ability
Guests should be advanced or expert skiers and be able to ski/ride in variable snow conditions and in tight trees in deep powder.
If you question your skiing/riding abilities, you probably shouldn't book an individual seat with us. Instead, we encourage you to rent the entire cat with powder instruction for you and 11 of your friends. (Check out our specials for private learn-to-ski powder cats.)
Our choice of ski terrain each day is based on avalanche hazard, snow conditions and group abilities. We like to challenge you and the group as much as abilities and snow conditions allow.
Before booking a trip with us, here are a few things to consider.
1. You should be in good physical condition. You will be skiing deep backcountry powder at high elevations (most of our runs are at or above 10,000 feet).
2. We do not groom any runs. Weather and ski conditions are impossible to predict, so come prepared to ski or ride anything. While we do our best to find powder every run, we might have to ski areas of sun-baked or windblown snow to the powder stashes below. Our runs sometimes funnel into narrow drainages (that take us to the snowcat) with drops and obstacles.
3. Some of our best skiing is in steep, tight trees!
4. We ski powder! Lots of it. Every run. (Except in spring, when we ski corn, and even then we will surprise you with a powder stash or two, or three, or more).
5. If you are expecting to ski 50-degree chutes and huck 50-foot airs every run, you will be disappointed. Occasionally, and mainly in spring, we are able to ski this kind of terrain when conditions and group abilities allow. So, if you are a super skier/rider we suggest you get eleven of your friends who like to do that stuff as well, book a snowcat for your group, and we'll do our best to make your dreams come true.
Each year we get a couple of over-ambitious guests who get in over their heads (literally!) Nobody wants to hold up the rest of the group on a powder day or to be held up by a slow skier/rider. For those of you who do hold up a group, you may be asked to sit out a run or two or possibly the remainder of the day.
Remember, skiers and snowboarders often beat the snowcat down by a few minutes. Usually, slower skiers/riders do not slow down the pace or amount runs for a group. What does slow down a group is pokiness gearing up, buried or lost equipment due to falls or faulty equipment, or not following the guides' directions.