Cat Skiing for Powder Hounds
By Peter Schroeder
Cheaper than heli-skiing and easier than trudging into the backcountry, snowcat skiing is a great way to break out beyond the ski-area boundaries and get into powdery terrain far from civilization.
If you’re new to ’cat skiing, know some key pointers before setting out.
Getting Ready
You don’t have to be an expert, but you should be an intermediate skier or able to handle black diamonds. Tree-skiing experience is a plus, but not necessary. If you don’t have your own equipment, the operator will provide fat powder skis, which allow you to ride high rather than sink to your hips.
You’ll be both hot and cold, so dress in layers. You’ll work hard getting through the deep stuff, but you may have to stand in the cold while waiting for the snowcat to meet you at the bottom. In case the weather changes, bring a daypack with additional clothing that’s easy to put on and take off. You can leave extra garb you don’t need in the ‘cat while making a run.
Sweet Vertical
Your day begins early with an orientation as your guide reviews backcountry safety guidelines and checks everyone’s equipment. Before you know it, you’re part of a group clambering into a snowcat with a custom-built cab, usually heated and often with a pot of coffee steaming in the corner. Soon the big machine starts cutting a track through fresh powder as it ascends into the high country.
Twenty minutes or so later, you disembark and steps into your skis or snowboards. You’ll attach powder cords to your bindings and stuff the ends into your ski pants. If you lose a ski in the deep snowfields, the DayGlo strips will make it easier to find.
You adjust your goggles, gulp a deep breath of the frigid morning air, and you’re off down the slope, keeping your guide in sight as you carve a signature in terrain that may never have been skied before.
At the bottom of the run, the snowcat is waiting. The driver took a shortcut that didn’t disturb your run and still beat you down. A few more runs, each one different, and then you’re delivered to a yurt where a hot lunch is waiting. An hour later you’re back on the slopes for more runs. You’ll rack up 12,000 to 15,000 vertical. Sweet!
Prices and Beyond
Figure on paying about $300 for a full day of skiing, and $200 for a half-day. The price usually includes rental of powder skis, lunch and snacks. But forget the cost. You’ve just earned a lifetime of memories. Now it’s time to start thinking about your next cat-skiing adventure – or maybe stepping up to a heli-skiing trip.
Cat Skiing Operators
Washington
Cascade Powder Cats – www.cascadepowdercats.com
Oregon
Mount Bailey Snowcat Skiing – www.catskimtbailey.com
Anthony Lakes – www.anthonylakes.com
Idaho
Brundage CatSki Adventures – www.brundage.com
Peak Adventures Snowcat Boarding – www.peaksnowcats.com
Selkirk Powder Company – www.selkirkpowderco.com/
Montana
Montana Backcountry Adventures – www.skimba.com
Utah
Park City Powder Cats – www.pccats.com
Powder Mountain – www.powdermountain.com
Wyoming
Grand Targhee Resort – www.grandtarghee.com
Togwotee Mountain Lodge Snowcat Skiing – www.togwoteelodge.com
British Columbia
Baldface Lodge – www.baldface.net
Big Red Catskiing – www.bigredcatskiing.com
Cat Powder Skiing – www.catpowder.com
Chatter Creek Mountain Lodges – www.chattercreek.travel.bc.ca
Fernie Wilderness Adventures – www.fernieadventures.com
Great Northern Snowcat – www.greatnorthernsnowcat.com
Highland Powder Skiing – www.highlandpowderskiing.com
Incredible Mountain tours – www.adventurevalley.com
Island Lake Lodge – www.islandlakelodge.com
Monashee Powder Adventures – www.monasheepowder.com
Powder Cowboy Catskiing – www.powdercowboy.com
Retallack Alpine Adventures – www.retallack.com
Selkirk Wilderness Snowcat Skiing – www.selkirkwilderness.com
White Grizzly Adventures – www.whitegrizzly.com
