visit are now posted on Youtube and Tourism BC's website, www.HelloBC.com.

While the highlight of the visit was most certainly glacier skiing on Whistler Blackcomb, while in Whistler Kwame and his family also travelled the new world record-setting PEAK 2 PEAK Gondola between Whistler and Blackcomb mountains, went ziplining in Whistler's temperate rain forest, cycled the valley trails, went canoeing on Alta Lake, visited the Squamish Lil'wat Cultural Centre and stayed at the Residence Inn by Marriott.

"This trip to British Columbia marks an important milestone in Kwame's journey to the Vancouver 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games and we are delighted to be a part of this exciting occasion," said Rod Harris, President and CEO, Tourism BC. "Kwame and his family certainly immersed themselves into the local surroundings during their stay and had some unique Whistler experiences that we are thrilled to share with potential visitors to BC."