The first vehicle I ever owned was a 1990 Chevy Blazer.  It wasn't anything special, but it was my first, and I will always remember that.  The first place I ever got to go catskiing was at Valhalla Powdercats.  Now that is something that not only sticks in my head because it was my first time catskiing, but how amazing the skiing was.
Once you go catskiing, it becomes the new benchmark by which you judge all other skiing.   And from then on, even your best days at the hill are: “Man, that was awesome.  It was almost as good as catskiing.”  That was  6 or 7 years ago now, and we hadn't been out to Valhalla in over 3 years......

One thing that we all like about Valhalla is the warm up run.  Most places get you going on an rolling gladed run to get the blood pumping in the legs.  On more than one occasion, the first run at Valhalla has been more of “whoah, this gonna be cool”, while your heart beats faster as you stare down a steep run.  Some other things haven't changed as well.  You still get to ride in the great blue school bus from the meeting point to the cat staging area.  A little bumpy at times, but it's hard to find other guided bus tours of the Slocan valley, with lunch and skiing included.

Our guides for the day were Lila and Brad.  Skiing with Lila was the first time we'd had a female lead guide with us.  She comes from a family where her father was a guide, and is probably a minority in her field of work.  They were very knowledgeable guides that found us the goods time after time.

At the end of the day, if you get a chance to do the ski out to the bus on the cat road instead of riding in the cat, do it.  It's like a 2000 vertical foot narrow and steep skier cross course with trees on all sides.  You get trucking down the road and it's an exhilarating experience, way more fun than we thought it would be before we went down.  Just don't bail on a corners......

A few years have past since I got rid of that Blazer, and my first experience catskiing.  Valhalla reminded me of the great things I have discovered throughout my life.  To add to that, I just recently bought my friends old Chevy S-10, very similar to my old truck.  It needs some love, but that is part of the journey.

Like a great quote I once heard, “There is a hell, and it has lift lines”.  Enjoy the ski hill, but if you want that somewhat of a life changing experience, go catskiing.  And Valhalla is one good place to start.  Val-Hell-Ya!


Footnote
For the particulars of the day, how the operation works and where they are located, check out: Memories of Valhalla

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