This past winter, I joined some family and friends who had decided to venture off and try a relatively new CAT skiing operation called Keefer Lake Lodge. We had seen some videos and articles that spoke favorably about Keefer Lake and decided to see what all the buzz was about. Between us, we've all been to numerous cat, heli and backcountry op...

Over the summer, while you were working on your tan, our crew was busy working up at Keefer. We’ve installed a new covered walkway connecting the Pinnacles Lodge to the Black Bear Lodge, built a new ski shop and massage room (we now have two massage therapists on site), refurbished the games room, upgraded our ski and snowboard demo fleet, and even improved our wine list. We've got more great rides from Skevik Skis, handcrafted in our backyard of Vernon, BC. We've also got Armadas, Atomics and some Rossi's. For Boards we've got Burtons, Capitas and Grassroots to name a few.

   

Rogue 1, our new second Snowcat, is in full production.

The cabin is complete. We are going to start adding the cab's interior finishings like bucket seats with great back support and heated blowers to store and dry your gear as you travel to your next run.

Once complete, we are mounting the cab on a brand new Pisten Bully 400 Snow Cat.

You should come for a ride this winter.

Read more about our Snowcats.

It is all coming together! The Pinnacles Lodge is entering the finishing stage.

We should have the siding complete this week. The fire exit stairs are almost done.
Gravel has been spread under both The Main Lodge's and The Pinnacles' Porte Couchères.

 

Things have been going off here at Keefer Lake!
We are firing on all cylinders to beat the coming snow.

The roof is done! Next week we will continue putting on the Hardy Board siding and finishing the trim on the exterior windows. The exterior will then be complete!

The inside of the Pinnacles Lodge is looking great. All the framing, electrical and plumbing are done and waiting for inspection. The wood stoves are going in as we speak so we have some heat. Next week we begin the drywall stage and then on to final finishing touches.

The second floor is in and the roof is almost complete.

We had a nice dusting of snow to tease us about the upcoming catski season.

Framing of the first floor went really well. The second floor is now well on it's way.

We are on target to beat the snow and open the doors by January 14, 2018!

Plumbing, power, heated floor all ready and sealed in concrete.

We will be catskiing soon.

Ian Ralph was out for a visit and caught some photos of the Pinnacles Lodge under construction.

We are also building a number of outbuildings and shelters. They will all have matching siding and roofs. It is all starting to come together.

We are repurposing existing structures when we can. We have completely rebuilt the existing long house and turned it into an incredible staff accommodation. We took off the roof, removed all non-supporting interior walls, and redesigned the space so our staff is as comfortable as our guests and have their own space to relax and unwind.

Summer at Keefer Lake is incredible too. 

We've broken ground and the race has begun. The Pinnacles lodge is on the way.

New Pinnacles Lodge

All our guests liked Keefer lake lodge and our custom cat so much . . .

We are building a BRAND NEW Lodge!

You asked for more
we are giving you more
Powder to the people!

We are building a BRAND NEW LODGE and have ordered a SECOND CUSTOM SNOWCAT to match!

Prime catskiing dates just opened up. We’ve added 14 more seats every day starting January 14, 2018.

Maybe you should come catskiing?

Lodging and Catskiing now for up to 28 guests!
All welcome.
Private, Semi-private, small groups, and single guests.

Christmas came early here at Keefer Lake Catskiing.

We just received our brand new snowcat . . . AND Keefer Lake Lodge is now open.

Picture it: Amazing catski runs serviced by custom snow cat in the mountains by day, lunch and dinner prepared by our private chef. Warm up in the sauna with a drink in the evening, hot chocolate and a bonfire at night - all while staying in ridiculously comfortable lodgings. A guaranteed deep white Christmas of shredding the most incredible powder with your friends & family!

Party indoors with a games room and lounge with a hand crafted private bar, and gourmet kitchen staff ready for you.

Take advantage of the time off by booking into a brand new, exclusive, private, snow filled trip that you’ll talk about for years to come.

Everything here at Keefer Lake Lodge has been in the works to create the best catskiing experience for our guests. The Lodge, the Cat Roads, staff & guides, trails, and now the biggest, baddest, sexiest, one of a kind snow cat cabin! From nose to tail this bad boy is the most unique piece of snow adventure hardware you’ll ever get yourself into! Mounted on a brand new Piston Bully 400 Snow Cat, it’s a ride that Jeff Gostlin has been preparing for nearly 20 years! Picturing the design, improving, perfecting, developing and manufacturing - and now it’s a reality!!

Let me break it down for you real simple:

It’s a fully custom-fabricated cabin featuring a long list of upgrades and creature comforts to ensure guests have the most memorable trip. The cabin entrance is at the back of the cat, not the side, and the cool set of retractable steps will make getting into the cabin a breeze.

BEFORE YOU GET IN. The unmistakeable Keefer Lake Lodge logo is emblazoned proudly on the side. Custom engineered gear storage racks fitted on the outside of the cabin - nothing gets mixed up and disorganized or lost! Even convenient enclosed storage outside the main cab for extra gear and supplies but accessible via hatch from inside the cab!

No one has to ride backwards! All custom embroidered seats face forward. Every guest rides, and relaxes, in their own bucket seat with great back support and a view in all directions. Above each seat is a cubby that features a heated blower to store and dry your gear as you travel to your next run. The cubby is big enough for your helmets and small gear so you won’t have to fumble with everything in your lap, keep it on, or have it sit on the floor.

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Keefer Lake Lodge is almost complete!

Our good friend Paul Cotton stopped in for a visit yesterday and shared some photos of how the lodge is coming along. The BAR IS INCREDIBLE!

Notice the snow on the ground?

One of the best things about Keefer Lake Lodge is the natural beauty around it. Jeff took a natural approach to all aspects lodge construction by limiting waste and using eco friendly products. Alongside the existing solar panels, beautiful stone patterning, and amazing handcrafted woodwork, Jeff Gostlin has been diligent in implementing the Keefer Lake Green Initiative to even the most detailed things. Some things that we didn’t think could be eco friendly.

The beautiful hand shaped, crafted, stained woodwork and beams are only one of the many impressive features at Keefer Lake Lodge. Did you know that our painters used a stain created through an environmentally friendly process and one that won’t break down into harmful residue? All the stain on Keefer Lake Lodge used water and modified oil based products from a company called Sansin. The product forms a bond directly with the wood while drying. The painters then applied a second product called Enviro-stain. It provides a beautiful finish while letting the wood breathe. The wood won’t crack or break down due to harsh chemicals.

The Keefer Lake Green Initiative includes both Jeff’s approach to where he got the products and the people to apply the stain. The painters were local Kelowna and Vernon residents who took sincere pride in what they were doing and it shows through their work. The paint used is all Canadian made and manufactured. Sansin is a Canadian company based out of Ontario and one of the only paint & stain manufacturers that creates eco-friendly products like Enviro-Stain and their line of environmentally-friendly stains and sealants.

The new Keefer Lake Lodge is not only one of the most beautiful places in the region. We also strive to be as eco friendly as possible thanks to the Keefer Lake Green Initiative.

Come Catskiing with us and see. :)

When I first sat down with Jeff Gostlin to discuss the potential for me to be part of Team Keefer Lake, I got extremely excited when he started speaking of his Green Initiative and how he sees Keefer Lake Lodge fitting within this amazing community of Cherryville, B.C. Canada.  Jeff had policies and procedures already in place to utilise and protect our natural resources, including the lake and water quality, support local business and employ local staff wherever possible. I could not be happier since these are all things that I support with my whole heart and am excited to help implement and foster.

I have a passion for local creations and all things Earth/environmentally/eco :) friendly.  Since moving to Cherryville 9 years ago, I have been blown away by all of the local talent.  This community can, and does, make everything! After joining Keefer Lake Catskiing, we started contacting artists, artisans and businesses to set up contracts locally for everything from bedding to cleaning products to the art that decorates our new lodge.  

The most recent decision was to use 100% organic alpaca bedding, made locally by Crescent Moon Duvet & Pillow Company. 

This company has been in operation since 1997 and they create a truly luxurious product. The alpacas live in a pesticide free environment where no chemicals, bleach or dyes are used in the processing of their wool.  With the inclusion of 100% organic cotton fibres, the entire product is bio-degradable at the end of it’s life.

Keefer Lake Catskiing is extremely excited to be introducing our brand new snow cat and custom built cat cabin! We have a new lodge, brand new terrain, new cat roads, and now we’ve added a brand new cat to ensure our guests have a catski adventure they will never forget. It’s our inaugural year so we decided to do something really special – we’re purchasing a brand new Pisten Bully 400 snow cat and building a custom cat cabin. You’ve never seen let alone ridden in a cat cabin like this. This new machine is not your regular snow cat with a box.

For over 20 years Jeff Gostlin has been dreaming of building the ideal snow cat.

Can you say "pimped out ride”? Our new custom-fabricated cabin will feature a long list of upgrades and creature comforts. First off, the cabin entrance is at the back of the cat, not the side, and the cool set of retractable steps will make getting into the cabin a breeze.

But wait: It. Gets. Better! The front seating row is elevated from the rear 10 seats. Perched up front, these lucky guests will enjoy a 360 degree vista surrounded by glass. It will be like riding in the Observation Car.

Share your runs on the big screen! There will be a flat screen TV mounted up in front of the cab so you can show off those awesome photos and videos of the powder you just crushed. Ready to accept Bluetooth and hard wired too. Did we mention the sound system? We’ve made it super easy to sync a device to play music while you cruise to the top in the party cab!

With no exaggeration, this snow cat cabin is going to be the best available in all of Catskiing.

Book your trip to Keefer Lake Catskiing this winter and experience the Keefer difference.

 

We managed to get ourselves a furry little lumber manager this week. He’s pretty timid, but we figure he’ll get comfortable and join the family in no time :)

Summer out at the lodge has been pretty sweet taking advantage of the lake, playing and winding down the days with beautiful sunsets.

Nice photo of some fishermen out on the lake enjoying a calm evening. They brought in some pretty nice Rainbow Trout!

The NEW Keefer Lake Lodge construction is really coming along! The exterior siding is going up nicely, and loving that deep colour. The drywall is going up in the kitchen; we’ve got absolutely no doubt Chef Len’s sharpening his knives, ready to crank out the gourmet dishes!

Lastly this week Neil, the friendly neighbourhood saw instructor, went over the do’s and don’ts of chainsaw operations for the ever attentive Keefer Lake trail crew. Safety first!

Cory B.

I was flipping through some text messages on my phone from last year and I came across one from June 16th, 2015.  It said that things were off to a great start up here at Keefer Lake Catskiing but that it was -3 degrees!  Well, here we are almost a year later to the day, and after several weeks of brilliant sunshine in the last couple of months and it is snowing again!  

It has been a wet couple of weeks already but with temperatures dipping once again below zero the resort has taken on that familiar wintery feeling! Not quite enough to fire up the snow cats but most definitely enough to keep the great memories from this winter alive and well!

If you are coming up for a visit watch out for the little black bear up around 9 km on the Keefer Lake road!

More pics soon . . . Cory B.

Life at Keefer Lake Catskiing this week saw Jeff sanding on one of the crew-made log benches and chairs around the property. Calendar material.

Jeff, Dave and I put up the new Gostlin Keefer Lake sign at the junction of Highway 6 and Keefer Lake Road up near the Monashee summit.  

Chef Len cooked up another fantastic lunch as usual and Dave had to motivate himself to work.

Its June and there was a new dusting of snow up on the Dome. Mmmm. Catskiing.

More pics soon . . . Cory B.

Last week saw us raking and seeding the lake shore here at Keefer Lake Lodge. There should be a lovely grassy shoreline growing this summer.

Jeff was captured painting the cat shop before the shelving went in. Also the drywallers finished up the fire boarding in the chimney. The interior is coming along now.

Also some shots from the past winter, the solar farm that will provide power for Keefer Lake Lodge, the incredible natural timbers that frame the lodge entrance, and some of the cool carvings that will adorn the property.

Big thanks to Cory Bialecki for the photos.

For all of you following along here are some additional photos of how construction is progressing up at Keefer Lake.

Some highlights include all the boilers, solar batteries, water treatment, micro hydro power and so much more.

Our first year catskiing is over. We had a great year exploring our terrain and entertaining guests.

Over the winter work slowed on the exterior of Keefer Lake Lodge but we have been going full bore on the interior.

With the snow receding and the lake breaking up we are all hands on deck and working to get the lodge complete for the start of catskiing 2016/2017.

Some highlights include a working elevator to get between floors, most wood work is in, and floors are all poured.

Here are some recent photos of how the lodge is progressing.

Roof goes on and we get the first snow of the year. Perfect timing!

Porte Couchere going on the front entrance.

Septic system being installed.

Knee braces and deck going on.

Sheeting the roof at Gostlin Keefer Lake Lodge.

Last floor coming together.

Cat shop walls and roof on. Loving it!

Third Floor Nearing Completion

A true hybrid timber frame.

Roof trusses going on, oh my!

Cat shop walls going up.

Third floor walls up in one day!

Pre-fab buildings are awesome. They go up so fast.

Second floor sheeted.

3rd floor walls go up tomorrow.

Micro hydro and solar system going in.

Timber up!

Some cool timbers were added to the lodge today.

Second floor going up.

Outdoor wood furnaces

The new outdoor furnaces arrived the other day! We haven't hooked them up yet, but we are excited to light the first fire in a few days! Just hooking the system up.

Construction Update at Keefer Lake Lodge

Beams going on the lodge. Joists are next.

Keefer Lake Lodge foundations are in!

Construction begins!

Ground breaking up at Keefer this week.