Logistics

Chatter Creek is true Backcountry Sledding. Our lodge is located in the remote backcountry, outside Golden, British Columbia. The lodge is accessible via the Bush River FSR or ‘B’ Road. If you are planning a day trip please be aware that the road is:

• Long (70km of snow and mud covered forest service road)
• Narrow
• Few turning points
• Limited parking
• Used by industrial traffic (log hauling and heavy equipment)

Heavy snowfalls can quickly make the road impassable, and it can take several days to re-open it after a storm.

As with all forest service roads, it is recommended that you be fully equipped to self-rescue if you get stranded and that for your safety you have a VHF radio to communicate with other traffic on the road (RR-24 – 151.220 MHz).

At kilometer 50 there is a rock-cut that is prone to avalanches. Check the weather carefully before proceeding past this point with your vehicle and time your journey past this section to minimize your risk.

As the ‘B’ Road is open to vehicular traffic, and so classed as a public road, snowmobiling is not permitted on the road itself.

The access road to Chatter Creek also leads to other less remote trails. The links take you to the write-ups for these trails on the Golden Snowmobile Trail Society website.

Hope Creek – accessible from 56km.

Susan Lake – accessible from 10.5km to 11km.

Chatter Creek is a snowcat skiing operation from December to mid-April. It is a joint-use area with agreed-upon restrictions in force.

If you plan to visit the Chatter Creek area before early April, please stop by the lodge and talk to us to find out what areas our snowcats are working in. After our cat skiing season finishes our lodge is open for spring sledding accommodation.

Our Lodge is full of skiers and snowboarders between early December and early April and so we are, unfortunately, unable to offer accommodation, meals, gas or other facilities to snowmobilers between these times. Please come fully equipped to be self-sufficient.

If you choose to engage in backcountry activities such as snowmobiling in the Chatter Creek area you do so in a self-guided manner and entirely at your own risk unless you book one of our guided tours. Snowmobiling is a risky sport whether you are guided or not. All guests need to assume their own risks.

The area surrounding Vertebrae Lodge is uncontrolled, not patrolled and involves many risks, dangers, and hazards including avalanche. Be prepared for avalanche danger, weather changes, and terrain hazards.

Backcountry users should be trained and appropriately equipped for self-rescue.

If you are snowmobiling in high mountain terrain in which there is always a risk of avalanches, you are strongly recommended to be knowledgeable of the risks and ride with the appropriate avalanche rescue equipment. Please keep current with the avalanche hazard rating posted on the Avalanche Canada website.

If staying at the lodge as a guest, you will be required to sign a waiver.