Salomon Freeski TV has rocked us again with their second installment of season 6. This episode is shot totally at night and will blow your mind. I think that you will see more night freeskiing featured in ski films in the next year. Mike Douglas and the Salomon Freeski TV crew have innovated once again with this episode.

The midnight location for this little foray into night skiing took place at Backcountry Snowcats in the Hurley Valley just north of Whislter BC.

Enjoy!

It's not even winter yet here in North America, so why am I showing you a new set of gloves? Frost is starting to clear the leaves off the trees and the white stuff has started gracing the higher mountains, but no real accumulation to speak of. How could I even test them? 

Well, these BLACKPOWDER gloves from Outdoor Research are special.  They are a durable, goat leather and suede work glove inspired masterpiece, with a trick up their proverbial sleeve. The middle finger of the right glove hides a clever tool that every ski bum needs, a bottle opener. The reversible stainless steel ring proves to be very functional while remaining subtle and stylish.  With no practice at all I was able to crack a cold one in 3 seconds or less.

So while I may not know how well these gloves keep out the cold or stay dry throughout the day yet, I do know that they will be a favorite of the apres ski scene all over. We will be testing the BLACKPOWDER Gloves this season and let you know how we get on.  Meanwhile, I think I shall make good use of my new gloves. Cheers.

This is a really cool look back at the dawn of catskiing. SWS started it all here in BC and Sherpas Cinemas really captures the vibe of what the operation has to offer. Having skied at SWS, this video not only gets us stoked for the upcoming powder season, but it also makes you feel a real connection with the people and place that is Selkirk Wilderness Skiing.

Enjoy!

Oh, and by the way, if you want to WIN A TRIP to SWS this season, click here to enter The Great Catskiing Giveaway Contest...

Here is another webisode installment from Island Lake Catskiing. This one tells us the tale of a day in the life of a catskier. We especially like 9am-4pm: Shred Powder! Don't be fooled like we were it says Bear Lodge. We read "Beer Lodge!" Although we noticed it looks like the beer is plentiful after a full day of famous Island Lake Powder!

Check it out and enjoy. Also, stay tuned for more teasers and full lenght film coming in 2013.

This very quick teaser hit the web today and it is 19 seconds of pure deep powder awesome! Selkirk Wilderness has The Sherpas out last season to shoot a short film about life at their operation. We were there and the snow was insane. We had a super deep couple of days catskiing up there and some great apres ski time as well.

For now, enjoy the trailer, but check back on Tuesday October 9th for the entire film.

We are huge fans of Icebreaker Pure Merino here at Catskiing Canada. We have been using the ultimate no-stink garments for years and are happy to report that their technology has made our road trips much more pleasant. Over the past few seasons, Icebreaker has been adding more and more fashion pieces into their line up to attract the mainstream shopper, but they haven't gone slack on the technology.

Enter the new nanotechnology Kodiak Hood. That's right, nanotechnology. It makes me think of robots, computers and eventually the Terminator. But Icebreaker has taken nanotechnology and applied it to their RealFleece line of clothing. What nanotechnology does when combined with Icebreaker RealFleece is make a garment that is warm, dry, and now water-resistant. Water-Resistant wool eh? I can't wait to tell my grandma and see the look on her face.

We have only had the Kodiak Hood for a few weeks now and it has been an incredibly warm Fall here in western Canada, but we can tell you this: it is a very striking looking jacket. It has very clean cut lines, a shaped hood, and shaped-sleeved cuffs for better feel around the wrists. Couple the nanotechnology with the RealFleece and Icebreaker's famous quality and you have yourself a jacket you can rely on to be dependable and stylish. It truly is a remarkable piece of clothing.

If you are in BC, try the Icebreaker Kodiak Hood and the rest of the nanotechnology RealFleece line up at your local Icebreaker dealer. One of our favorites is Freshair.ca

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Island Lake Catskiing has been around 25 years this season and they are celebrating that with a series of webisodes showing their history. This first one has true legends of skiing and snowboarding talking about their affection for Island Lake. Scot Schmidt and Craig Kelly are personal ski and board heroes of mine. I still have my posters of Scot Schmidt rolled up in the closet from when I was a teen. I aspired to ski where these guys skied and Island Lake was the place.

Now 25 years later, Island Lake Catskiing is still going strong delivering powder dreams to people from all over the world. They grew from a time when no one really knew about catskiing to a time where people are saving up for that dream powder vacation. Thanks for inspiring us all Island Lake Catskiing, Scot Schmidt, Craig Kelly and the rest of the people lived their dream and made Island Lake what it is today. 

Enjoy the video and stay tuned for more.

Big Red Catskiing has put this edit together showcasing some of the Kootenay Powder action from last season. And what a season it was! Kieren and Paula had some time on their hands (which is rare!) and decided to become video editors along with all the other hats they wear! This video is a complitation of clips from video crews from Rip Curl, Mike Douglas/Salomon, Steve Omischl, Head Snowboards, Peak Productions and us here at Catskiing Canada.

Watching it a few times got me stoked about the coming season at Big Red Cats. Especially now that they have been building new roads, glading some tree areas and have recently taken delivery to 2 more Pisten Bully snow cats. BRC now has 4 full time ski cats with a 5th cat as a back up along with another cat for road building. This means that they can run up to 4 groups at a time this season with a back up. Amazing!

Now, you might think 'Hey, 4 snow cats operating in one area...won't it be busy?' and that is a valid question to ask. However, we were up at Big Red Cats last season with 4 cats running and we didn't see any other catskiing group the entire day. The terrain at Big Red is so big - 19,300 acres and growing - that there is enough room for everyone. Plus, Big Red Cats offers seperate trips based on your skill level so each cat has a group that is at the same level you are at. Intermediate, Advanced, Expert and Uber Expert!

Below are a few images of the new snow cats and the excavator hard at work this Fall.

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There is new terrain coming for this season at Valhalla Powdercats. They have been hard at work this summer and have almost doubled their total skiable acres. Tyler and his crew have been planning this expansion for some time now and this season it will become a reality. They have creating access to some incredible new big mountain terrain in an area they have named The Caribou Bowl.

In the words of Valhalla Powdercats owner Patric:  "it's so much new terrain  - it's RIDICULOUS!"

These quality lines are North and East aspects of high alpine slopes, which means more dry, untracked pow for you all winter long. Check out their availability and be one of the first to shred the new terrain!