Cat Sass 2012 – 2

Posted on September 15, 2012September 18, 2012 by Smoke

I love the smell of jet fuel in the morning.

Yup, it’s heli time in the Kootenays, and we are hangin’ loose.

Me, Mary-Kat and Galena got up on the first round. Ran into Ramin and crew already up there. They took 3 and a half hours to get up from town. We took about 8 minutes.

It was a nice morning to hang around in the alpine, too.

Take a good look around, there’s plenty to look at.

As we flew up, we had to take a bit of time for portraits. So sit back, there’s a pile of ‘em here…

That was the set from the top, now we’re about a half click down.

…and here’s the end of the alpine. It’s all in the woods after here.

Now that I’ve done this ride a few times, the hike a bike sections seem pretty short. Not everyone agrees, though. Funny how you seem to question taking a DH bike at this point, but nobody mentions that at the bottom. From this point, it’s pretty solid descending to the end.

Like this gnarly little rock section. Spent a bit of time here with the girls, and they nailed it.

We also spent a bit of time on these tailings piles. This was a difficult section for a few of the ladies that were here last time, but they had it dialled this year. Although Sarah did manage a spill, but then again it’s only her second day out this year and her first time on Powerslave. Galena on the other hand, SENT it.

What a day. I think we must have had some angels watching over us.

Even a little bit of the God Light for the last part of the ride.

Another solid Retallack day.

Cat Sass – Day 2

Posted on September 3, 2011September 28, 2011 by Smoke

Frost? No way…that’s ICE!

It’s just a blip. There’s still plenty of summer left. Besides, we gotta fly today.

Just a little shout out to the sponsors. Dakine… you guys rule.

While this is mostly a ladies trip, the guys couldn’t pass up a chance to shred Powerslave with a big crew on such a luscious and bluebird day. Ummm…which one is Beavis?

Lindsey, with her “Squirrel on Acid” grin.

Flying over some old growth.

This place really is the Cat’s Ass.

Some more props to Retallack Lodge.

It took a few trips, but here ya go. The first heli lady laps from Toad Mtn.

Marie-Cat… getting her epic on.

Lindsey, stylin’ as always.

Galena negotiates some high altitude driftwood.

Ummmmm….. did I mention that I kind of like riding with the girls? Can you guess why?

Here, have another postcard shot.

I’m sorta bummed I missed the focus on this one, cause it’s a rad one. These are the PG chicks, and they freakin’ SHRED. Which is why we’re changing the spelling to “Pgnarly.”

This trail has a bit of everything, as I think I may have mentioned. Here’s Meg on a fairly long bridge.

A couple hours in, and we’ve only dropped a thousand feet. When does this thing start going down?

How about now?

It all makes sense now.

Far fewer shots now that we’re actually shredding. Just time for a classic angle.

OK, maybe one more… RETALLACKA!

Literally hours later, but with very little standing around, Meg gets to the bottom of things. But WAIT! We’re not done yet…

OK, now we’re done.

Gotta have some cold ones to finish a ride like that. Although it would have been nice if you’d have let me down from the top of the van. I’m not THAT bad…smelling.

Of course, one Caesar led to another, and on the drive back there were a couple of “rest stops”. I wanted to get another panorama shot from the roof of the van of the action, so to speak, but girls are so quick. I didn’t even get on the roof of the van and they were all done. Oh well, perhaps another time.

Cat Sass Retreats
Retallack Lodge

Retallack Ride Guide – 3

Posted on August 25, 2011September 16, 2011 by Smoke

Who wants to ride in a helicopter?

Of course you do. That highest peak in the previous shot would be Toad Mountain, also known as the top of Powerslave. Which would be Riley McIntosh’s 3 year building program to make a trail from the high point above Nelson right into town.

Eamonn got so excited his shirt fell off.

Dude, get off the phone….

See that beach down by the orange bridge? Remember that, it’ll come in handy later…

Wait! I left my phone in the heli! Ahhhh….never mind.

Yeaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhh boyeeeeeeeeeeeee!

The view that inspires.

The pause that refreshes (please do not try this with your own Powerslave. We are professionals…).

And now for some awe inspiring shots. enjoy…

Heeeeeeeeeeerrrrrrrrrreeeeee’s MASON!

Love the intensity on Joel’s face. Too bad I didn’t have video of this. It was an impressive drift.

Shawn’s style ain’t so shabby either.

The rest of the ride went a ton faster once we got rid of the TV guy. So you don’t get to see any pics of the rest of the ride. Just this one of us at the top of Morning Mountain, about to drop in on 90 minutes of continuous downhill action.

There….remember that beach I was talking about? Well, here it is and there’s Toad…wayyyyyyy up there.

Also, a topless dancing Eamonn….

The boys clearly had a good time out there, and cut loose a bit on the beach after to celebrate. I couldn’t join in (somebody had to drive), but I at least got to record the events for posterity.