The Ultimate Skiing Experience
By Lockie Brown, Thu Dec 8th

Powder snow provides downhill skiers the ultimate skiingexperience. For most skiers however, good “powder” is ashort-lived and infrequent pleasure. Ski areas in somegeographic areas enjoy frequent “powder days” but in most areas,powder is rare and the dryness and depth of snow is oftenmarginal.

In most ski areas too, when powder does occur, it is only amatter of hours before it is completely "tracked out”, lumped upand beaten down. Only those few early birds that ride the firstchairs in the morning get the ultimate run of the day, in deep,consistent, smooth, untracked snow. Oh joy!

For years, avid “powder hounds” have headed for the backcountryto ski the powder among remote alpine peaks, far from crowdedski areas. Many enjoy the peace and quiet of ski touring andmove and ski at a pace governed by their own physical fitnessand endurance. Ski touring enthusiasts tend to be young and fit,very experienced and knowledgeable in backcountry travel. Theyare well equipped and self-contained.

Others who may be less fit or have limited time, but enjoyfairly “deep pockets”, have skied the backcountry fromhelicopters. For about $1000 per day, heli-operators offer smallproficient groups guided on huge pristine slopes, high inthe mountains. Guests stay in comfortable lodges and spend theirdays being shuttled back and forth with their guides, with eachrun on a fresh untracked slope. Helicopters are very expensiveand must be kept flying. Many operators will share one machineamong multiple groups. Helicopter has its“issues”. There are “down days” when storms make flyingimpossible, there is the economic need for efficiency and thereis always the inherent risk of all backcountry skiing: avalanche.

Avalanche risk depends on many factors and much special trainingand experience is needed to assess risk. All reputablebackcountry operators provide highly qualified guides toaccompany their guests. Guides choose areas for and asafe route down the hill. On days of poor weather or unstablesnow, guides may avoid alpine areas and restrict their groups to"skiing the trees”.

Tree is a fixture of all mechanized backcountry skiingand is even preferred by some skiers to the more open “alpine”skiing. Tree skiers often enjoy the deepest and lightest snow,unaffected by wind or sun.

In recent years, a new type of mechanized backcountry skioperator has emerged. Snowcat operators use snowcats totransport skiers and snowboarders into high backcountry regions.Snowcats are fitted with comfortable cabs that usually seat 12clients and two guides.

Of course, snowcats are much slower than helicopters. They arealso much less expensive and guests can expect to pay between$500 and $600 a day, including transportation, lodging, meals,and guiding. As slow as snowcats may be, most clients will wearthemselves out every day and get just as much as theirgroup can handle.

The great advantage of cat

Savoie / Val D Isere Face Du Charvet

Savoie / Val D Isere Tour Du Charvet

Hautes-Alpes / Serre Chevalier Off Piste

Isere-Drome / Dome De Pravouta

Isere-Drome / Col De La Lavey North

Isere-Drome / Grand Replomb by the br?e Ouest

Isere-Drome / Rochers Du Midi Via Sources Du Guiers

Isere-Drome / La Combe Du Giclas

Isere-Drome / les Illettes by the col de l'Aigleton

Isere-Drome / Dents De Bedina East Face

Isere-Drome / Cime De La Jasse

Hautes-Alpes / La Rouya North Couloir

Haute-Savoie / Pointe Du Midi South west Couloir

Isere-Drome / Grands Moulins South Face

Isere-Drome / Pic De Barlet North West Bowl

Jura / La Dole Figure Of Eight From La Cergue

Haute-Savoie / Point Du Midi Tour Of The Cu Deri

Jura / Pointe De Poele Chaud East Couloir

Haute-Savoie / Le Mole Normal Route

Haute-Savoie / Sur Cou South Face

is that “down” days almostnever occur. Clients ski every day and bad weather can oftenmean extra-good snow. Cat is more relaxed and “laid back”than heli as there is no need to share equipment betweengroups or to maximize equipment usage. Cat is very“client-friendly”. Each group has a dedicated machine and itmoves at the group’s pleasure. Weaker skiers can be at ease andnot feel “pushed”.

Snowcats provide a relatively quiet, relaxed environment inwhich the trip back up the hill can be almost as much fun as therun down. Guests sit in soft individual seats. They can“unbutton”, dry out, warm up, converse, share bad jokes andbrowse on sandwiches, cookies, cake and drinks. If a guest getstired, it’s easy to “sit out” a run and ride down to the nextpickup with the cat driver.

Helicopter is much less restricted geographically thansnowcat skiing. This permits greater opportunity to find “greatsnow”. However, there is a drawback. Since they can operate in amuch larger area, heli-operators may sometimes be less familiarwith changing snow conditions and risk factors than snowcatoperators who work in a more restricted area. Snowcat operatorsmake greater use of a smaller area and get to know it very well.Snowcat operators have easy access their terrain by snowmobileand can implement snow testing and slope stabilization measuresthat are much more difficult and expensive for heli-operators.

Most snowcat operators have ample terrain to consistentlyprovide clients with good snow conditions, even in periods ofdrought, and to ensure that clients exhaust themselves everyday. Chatter Creek Mountain Lodges Ltd. operates in a 130 sq. kmarea and ski between the elevations of 4900ft and 9500 ft.Monashee Powder Adventures (Tsuius) advertises an area of 66 sq.km and operates between the elevations of 7800 ft and 3,000 ft.Baldface Lodge uses over 140 sq km. Guests need not worry aboutrunning out of terrain!

Snowcat provides a wonderful holiday for intermediate andadvanced skiers alike. Individuals, family groups, groups offriends, business associates can have a “trip to remember”.Operators with remote lodges offer a real “backcountry”experience, usually with good food and very comfortableaccommodations.

The Chatter News photo journal(http://powder-skiing.blogspot.com) has over 350 andterrain photos from Chatter Creek. Refer to the Cat Articles photo gallery(http://cat-skiing-articles.blogspot.com) for a close look atsnowcat skiing.

About the author:Lockie Brown lives near Vancouver, B.C. and skis at Whistler. Hehas cat skied for a number of years, taking groups of 12 and 24friends to different cat ski venues in British Columbia. He nowtakes his groups to Chatter Creek SnowCat Skiing near GoldenBC. (www.chatterceekcatskiing.com )