It has been said that “necessity is the Mother of invention″ and although this may be accurate, in several instances it can also be debated that “intelligence, interest and a enthusiasm to explore″ are noteworthy contributing factors in relation to pioneers and how they “arrive at” their discoveries.
Catskiing was brought to life within the beautiful British Columbia mountains, more than 25 years ago, by Allan Drury and his spouse Brenda when he realized that the ski hill grooming machines, which so far had been used only for “grooming”, would be a wonderful means for assessing BC catskiing terrain – provided, of course, that there were accessible roads to journey on. From there, history was made.
Because of his ingenuity, Allan is most assuredly attributed as being the inventor of catskiing, as well as its pioneer. Having promoted the sport of cat skiing to its current stage, Allan managed by some means to combine the challenge and pleasure of skiing formerly unknown backcountry terrain into the hobby of catskiing that we now so completely enjoy and revel in!
While this concept was immediately seized upon by a group of devoted skiing enthusiasts who were more than delighted to discover yet another new way to take pleasure in a favorite hobby, it has really only been in the last 10 to fifteen years that the idea of catskiing has really gained main stream acceptance – particularly in regions such as Canada (where it’s estimated that 90 percent of the cat skiing trade will be found), the USA, New Zealand as well as, surprisingly, Chile.
As with countless ideas, technology has had a hand in helping to “improve″ the recognition of the sport, by offering “snow cats” that comfortably transport a group of people up incredibly steep grades and over harsh land – thus improving the overall experience for any catskiing enthusiast.
As the sport of catskiing expands and as more and more “baby boomers”, in addition to the younger generations, embrace and search out the challenges and discoveries that catskiing presents, it’s apparent that cat skiing is here to stay.
Knowing all this, it’s comforting to recognize that in spite of the recent passing of Allan Drury, the sport of catskiing continues to grow and bring together new followers. Thankfully, Drury enjoyed a long and joyful life and was witness to only how widespread his “invention″ turned out to be. We are thankful that Allan left all skiers with such a beautiful legacy.
Want to find out more about cat skiing, then visit Walter Down’s blog on the Catskiing Directory to decide on the best catskiing vacation for your upcoming trip.
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