This past long Easter weekend, Allan and I headed out to Mustang Powder for some freaking incredible catskiing. We had 3 days of amazing untouched powder and pretty much snowboarded until our legs fell off. Oh — and we took TONS of video footage… so stay tuned for that video coming soon. I also have a contest in this post for THREE full-day lift tickets to Grouse Mountain, so keep reading.

What is catskiing or catboarding you ask?

Well, you load all your gear into the bus…

… then you head up the mountain on a “snowcat”… which is a huge machine with a cab for twelve people that can take you up and down the mountain.

You arrive at the lodge, in the middle of nowhere with gorgeous mountain ranges all around. Yes, you are living and sleeping right at the top of the mountains. Allan and I were very fortunate. I won a contest to go to Mustang Powder (although Allan paid for his full trip)… so we didn’t really know what to expect. It was my first time EVER going catboarding.

The rooms are comfortable with their own private bathrooms… but to be fair, you almost never spend any time in them.

The lodge is soooooo amazing. Vaulted ceilings, all wood beams, and they didn’t use a single nail (apparently it’s some kind of peg system?). There’s enough room for 24 guests there, but since it was the end of the season they only ran one cat… so 12 guests.

The lodge really is in the middle of the mountains.

And there was a HECK of a lot of snow. It had been snowing all week and we got a few feet of fresh powder the day we arrived.

Their terrain is pretty incredible. Allan has gone catboarding before and he said it was the best operation he’s ever been to. The amount of terrain they have above the tree line is breathtaking.

Yep, you couldn’t wipe the grins off our faces. It was ridiculous.

We were riding in waist and knee deep snow the entire trip. We hooked up the GoPro HD for a few shots by sticking it on a pole to get a better wide angle. Worked pretty well!

The gladed runs were probably my favourite. They have a ton of old growth trees, but also some great runs with new baby trees that were fantastic.

The food. MAN. I did NOT expect this kind of food. It was gourmet meals every day for breakfast and dinner, not to mention a huge lunch spread to make your own.

Meals included chicken with beurre blanc sauce and capers, lamb osso bucco, a huge piece of bison tenderloin, fresh homemade pastry for lemon meringue, cheesecakes, carrot and coconut soup, broccoli cheddar soup, beautiful salads, and fresh blueberry pancakes for breakfast! My only complaint was that they didn’t seem to get the allergy concerns we listed on the admission sheet, so my recommendation is to make sure the kitchen receives your concerns on the very first day.

There’s a lot to do in the lodge too. There’s a full bar with premium liquors, a huuuuuuuuge outdoor hot tub, and a games room with pool and foosball and books.

One of the days I also got to go out on a snowmobile and do a private film shoot with one of their ski stars, Bruno. It was a lot of fun and I can’t wait to show you the video footage.

It was great to make new friends in the group, and I hope we all stay in touch.

This is one of my FAVOURITE photos from the whole trip. Check out our lines in the snow. Check out the incredible terrain. Holy crap, yes, that was a LOT of powder this past weekend.

The snowcats were brand new too, so they were super fast and we rarely ever had to wait for the cats to pick us up and bring us up and down the mountains. They have over 30,000 acres of terrain, so there was always a new untouched run to do.

The group we had was fantastic… 11 guests and a couple staff members to guide and help out. I can’t say how awesome the guides were (thanks for helping to carry my camera gear and dig me out on multiple occasions!) and the group was a really fun mix of people who were all friendly, and good skiers and snowboarders! From left to right back to front: Garrett, Roger, Dell, Kieran, Gail, Paula, Allan, Nigel, Ben, Greg, Bruno, Cam, and me. Kieran and Paula are owners and operators of Big Red Cats, so it was neat to see them there too and talk about their operation as well.

Our group had a pretty fast pace and on one of the days we managed to cover 22,000 vertical feet! Yes, that is for ONE day of skiing! It was surreal to look back up at our tracks.

At the end of each day, I felt exactly like this dog. I was exhausted. But I was also very, very happy. By the end of the third day I was actually getting my legs underneath me and I think I’ll be a lot more prepared for next time.

Nick and Ali Holmes-Smith are the owners and operators of Mustang Powder, and they are one of the nicest couples you will ever meet. I gotta say they have a pretty charmed life with their three girls, dogs, catskiing operation for the winter and summer farm with horses for the summer. Crazy, eh? They invited us back for next year and I CAN’T WAIT!

It was the end of the season so the entire group of guests plus all the staff said their goodbyes. It was sad when it was over. It was the best snowboarding trip we’ve ever gone on, and without a doubt we’ll be back next year. Stay tuned for videos!

GROUSE MOUNTAIN LIFT TICKET CONTEST

I am also giving away THREE full-day lift tickets courtesy of Grouse Mountain here in Vancouver, BC. You’ll have to use them before the end of the season, but considering the amount of snow we are getting, you could very well have a powder weekend!

What: Three, full-day lift tickets for Grouse Mountain that must be used before April 30, 2010.
How: Just leave a comment on this blog post and you’ll be entered!
When: I will draw the winner on Saturday, April 10th at 10:00 PM. (So you can use them on Sunday if you want)

Good luck, thanks for reading

Yes, this post is pretty much everything but the kitchen sink. Snowboarding, logos, food… yeesh!

First off, I want to share an awesome new logo/graphic that my long-time and good friend Mike M. made! He knows I love surfing and snowboarding, and so he created an amazing new identity for me to make into a graphic for my snowboard. I love it! Thanks Mike!

Before I get to the recipes, I wanted to talk a little bit about our plans for the upcoming easter weekend! Remember that contest that I entered for catboarding? Check out the video entry I sent in below. I was surprised several weeks ago to find out that I won! So we’ll be heading to Mustang Powder for three full days of sweet, sweet catboarding at their remote lodge including food and accommodation! Allan had to pay for himself so I’m going to help out with that… so really it’s more like getting catboarding for half price.

Packing for the trip starts this afternoon, and then we’re off early tomorrow morning for a 7 hour drive almost near Revelstoke into the Monashees mountains where we’ll be picked up by snowcat to get to the lodge. I am extremely excited. You can bet that we’ll be taking lots of photos and videos.

In other news, somehow I got roped into cooking a couple times during this busy week, so I thought I’d post up a couple more photos and two more recipes for you to try out. The first is the arctic char. I actually had this dish at West Restaurant here in Vancouver, but there was no recipe for it in their cookbook. So I created this dish only from taste and memory, but I totally lucked out and it actually turned out almost identical! This is one of my favourite fish dishes because of the really crispy skin but tender buttery flesh, along with the contrast of texture and flavour of the fennel, mushrooms and spinach.

Crispy Arctic Char with Crispy Fennel, Buttery Mushrooms, and Spinach Puree Recipe

2 fillets of arctic char or one whole fish (we found ours at Granville Island)
1 bunch of spinach
1 fennel bulb
1 shallot
1 cup chicken stock
Half a paper bag assorted mushrooms (preferably chanterelles, Portobello or those small clumpy white ones that I’m not sure the name of, they usually come stuck together in a box)
4 tablespoons of butter
Olive oil, salt and pepper

First, make sure the fish is scaled, de-boned and filleted. Leave the skin on. Wash each fillet and then pat dry with paper towel. Salt and pepper both the skin side and the flesh side.

Cook the spinach with a tablespoon of butter in a pan until vibrant green. Place into a blender (but don’t blend yet) and set aside.

Slice the fennel bulp into small strips (peel outside layer).

Cook the fennel with another tablespoon of butter (yes, this is about taste and not healthiness, feel free to substitute for olive oil) at a very high heat until crispy and browned. Add salt and pepper to taste. Set aside. Then cook the mushrooms in a tablespoon of butter until browned, and add salt and pepper.

Start boiling the chicken stock. Lastly, heat the last tablespoon of butter with tablespoon of olive oil and cook the arctic char fillets skin side down until VERY crispy, approximately 3-4 minutes. Then flip over and cook another 2-3 minutes until the fish is firm yet still soft and flaky inside.
Quickly blend the boiling chicken stock (approx half a cup to a cup, depending on how much spinach you have… you want a creamy texture) in the blender with the spinach. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Serve! Spoon the spinach puree into the bottom of a large bowl or plate, and then top with the fennel and mushrooms, and lastly serve the arctic char skin side up. Delicious!

Next up… beef short ribs last night. This was heavily adapted from a Mario Batali recipe. This is Allan’s favourite meal in the whole world and he constantly pesters me to make it. It’s fall off the bone delicious, and very rich. It also makes a large batch and heats up great for leftovers. This is a great way to make any man fall in love with you

Tender Beef Short Ribs with Red Wine and Creamy Pappardelle

4 x 12-14 oz beef short ribs with bone, well marbled (we like ours from Tenderland Meats at Granville Island)
2 cups nice red wine, preferably a Barolo if you’re baller, or a cheaper Cabernet Sauvignon
3 Carrots
2 Celery stalks
4 shallots
5 cloves of garlic
2 sprigs thyme
1 sprig rosemary
1 sprig oregano
2 sprigs parsley
2 Bay leaves
1 Tablespoon dried juniper berries
1 can Italian tomatoes
3-4 cups veal or beef stock (Stock Market at Granville Island is awesome)
Fresh homemade pasta or dried pappardelle noodles
Assorted wild mushrooms
1 cup whipping cream
2 Tablespoons butter
1/4 cup Parmigiano Reggiano, finely grated
Handful of pine nuts
Olive oil, salt and pepper (also white pepper if you have any)

First, salt and pepper the ribs. Preheat your oven to 375 degrees F. Heat a deep dutch oven or large saucepan (Le Creuset if you have it) over high heat with 3 tablespoons of olive oil. Cook the short ribs about 3 minutes each side until deeply browned, approx 15 minutes. Set the ribs aside on a plate.

Now cook the shallots, carrots, celery, and garlic in the same pot, making sure to scrape the browned bits off the bottom of the pan until the vegetables are slightly soft and browned. Crush in the Italian tomatoes by hand but do not add the juices. Add the wine and stir.

Now add the veal or beef stock. Try adding 3 cups and see how the levels in your pot look. Would it cover the ribs? If so, that’s enough. Otherwise — add another cup. Then add the herbs, juniper berries, and any extra spices. Cover and place in the oven, cooking for approximately 2 1/2 hours.

Meanwhile, make your fresh pasta or ready your dried pasta. When there’s about half an hour before you take out the ribs, start by placing 2 tablespoons of butter in a pan and on medium-heat, melt until bubbly. Add the whipping cream and bring to a boil, then simmer for about 15 minutes until slightly thick. Meanwhile, in a separate pan cook the mushrooms in a little olive oil or butter until soft. When the cream mixture is thick, add some white pepper (or normal pepper), salt, and the Parmigiano Reggiano cheese. Stir in until smooth and creamy.

Check on the ribs. At 2.5 hours, take the pot out and let sit uncovered for a few minutes. Take the ribs out to cool.

Scoop out and discard excess fat and oil from the pot. Strain the rest of the mixture through a sieve. Shred the beef and then place into the strained sauce.

Just before serving, mix the mushrooms into the cream sauce and stir in the cooked pasta noodles.

Enjoy! Serve the noodles up and then place pieces of beef over the noodles. Sprinkle some pine nuts and slices of Parmigiano Reggiano over to finish. Yum!

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And that’s it… see you guys on Tuesday when we are back from our trip! What are your plans for the Easter long weekend?