When Baldy Mountain Resort, British Columbia, opens for the season next winter, skiers will have access to another 200 or so acres of cat-served terrain above the ski area’s lifts. Plus, single rides are cheap, totaling $35 Canadian a pop.
A few hours south of Kelowna, Baldy is sleepy, rolling, home to one of Canada’s highest base elevations, and known for dry, light snow.
“We’re very family friendly,” said the resort’s general manager, Brandan Datoff. But he hopes that by adding catskiing, skiers will start to think of Baldy as more than just a family mountain, tapping into the diehard crowd more.
The new slopes, Datoff explained, are wide open with some bands of trees. When an avalanche professional came by to inspect the area for Baldy’s safety plan, he said it was similar to the kind of skiing found at heli operations.
Mt. Baldy
The zone stretches from the top of the Eagle chairlift to Baldy’s peak, tacking on about 600 feet of elevation. It was hikeable in the past and will remain so next winter. The cat provides a quicker, warmer ride, though.
“I think it’s gonna work really well,” said Datoff. “All that terrain up at the top of Baldy is that advanced terrain that we don’t currently really have inbounds.”
The addition involves repurposing a 2006 PistenBully snowcat already owned by Baldy that, in the past, helped groom the slopes.
The cat, said Datoff, was “gathering some hours, and we were trying to figure out … do we sell it or do we turn it into another business.”
They went with the latter. Baldy used to offer catskiing, but towed skiers behind the cat, exposing them to the elements. This time, though, the ski area secured a cab for the cat from another operation, making for a more fully-fledged offering.
Mt. Baldy
Baldy plans to run the PistenBully Fridays through Sundays on the hour starting at 10 a.m., weather dependent. To hitch a ride, skiers will need a ticket or season pass and head up to the top of the Eagle chairlift. The cat tickets will be available at guest services.
The ski area also plans to open the cat for private reservations, with prices to be determined but competitive compared to other cat skiing operations, said Datoff.
The reservations will be available any day of the week, but Tuesday and Wednesday sounded particularly promising. On those days, Baldy shuts down Eagle, only spinning its beginner-minded Sugarlump lift.
So, with a private cat, you “could have access to an entire mountain,” said Datoff.
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