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Cross-country
Skiing and Snowshoeing
The
rolling hills, mountain forests, meadows and many lakes of the Chilcotin
are ideal for cross-country skiing and snowshoeing.
Tatla Lake features 17 km of cross-country trails ranging from novice
to expert, and hosts an annual cross-country ski race.
Cross-country ski touring and winter camping are possible in Itcha
Ilgachuz Provincial Park, which comprises approximately 110,000 hectares
of unique landscape in the West Chilcotin Uplands.
Heckman Pass in Tweedsmuir (South) Provincial
Park is the home of the Tweedsmuir Ski Club. The Lodge at Chilko
Lake (formerly Chilko Lake Resort) on Chilko Lake offers its visitors cross-country skiing,
snowmobiling, ice skating and ice fishing during the winter.
Snowmobiling
There was a time when B.C.'s thousands of kilometres of logging remained
unused throughout most of the winter. Adventure seekers have now discovered
that these same roads provide access into some of the most remote
and spectacular wilderness in the province, and the Cariboo Chilcotin
region of British Columbia is earning its place on the map of snowmobiling
musts.
The Chilcotin offers over 500 km of old mining and logging roads for
exploration by snowmobile. Set out on your own or play it safe and
engage the services of a licensed and experienced wilderness guide.
Options for daily rides include hill climbing or trail touring on
packed trails.
Experienced riders can head for the high alpine and the glaciers to
ride the miles and miles of untracked alpine mountain tops. The mild
climate and stable snow conditions during March and April make this
an ideal winter playground for snowmobiling.
Organized Hut-to-Hut snowmobiling combines the experience of alpine
wilderness with the adventure of cutting your own trails through mountain
forests to remote mountain cabins.
Northwest of Lillooet, near
the community of Gold Bridge,
the rugged Chilcotin Mountains rise 3,000 metres above the shores
of Tyaughton Lake, providing beautiful highland country to explore.
Backcountry trails head northwest of Gold Bridge into the heart of
the Chilcotin.
The great snowmobile areas in the Chilcotin include Anahim
Lake, the Rainbow Ridge in Tweedsmuir (South) Provincial Park,
and Tatlayoko and Taseko Lakes that border the picturesque Ts'yl-os
Provincial Park to the west and east respectively. Attractions
in this vast wilderness area include the Homathko Icefields to the
south and the rugged beauty of the Potato Range.
Ice-Fishing
Ice fishing is popular at the Forest District Campground at Two Lake,
located northwest of Alexis
Creek on the Alexis Lakes Road.
Heli-Skiing and Heli-Boarding
The magnificent Chilcotin Mountains provide great variety of open
bowls and challenging tree skiing for heli-skiing and heli-boarding
enthusiasts. As the warm air mass passes over the glaciated areas
to the north east and over the South Chilcotin range, the air is cooled
and the resulting snow is light and fluffy. Many runs start on the
high alpine glaciers and end well below the tree line, deep in the
valley bottoms.
Winter Wilderness Experience
Winter
alpine ecotour adventures are guided by naturalist Chris Czajkowski
out of rustic cabins on a fly-in, high-altitude lake near the southern
tip of Tweedsmuir (South) Provincial Park in the Coast Mountains.
To provide accommodation 20 miles from the nearest road, Chris built
the two rental cabins at Nuk Tessli single-handedly in 1988, using
only a chainsaw and hand tools. Cross-country skiing and snowshoeing
is offered in February and March - there are no groomed trails, and
skins are needed for climbing. Optional hut-to-hut cross-country skiing
and packaged tours are offered.
Winter fly-ins to Nuk Tessli originate from Nimpo
Lake, and end after the first week in April as the ice at Nimpo
Lake starts to thaw. These trips differ from other types of cross-country
skiing trips in that they are true wilderness experiences.
Other Winter Activities
There are no downhill
ski resorts in the Chilcotin region. Other winter activities
in the Chilcotin include sleigh riding and ice skating. Anahim
Lake in winter offers skating, cross-country skiing, snowshoeing,
snowmobiling, and ice fishing. Resorts in Anahim Lake offer a wilderness
haven waiting to entertain winter visitors.
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