# Sidecountry runs - where? what skills?



## killclimbz (Aug 10, 2007)

True sidecountry aka backcountry? I know you do the bc riding thing, but your description kind of sounds like you are looking for inbounds steeps. 

Revelstoke, Kicking Horse, Whistler, all have backcountry access gates. Some of them have real tours out those gates and quick back to the resort laps, maybe with some hiking. I'd message chupacabra. I am just going from what I've seen, he's been there done that. We got some other Canadians who know the in and outs of the backcountry around some of the major Candian ski areas. I am just forgetting who they are atm. Sorry guys...


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## snowvols (Apr 16, 2008)

Revelstoke Hands down. If you can get your hands on a split just go to Roger's Pass.


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## neni (Dec 24, 2012)

killclimbz said:


> True sidecountry aka backcountry? I know you do the bc riding thing, but your description kind of sounds like you are looking for inbounds steeps.


hmmm... add a 3rd problem then: definition problem :laugh: 
As I unserstood the differences (please correct, if I'm wrong):

inbound: "official" runs, displayed on the resort map, patrolled, poles indicate, where the runs go, warnings for dangerous spots (ropes, warning signs), no sudden cliffs, no avy danger (very uncommen here, e.g. nothing like this exists in my resort)

sidecountry: the area all around a resort. no warnings, no avy bombing, no patrols, access by cable car/chairlift (and maybe a short hike) and runs end at the chairlift station. maybe "run" is a wrong word. you ride where ever you want, there are no poles that show you the directions. the significant difference to backcountry is the proximity to a resort. you're "on your own", but since many people ride there, you're still likely to be found if shit happens. we explore new sidecountry either with local guides or if you get a good overview on the terrain ourt of a cable car (hubby has a good terrain memory. I'd still get lost on runs I've done 10 times )

I'm looking for both oportunities. For sidecountry, we'd hire a guide to explore the area, but if "inbound" is common at a resort, sure, we'll love to stay there.





killclimbz said:


> Revelstoke, Kicking Horse, Whistler, all have backcountry access gates. Some of them have real tours out those gates and quick back to the resort laps, maybe with some hiking


reading this ^^ I think that what I call sidecountry is backcountry then :icon_scratch: hmmm... Backcountry for me means that you hike for every meter you run, well off any resort, likely to meet nobody the entire day, plan the trip well in advance, study maps and weatherforcast and avy reports very well, leave early in the morning, stay at home if weather is unstable.


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## mhaas (Nov 25, 2007)

For me, advanced means you can safely make it down most any slope without slip-sliding and falling all over the place. Expert means you can make it down any skiable slope and make it look good.

And I consider steep to be any slope in the upper 30s


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## brownSnow (Jan 7, 2009)

neni said:


> Two problems:
> 1) Narrowed down the cat lodges for the pow holiday next March to Baldface, Island Lake or Skeena. Now the more difficult part: which resorts to spend the other one or two weeks of the holiday? Spent hours googleing to find out about resorts but still got problems to decide, where to go. Where do you get the best/most sidecountry opportunities? (not interested in groomers )
> 
> 2) Other problem is to judge riding ability. This beginner-intermediate-advanced-expert rating usually used is too superficial in my opinion… different strokes for different folks… we don’t have anything like “double-blacks” here (we got a simple blue-red-black rating for groomers). References like “only for advanced riders comfortable with double-blacks” are riddles for me. What skills does an “advanced” rider need to have in your opinion? What is “steep”? We meet 35° regularly in sidecountry, steepest was 44°. Is that steep? Most tricky situation I had to negotiate was a little drop-in that led directly into a 34° slope covered with an older wet snow avalanche deposit with lots of frozen blocks. But what’s tricky for me could be a sneer for someone else. I’ve done all back-sidecountry riding this season without falls, with ease and confidence, but this doesn’t make me an advanced rider, it only means, that I haven’t been in something more difficult
> ...



on your first point, i'm not sure how deep your pockets are as those 3 lodges aren't cheap, however the experience is beyond words. From my experience over the last 4 seasons (3 in Revelstoke, most recent in Golden at Kicking Horse). Between the 2 resorts you have ample "side country" opportunities that can be very challenging. By the sounds of it you'd be able to handle either one.

As mentioned by others, inbetween the 2 resorts/towns is Rogers Pass for some true backcountry for more experience mountaineers/riders. I would HIGHLY recommend hiring a local guide if you plan on heading there. My choice and great guys, www.adrenalindescents.com , check them out.

If you want some other Cat ski/boarding options check out Mustang Powder, Mustang Powder - Home - Cat Skiing BC Canada - Snowcat Skiing and Snowboarding in British Columbia and/or K3 snow cats, Home | K3 Cat Ski - Cat Skiing and Snowboarding in British Columbia . Both are local to Revelstoke and a short drive out of town to reach (K3 will pick you up at your hotel in town).

That's my 2cents. PM me if you'd like to chat further.


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## neni (Dec 24, 2012)

brownSnow said:


> That's my 2cents. PM me if you'd like to chat further.


Thanks a lot for all the information! Nothing is fixed so far. Baldface impressed me by the size of the area they cover (my line of thought: even if there was no storm recently they'll have enough untouched runs) and Island Lake is on my list since I saw some awsome tree riding vids in this forum. Hubby is into Skeena cause they have a heli  I guess, we need to book the cat lodge well in advance but can take our time with the resorts.

I'll look into your links. Thanks again!


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## neni (Dec 24, 2012)

brownSnow said:


> If you want some other Cat ski/boarding options check out Mustang Powder, Mustang Powder - Home - Cat Skiing BC Canada - Snowcat Skiing and Snowboarding in British Columbia


Was very stoked while clicking through the Mustang homepage. But having a close look at the information booklet told me that its unsuitable:
_Please be aware that even in the regular program our policy at Mustang is to cater to the strong, keen skiers and boarders. You should be an expert skier, and at a minimum a very strong intermediate. While strong intermediate ability will suffce for skiers, *snowboarders and telemark skiers must be experts* and able to handle all backcountry conditions including very steep treed terrain. _

In no way I'd call myself an expert. Medium advanced maybe, but certainly not more.


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## snowklinger (Aug 30, 2011)

That's just racist semantics.

You're an expert.


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## neni (Dec 24, 2012)

Hmmmm... met someone from Vancouver at a congress today. Discussed a bit about my travel plans and he warned me, that there's a problem with little snow every 4 years cause of the El Niño. Last time it was during the Olympic games, so next year would be the next occasion... does this also affect the Calgary area? After kite holiday without wind I couldn't stand pow holiday without pow :dizzy:


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## killclimbz (Aug 10, 2007)

I don't know what to tell you about El Niño next year. Usually with El Niño years, southern areas are more favored. One of the worst seasons and one of the best seasons I have seen have been during El Niño years in Colorado. I suspect it is much the same for Northern areas. Keep in mind the weather services have yet to be predicting it for this upcoming season. I haven't seen anything indicating they are thinking El Niño for this season. It is very possible we'll see a neutral year or even another La Niña year which of course favors the Northern spots. 

The problem with planning for a pow holiday is that even in the snowiest spots, it doesn't snow all the time. You are hoping that you timed it well for a snowy cycle. I just missed the prime week by a few days on my last trip. I got six out of 9 possible pow days, but the first three days was the recycled variety. The last three days is when the cycle set in and nuked. I should of shown up then and stayed for the following week. Nothing I can do about it...


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## Lamps (Sep 3, 2011)

neni said:


> Hmmmm... met someone from Vancouver at a congress today. Discussed a bit about my travel plans and he warned me, that there's a problem with little snow every 4 years cause of the El Niño. Last time it was during the Olympic games, so next year would be the next occasion... does this also affect the Calgary area? After kite holiday without wind I couldn't stand pow holiday without pow :dizzy:


That's bullshit. Nina and niño effects are not that cyclical. 

It's possible to have snowless periods anywhere, western Canada at the right time of year your odds are very much in your favour of fresh snowfall. If you do cat or Heli they have lots of terrain and you'll see untouched snow for sure.


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## Peyto (Mar 21, 2012)

Lamps said:


> That's bullshit. Nina and niño effects are not that cyclical.
> 
> It's possible to have snowless periods anywhere, western Canada at the right time of year your odds are very much in your favour of fresh snowfall. If you do cat or Heli they have lots of terrain and you'll see untouched snow for sure.


This. If you're doing eastern BC / Alberta Rockies area make yourself flexible between Banff/Lake Louise, Kicking Horse, Revelstoke, and Fernie and go to where the snow is.


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## karkis (Jan 8, 2013)

+1 on Lamps n killclimz, dont fuss bout ElNino/SO, its not certian to happen next season and the correlation of ENSO to snowfall is weak, at least in the interior of BC.

i think you're best bet is to target the Columbia/Kootenays. Fernie is a bit isolated on the south end of the zone, it can be really good (deep pow) or really bad (frozen rain crust). im biased but the north end of the zone seems to be more reliable (Revelstoke, Rogers Pass, Golden) and you can sneak over to the Rockies if things turn out better there. Try to allow some flexibility if you can. Feb / March are most reliable for snow, into April can be really good too, with less people.

id give a +1 to Mustang, Chatter Creek, Baldface and Retallack for cat skiing. revvie is heliski central, Eagle Pass and Selkirk Tangiers have 1 day seats or multi day packages.

resort styles
KHMR has endless OB (out of bounds, slack country), more than anywhere else around here, some of it is easy to intermediate, alot of it is expert and it really helps if you know where youre going (or hire a guide), there's easy lines right next to hard ones and lots of non skiiable terrain and it's hard to know whats what trying look in from the top.
Revvy has some nice easy OB with lots of mini golf features (short steep / cliffy options), and a handful of advanced to expert big lines, as well as longer tours of any difficulty
Whitewater has some OB, mostly trees but also Ymir peak, Fernie has some too, maybe a bit more traversing than you'd like.

for straight up touring (backcountry) Rogers Pass is Mecca but theres other areas around Revvy especially, and the Rockies are good in the spring


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## poutanen (Dec 22, 2011)

saloman said:


> This. If you're doing eastern BC / Alberta Rockies area make yourself flexible between Banff/Lake Louise, Kicking Horse, Revelstoke, and Fernie and go to where the snow is.


Yeah, I'd go to any of the above, whoever has the most snow. Plenty of accomodations so things won't sell out, only get a little pricier if you leave it late. You can always find SOMETHING.

Alberta is more consistent than the BC rockies (Kicking Horse, Fernie, Revelstoke) but when it snows in BC it SNOWS...

I have NOT been into the sidecountry at any of the resorts around here (out of bounds but lift accessible) except for one run at Nakiska which used to be the Olympic run in '88.

For off-piste, in-bounds stuff, my favorite is Fernie followed by Lake Louise.

They both have tons of in bounds stuff that is rugged, steep, treed, powdery, etc. Rocks, cliffs, chutes, pillows, glades. These are all in bounds in avalanche controlled and patrolled areas. Personally without avy training this is my favorite stuff to hit. It's fantastic!

I'll post up some pictures later of good in bounds stuff at the various resorts around here.


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## neni (Dec 24, 2012)

poutanen said:


> I'll post up some pictures later of good in bounds stuff at the various resorts around here.


Very appreciated!

Haha karkis, I didn't intend to _ move _to Canada, got only 2 (max 3) weeks holiday  although... there're good research groups over there... hmmm... an overseas postdoc would look good in my cv...  thanks for all the recommendations! Will look into them.

Where would you recommend to set our base? A central town inbetween and hire a car or better move from resort to resort and book rooms in the resorts? Remember, I'm Swiss: >200km is a long distance journey for me 

If you'd got -say - 10 days for resort sidecountry/guided trips, where would _you _ settle your tents? (one week is already fixes for cat)


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## karkis (Jan 8, 2013)

neni said:


> Haha karkis, I didn't intend to _ move _to Canada, got only 2 (max 3) weeks holiday


aw yah i didnt mean you should do ALL that, just puttin out options....

cuttin thru that list i would drop fernie and or nelson (unless you settle on Island lake or Baldface for cat skiing), each could be good for a couple few days if you're in the area but theres more variety and options further north. 

golden and revvy are 150 kms apart and theres a whole world of options between the two.

in a nutshell, from the choices you offered:
-Skeena, you're kind of in the middle of nowhere, if it's good your all set, if not you have a long way to go to other options

-Island lake, fly thru calgary, spend a couple few days in fernie and go up to golden, rogers pass, maybe a trip to revvy if the eastside is dry, and go back to calgary thru the rockies.

-Baldface, fly thru Kelowna, spend a couple few daze at whitewater and red, go to revvy, rogers pass, maybe sneak over to golden if the westside is too warm.

i'll find some photos here just now....


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## neni (Dec 24, 2012)

karkis said:


> id give a +1 to *Mustang*, Chatter Creek, Baldface and Retallack for cat skiing


So how would you rate the experience needed for Mustang? (still a bit intimidated by their skill demand)


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## snowklinger (Aug 30, 2011)

Lamps said:


> That's bullshit. Nina and niño effects are not that cyclical.
> 
> It's possible to have snowless periods anywhere, western Canada at the right time of year your odds are very much in your favour of fresh snowfall. If you do cat or Heli they have lots of terrain and you'll see untouched snow for sure.


I'm gonna have to 2nd this. Not only is there no "cycle" upon which to build a predictable pattern, but there is also no way to know whether or not a neutral, la, or el will hit OR miss your spot.

Plenty of places have got dumped on during (insert any "nina" variable here), while others have been skunked.

IMO the only usefulness of such long term broad stokes forecasting is for farmers and the gov't branch that regulates and subsidizes it (and I question that but i'm not a farmer so i dunno).


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## karkis (Jan 8, 2013)

kicking horse backcountry (slack country) check out
A Guide to Backcountry Skiing Golden BC - North
theres the south end too on that site but there's more options and less consequence in the north bowls. 
i dont have much G.side photos on line but heres a couple from back in the day...

















its mostly a bunch of G/nar with some really nice chutes in between


RMR slack is alot of this kinda thing








a bit of this kinda stuff








mini golf means you can usually go over, or around it








black diamond means up to about this kinda thing








double black is from something like that to something like this









but honestly for a commercial ski operation when they say advanced they mean they dont want to have to pick you up all the time in terrain thats 35 - 40deg trees and maybe some chutes to 45, but they would check you out before they tee those up
i suspect that when a Euro says 'advanced' they mean a bit more than when a Canuck says it... you Euros are crazy after all


Rogers Pass is all kinds of goodness



























and tons more....
check out rogers pass 411 sample guidebook
i think the north side volume will be out in print this fall, its just an e book now, $25CAD on that site.


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## Argo (Feb 25, 2010)

When we went to revy, the lower mountain was closed. I really wanna go back in mid snow peak time.... Seems like it would be amazing. I would center myself in Revelstoke. There is a ton of shit around there.


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## killclimbz (Aug 10, 2007)

Fucking Karkis, you bitch. You may have just convinced to come up to your place and ride Rogers Pass next year. I've been itching to get up there for about 6 years now. Rogers is the pass of passes...


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## poutanen (Dec 22, 2011)

Well I can't top Karkis' OOB stuff...

All this is in-bounds in the area:

Fernie:









Everything in this pic is in-bounds (extreme left is gate accessed):









Close up of the gate accessed area (above the cat track):









Everything in view is in-bounds at Lake Louise:









An OOB bowl at Lake Louise, I've seen tracks down into it, but it's not for me:









Fluffy goodness in Fernie:









More in bounds lake louise goodness:









Another pic of Fernies glades and endless powder:


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## neni (Dec 24, 2012)

Had to scratch Skeena from the list, 2014 is already sold out...

Thanks so much for the pics ! This is very helpful!

@karkis: I struggle a bit with some of your abbrevations. G/nar? RMR? Slack=sidecountry=lift access?

- 1st pic: the run looks beautiful and is about the top level I'd be willing/able to takkle, IF I could follow a guide who shows me the way through the cliffs. It looks pretty steep, that would be still ok, but the cliffs in the lower section would scare me a bit. I'm not convenient with jumping. Ive never been in any park and due to a neck injury I also avoided any natural jumps for years and am just recently beginning to be braver but still not secure enough. Excercise jumps will be one of my main aims next season. Thats one of the main reasons I'm concerned with judging my riding level. As long as board stays on the ground, I can do steeps without reluctance and speed isn't an issue too, but when it coms to jumps I'm a beginner simply due to the lack of experience. Tiny jumps are ok, but I need a save landing zone. On the pic, this already looks pretty badass to me cause you'll land in very steep and falling looks like a very bad idea... But some of the mini golf jumps like on the 5th pic would be fun.

- 3rd/4th pic look awsome. THIS is what Im looking for 

- The black diamond pic I could do, and enjoy. But the double black pic... :dizzy: Uhm... Well, the chute on the most left side looks feasible but the entire front of the peak is like aaah, no way. Thats not a run, thats JJones area! IF there IS a double black run at the front of this peak, I'll stay well off any double blacks. Certainly not my level.

- The pics of rogers pass are more my level (no clifds ) and make me surely consider to plan a split tour. Thanks a lot for the guidbook!

@poutanen: those inbound pics of Fernie / Lake Louis look great. How soon after a storm are they tracked out? Do you need a guide to find your way though?


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## Argo (Feb 25, 2010)

RMR is Revelstoke mountain resort

Side slack is usually going up a lift and out of the back country access gates.


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## AcroPhile (Dec 3, 2010)

I think this thread just convinced me that I'm living in the wrong place.

...now if it were only easier to be able to work in Canada as an American, I would be there in a heartbeat.


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## karkis (Jan 8, 2013)

neni said:


> @karkis: I struggle a bit with some of your abbrevations. G/nar? RMR? Slack=sidecountry=lift access?
> 
> - 1st pic: the run looks beautiful and is about the top level I'd be willing/able to takkle, IF I could follow a guide who shows me the way through the cliffs. It looks pretty steep, that would be still ok, but the cliffs in the lower section would scare me a bit.
> 
> ...


oh hey yah, G/nar = gnarly with a capital Gee!!
Argo covered RMR, slack country around here means the lift does most of the work and you gotta hike anywhere from 10 mins to .... depends how much a slacker you are... an hour or so??

if you would ride the 'black diamond' line or the chutes on the lookers right of the first photo 'without reluctance' you should be good to go at Mustang or pretty much any guided operation. That's the kind of terrain that Kicking horse has a ton of, like probably 100 of those lines within an hours hike (...or 2), on top of what they have in bounds. 
Revelstoke has a handful of those with a 45 min hike, and another few dozen with say a 15-45 min hike to get to and 2 hour hike to get back out. the more mellow terrain around rev mtn resort is 10-45 min hike for access, 10 mins hike to exit and most of that is a south west aspect, there is some mellow east or NE aspects but they require more touring to get back from that side.

in the 'double black' photo, you're right the chute on the lookers left 'brown shorts' is a good time, i'd call that 'advanced' or black diamond, but i should also warn that it sometimes lives up to its name!!! 
there are lines off the peak too, you can actually see a track if you look real close. 
of local historical interest, apparently that photo documents the first track down the face, on a snowboard, before any skiers had run the line... 'expert' terrain, double black.

+1 thanks for the Fernie shots poutanen, i haven't been there in a :blink: dozen years now :dunno: since the season i worked on building the new lifts... nice to see what they've done with the joint.


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## Epic (Apr 13, 2013)

AcroPhile said:


> I think this thread just convinced me that I'm living in the wrong place.
> 
> ...now if it were only easier to be able to work in Canada as an American, I would be there in a heartbeat.


+1. Any Canadian women on here looking for a husband?


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## poutanen (Dec 22, 2011)

karkis said:


> +1 thanks for the Fernie shots poutanen, i haven't been there in a :blink: dozen years now :dunno: since the season i worked on building the new lifts... nice to see what they've done with the joint.


No worries! I rode it once when I was 18 (13 years ago! :blink and I don't remember much of it then. Really enjoyable now! Just gotta watch the rain and dry spells...


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## wrathfuldeity (Oct 5, 2007)

A little south and across the boarder....this is a 10-15 minute hike out the gate


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## neni (Dec 24, 2012)

wrathfuldeity said:


> A little south and across the boarder....this is a 10-15 minute hike out the gate


Sweet :thumbsup: Mind to give away the location? Is it the same mountain your split tour pics were taken?


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## killclimbz (Aug 10, 2007)

That's the backcountry right out of the Baker ski area. There is some really great stuff there. I had a blast in that zone two seasons ago. We did runs off of the top of thay area. Table mountain if I remember the name correctly. Further back there is a zone called little Alaska and it was damn fun. More like 90 minutes to get all the way back there from the parking lot with no lift assist. Just to the top of the sub ridge was about 30. Of you are in the area and the weather cooperates, I would recommend hitting it.


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## neni (Dec 24, 2012)

Some more questions concerning the cat/pow holiday in Revelstoke/Golden/Lake Louis/Fernie area.

1st part: I'm eyeing on a Venture split, probably the Zephyr (any hints on Venture splits are highly appreciated). Since I won't be able to demo Venture boards here, I thought it could be a good souvenir from Canada. Can anybody recommend a good local shop in the area? (not a big store with kids as shop assistants; I’d prefer smaller shops with guys who have tried the stuff they’re selling)

2nd part: Suppose we're lucky and get huge dumps in the weeks we'll be in the area. How huge is huge? What boards/sizes do you use/recommend for these amounts of fresh? I'm pretty sure my Flagship 158 will float with my 120lbs in whatever I can expect, but husband (190lbs, 6’, boot size 9) was not completely happy with his Raptor 164 in the 16in/40cm pow we met this season and was considering getting a bigger board anyway.


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## killclimbz (Aug 10, 2007)

The Raptor is more of a big mountain board not a pow board. It rides pow well but thay is not it's specialty. Set the stance back all the way. I think the Prospector will be a great pow board. I've been using the 161 split for weeks but it has been all spring conditions. Still the shape is pow friendly. I believe there is a solid version.

Venture boards are nice. They are built tough which means they are a tad on the heavy side. They are not as quick and easy to initiate turns. My thoughts is because of the flat base. It takes a bit to get used to. Expect to need a few runs to adjust if you do not have experience with that profile. The float is some of the best though and breaking trail is great. The tips just dive up. Lots of traction when skinning too.


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## killclimbz (Aug 10, 2007)

Also I am surprised a 164 was not enough board. He can up to what ever size he wants at that weight. I'd try for something 167-172.


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## neni (Dec 24, 2012)

Hmm... my Flagship is supposed to have a camber but was "flat" the day I bought it (manufactering variance...) 
You'll have trouble to fit a piece of paper in this "camber".









Not sure if that already counts as experience with flat or if a flat is flatter/different :icon_scratch: I would demo one anyway before I'd buy one. If I find one 

Well, as you said. The Raptor did well, but not particularly good in deep. I guess he saw how effortlessly I was floating traversing flats and at lower speeds while he sunk/had to lean back. Thus the wish for a bigger/better suited board. He always had the "one board has to do it all" philosophy but gets to the point that maybe specific ones would be also a good strategy.


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## Peyto (Mar 21, 2012)

neni said:


> 2nd part: Suppose we're lucky and get huge dumps in the weeks we'll be in the area. How huge is huge? What boards/sizes do you use/recommend for these amounts of fresh? I'm pretty sure my Flagship 158 will float with my 120lbs in whatever I can expect, but husband (190lbs, 6’, boot size 9) was not completely happy with his Raptor 164 in the 16in/40cm pow we met this season and was considering getting a bigger board anyway.


40cm overnight is the biggest I've seen in the past few seasons, but I'm sure there have been bigger days than that. Looking back anecdotally the majority of legit powder days I've been in have been in the 25cm range overnight. These dumps can last multiple days so doing a bit of work for your turns can reward you with deep stuff. I'm sure theres data out there with more specifics, and other people probably have different insight than me but that is just what I've gleaned from my experiences.

It's generally a pretty dry powder, although at least once last year a system from Alaska came in that dropped some pretty heavy stuff, but lots of it.

None of my crew has a dedicated pow board, but none of us have had any problem just setting back (sometimes all the way) our freeride boards - Yes Pick Your Line seems to have done the best, while personally I have no complaints with my Raptor. Set back with a bit of a taper and that centre rocker makes it pretty fun.


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## karkis (Jan 8, 2013)

neni said:


> Some more questions concerning the cat/pow holiday in Revelstoke/Golden/Lake Louis/Fernie area.
> 
> 1st part: I'm eyeing on a Venture split, probably the Zephyr (any hints on Venture splits are highly appreciated). Since I won't be able to demo Venture boards here, I thought it could be a good souvenir from Canada. Can anybody recommend a good local shop in the area? (not a big store with kids as shop assistants; I’d prefer smaller shops with guys who have tried the stuff they’re selling)


im not sure that you can get a Venture in the hood here. in Calgary theres Splitboard HQ, i think thats it if you're set on a Venture. if you want a souvenir thats actually Canadian you should check out a Trapper, you could buy one strait from the factory here in Revvy. other shops you could look at are Higher Ground in Golden and Free Spirit in Rev.




neni said:


> 2nd part: Suppose we're lucky and get huge dumps in the weeks we'll be in the area. How huge is huge? What boards/sizes do you use/recommend for these amounts of fresh? I'm pretty sure my Flagship 158 will float with my 120lbs in whatever I can expect, but husband (190lbs, 6’, boot size 9) was not completely happy with his Raptor 164 in the 16in/40cm pow we met this season and was considering getting a bigger board anyway.


yah Peyto's pretty much on it there, 40cms overnight is pretty skookum around here, but if you're thinking O/B, B/C, cat ski, you'll be looking at storm snow, not just at what's new since the lifts stopped spinning the previous day. We typically get from 50 - 150+ cms in a storm, over say 2-5 days. that's revvy, if your talking about golden call it 25 overnight, 30 - 100 in a storm. Louise say 20 overnight and 30 - 70 in a storm. if you're around in the spring, april / may, the rockies get better. for fernie.... roll the dice, you could get 60 overnight and go from hero to zero by lunch time, or get another 60 that day.
i'm 6' also, but 175# and size 11, i'm pretty happy on my 169 wide raptor when it dumps here, if he doesn't want to go big in length he might consider a mid wide model for extra float.


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## neni (Dec 24, 2012)

Thanks to both for the snow stats! 



karkis said:


> if you want a souvenir thats actually Canadian you should check out a Trapper, you could buy one strait from the factory here in Revvy.


Hmm... I like that idea! Am I completely wrong by thinking the Ursa Major resembles the Flagship and the Trout Trap the Hovercraft? Do you know the boards/splits - or anybody else here? The Ursa Major split 156 with its rather narrow waist, could work for me...?



karkis said:


> We typically get from 50 - 150+ cms in a storm, over say 2-5 days. that's revvy


:laugh: now you totally convinced me: we'll set our base directly in Revvy; will be mid/end of March (Jan/Feb is pow season at home - normally). Thanks again for your help!


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