Chatter Creek Cat Skiing Terrain

The Chatter Creek cat skiing terrain is accessed by five cat road networks. These start at Vertebrae Lodge and fan out to the extremidies of the tenure. Follow the links below to view photographs and descriptions of the skiing areas and runs serviced by these roads.(Notes on using this photo index)

Chatter Creek is grateful to Steve Neill of Alpenglow Aviation of Golden, for much of the aerial photography presented here.

The five road networks are:
A. South Side Super Road : leaving Vertebrae Lodge, the road climbs to MCO, passes branches to Elbow Drive, RUZM Gully and the Gong Show and continues to South Park, Lakeview and Harbourview. There are also branches to SX3 and SX2.

B. West Side and Oyster Bowl Road : leaving Vertebrae Lodge, the road rises through the Staff Trees and the Table and then climbs through the Clamshell to the Pearl, which is the col at the top of the ridge to the west of the lodge. In the Clamshell, a branch crosses northward to Forbidden Fruit and the Plank. At the Pearl, the road crosses to the west of the ridge and into Oyster Bowl in the new Lakeside Addition. In Oyster Bowl the road branches north to Game Creek and south to the rest of the Lakeside Addition.

C. Lodge Ridge Road : leaving Vertebrae Lodge, the road climbs the south end of Lodge Riddge to its crest, which it follows north to a point beyond Spruce Pass on the east and close to the Chatter glacier on the west. The road services Mommy's Run and Crystal Lite to the east and Dewar's Bowl and the Chatter Creek watershed to the west.

D. Road to Vertebrae Glacier : leaving Vertebrae Lodge, the road climbs Lodge Ridge to the Spruce Creek gully, between Lodge Ridge and the Megahooped Trees. Beyond the trees, a branch forks north to Spruce Pass. The main road turns back and climbs above the trees, where a second branch forks south to Mullet Bowl and Steph's Thumb. It then climbs Megahooped, crosses the whole slope between Jo-pal and Megahooped, and skirts a ridge to pass onto the Windlip, north of Jo-Pal. Near the top of the Windlip, the road turns through the Keyhole and onto the Plateau at the top of Vertebrae glacier. Before the Keyhole, a branch of the road forks to continue to the top of the Windlip and a pass-through to Jo-Pal. On the Plateau, a branch of the road turns southeast to cross the glacier.

E. East Ridge Road Super Road : leaving Vertebrae Lodge, the road passes south across the Home Run cut block and onto the flank of East Ridge. The road traverses the west side of East Ridge as it climbs to the crest, at it's south end, which is called the Nose. From the Nose, the road reverses direction and climbs the crest of the East Ridge north to a point on Super Spruce, high above and a little south of the Megahooped Trees.