Alpine Grind - A favourie place for  a latte with extra foam and a muffin. Great lunches too

Flying Steamshovel- Downtown Rossland Pub, centrally located, good solid food, nightlife, and rooms upstairs as well

Gabriella's - apres-ski and dinner at this fantastic Italian/Mediterranean restaurant in Prestige Inn

Uptown Lounge - lounge at the Prestige with live music on weekends, good food and beer - try the yam fries. 

Idgie's  Restaurante - in Rossland, high quality, healthy meals, especially the seafood.  Will also cater wedding groups

Rock Cut Pub - pub on the highway between Red and Rossland.  Good for fajitas, and beer and wings, and they have a pool table.  We can drop your group off there after skiing, and you can watch your ski photos on the big screen there if you like.

Ainsworth Hot Springs - Natural hot springs, about 1h45mins north, past Nelson BC

Red Mountain Resort - the best lift-accessed gladed tree skiing in the world - mix a few days at the resort with a few days of cat skiing, you're staying at the resort anyway

Redstone Golf Resort - Cat skiers also tend to be golfers.  Come back in the summer and enjoy the newly redesigned Redstone course.  If you like it so much you want to move there, let me know.'

Trail Aquatic Centre - a good activity during your rest days, the indoor pool, waterslide, hot tub, steam room, and fitness centre is in Trail, only a 15 minute drive down the hill, and a very nice facility

Whitewater - We think that a perfect week would be 2 or 3 days at Red, with slopeside lodging, 3 days of cat skiing at Big Red Cats, and a day skiing at Whitewater ski resort, followed by dinner and last evening overnight stay in Nelson.  A great ski area and very picturesque, excellent snowfall, and only an hour away.  We can arrange a great ski safari package including cat skiing, and lifts and lodging at Red and Whitewater.

Blackjack cross country skiing - One of the best cross country ski areas in Canada - Skate or classic

Betty Go Hard - our lodge managers, Natasha and Ian Lockey, run a women's adventure business

Bhubble.com - Rossland community & events

Canada Ski Quest - skier improvement courses with level 4 CSIA instructor Mark Impey

Rossland Secondary School / Red Ski Academy - One of the best high schools in Canada, according to Maclean's magazine, teams up with the most winning ski racing club in Canada, providing a flexible academic schedule and top-notch coaching to produce some of the best ski racers of the future.  Free-skiing stream also available if traditional racing isn't your thing.

Tourism Rossland - a good website including links to the other tourism providers in Rossland.  They also staff the Visitor Info Centre downtown

The JRP - these guys take awesome photos, are web developers, and also operate the Cat Skiing Canada website

Butch Boutry - ski shop in Rossland, expert bootfitters

Powderhound - Outdoor store, skis, clothing, gear, and alpine touring equipment rental.  The owner was a top mountain guide.

Ross Vegas Boardshop - Snowboarding fashion, and more, in downtown Rossland

Each cat has up to 12 seats.  Please be aware that dates with fewer than 5 people booked may not operate, and groups may be consolidated if they can be fit into fewer cats.  We typically consolidate groups 7 days in advance, before doing any standby discounts.  Expert and Advanced cats may be merged, and Advanced with Intermediate, but never Expert with Intermediate.

If there is an empty cat listed that is not at your ability level, send us an email and we will reallocate the cat for you.  We typically run 5 cats in high season and 3-4 cats in low season.

Ability level is a guideline and is not exact, so please understand that it is self-assessed and there can be considerable skills overlap.  Nonetheless, please do your best to accurately assess everyone in your group, and if you are booking a group that is not a Private cat, choose a level that suits the most conservative skier/rider in your group.

We can package with lodging at the Red Shutter Inn and A-Frame Cabin, and Big Red Lodge, if still available.  We can also package for The Josie hotel, Ram's Head Inn and Mountain Town Properties condos.  Best to email us about that, as it can get complicated.

If it is all too complicated, just send This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. asking whether your preferred dates or possible range of dates are available.  Make sure to specify ability level and group size, as well as whether you would like us to package your cat skiing with lodging, or whether you'll find your own lodging.

The AST 1 is an introductory level course. The AST 2 course will provide an intermediate and advanced level decision- making framework that is based on the most advanced up to date knowledge available. AST 1 courses are two days, and the AST 2 is one evening plus 3 full days. Both include one day with a snowcat-assisted ski tour, and the AST 2 also incorporates a day of guided ski touring and coached decision-making in the backcountry, generally at Kootenay Pass.

Keith Robine

Mike Packham

(All times and locations subject to change)

First Day Classroom/Field Session

0830

• Meet at classroom in Rossland
• Introduction to AST
• Group avalanche initiative exercise
• Course Curriculum, including Types of
• Avalanches, Terrain, Snow Science, Avaluator
• v2, Companion Rescue

1230

• Field practice of Beacon Searching, Probing,and Apex Shovel Technique

1600

• Equipment for Backcountry Touring
• Review plans for tomorrow’s tour
• Homework – review course textbook & print
• CAA Avalanche Bulletin

1700

• Conclude Session

Second Day Field Session

0700

• Carpool to BigRedCats staging area. Leave vehicle(s) near Nancy Greene Summit.

0745

• Ride snowcat to shoulder of Mt. Crowe between Crowe and Neptune

0830.

• Ski down below the east face of Mt. Crowe, terrain analysis, human factors

1000

• Skin up to summit of Mt. Crowe, snow stability evaluation, Avaluator v2

1300

• Ski down to highway, group travel, human factors, companion rescue exercise

1500

• Pick up vehicles and return to Red Shutter

1545

• Course review, presentation of certificates, course evaluations

1700 AST Level 1 Course Concludes

AST 2 Course

The AST 2 Course includes one evening and three full days of instruction. It is a prerequisite to take the AST 1 or have equivalent education with prior instructor approval. The field sessions include backcountry touring in multiple locations and more advanced classroom/fieldwork.

Other dates and custom courses may be available upon request. For more information, please contact Keith at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.