Cat Skiing

bheemsoth · Feb 21, 2016

My wife and I are heading to Beaver Creek/Vail 3/16-20. I had been planning on doing a 3 day Epic lift ticket, and my wife had been planning a two day, as she likely wouldn't ski more than that.

For Saturday I was worried about the crowds at BC/Vail. I did some googling and came across Vail Powder Guides - a cat skiing operation - http://www.vailpowderguides.com/. The price is a little steep ($450), but if this allows me to drop down to a 2 day pass, the true cost is $300. That's still a little steep, but is within my "splurge range."

My question is - has anyone done this type of cat skiing before? Is the experience worth it? They promote 10-12 powder runs and include lunch and usage of their powder skis, which seems fair to me.

Thoughts?

abc · Feb 21, 2016

If the main objective is crowd avoidance, you can go to BC on Saturday. It's considerably less crowded than Vail. In fact, I've never seen crowds on BV (but I hadn't done Vail/BC for the last few years so things may have changed, people might have "discovered" BC.

Hawkshot99 · Feb 21, 2016

I have never don e cat skiing as a day long event...but have gone and done it up above a open resort (powder mtn) and gotten pre opening powder runs from a cat.
If you are a big fan of powder skiing it is definatly something you need to do at least once in your life. You are able to find much better snow than the tracked out resort, and a good cat driver will take you to some awesome terrain.

Cannonball · Feb 21, 2016

If you REALLY want to avoid crowds look into this Cat Ski company in Leadville (<1hr from vail). http://skicooper.com/snowcat-tours/?fullsite=true

(I feel like I'm part of the Ski Cooper marketing dept lately)

bheemsoth · Feb 21, 2016

Cannonball said:
If you REALLY want to avoid crowds look into this Cat Ski company in Leadville (<1hr from vail). http://skicooper.com/snowcat-tours/?fullsite=true

(I feel like I'm part of the Ski Cooper marketing dept lately)

Thanks! That company is quite a bit cheaper and only a few minutes farther from Vail. I'll look into them!

skithetrees · Feb 21, 2016

I've been twice, and have to say I was disappointed both times. I went to the cat skiing option at grand targee and the other one about an hour east of Jackson (only two options in Jackson at the time). The snow was great, but the terrain was less than challenging for me. I had far more fun when we went back and my wife hired me a backcountry guide at Jackson for the day. Price was about the same, but the terrain was way better and far more challenging. Of course, I was doing a fair amount of climbing, so it is a different game than cat skiing, but if you are in the shape (and I barely was), I would recommend that route instead. The terrain will be far more personalized to what you like. But if you just want to rip some easy powder runs with a bunch of other people, cat skiing is a great option. I just don't think I would ever go again (or risk spending the money on a heli) unless I could fill the whole group with people that I knew and who skied similar to me.

BushMogulMaster · Feb 21, 2016

Cannonball said:
If you REALLY want to avoid crowds look into this Cat Ski company in Leadville (<1hr from vail). http://skicooper.com/snowcat-tours/?fullsite=true

(I feel like I'm part of the Ski Cooper marketing dept lately)

Keep it up and I'll have to put you on the payroll!

Chicago Ridge is pretty epic. 2,600 acres, 12 people. Good times. Let me know if you have any questions. Here's some stoke from this January:

bheemsoth · Feb 21, 2016

BushMogulMaster said:
Keep it up and I'll have to put you on the payroll!

Chicago Ridge is pretty epic. 2,600 acres, 12 people. Good times. Let me know if you have any questions. Here's some stoke from this January:

Sold!

BushMogulMaster · Feb 21, 2016

bheemsoth said:
Sold!

What date are you interested in? We're pretty heavily booked this year, so let's take a look at availability ASAP!

bheemsoth · Feb 21, 2016

BushMogulMaster said:
What date are you interested in? We're pretty heavily booked this year, so let's take a look at availability ASAP!

I was hoping for Saturday 3/19, but I will be in Vail on the 17th and 18th as well.

BushMogulMaster · Feb 21, 2016

bheemsoth said:
I was hoping for Saturday 3/19, but I will be in Vail on the 17th and 18th as well.

18th and 19th are fully booked, unfortunately. But we have 9 seats available on the 17th. Let me know, and I'll get you in touch with Ridge Booking.

SIKSKIER · Feb 22, 2016

Set your expectations not as you would for a destination British Columbia catskiing experience and you will have fun.It certainly is a different way to access terrain.However,when you get a chance you must try the real deal like Mustang Powder where snowfall averages towards 800 inches.http://www.mustangpowder.com/

bheemsoth · Feb 24, 2016

BushMogulMaster said:
18th and 19th are fully booked, unfortunately. But we have 9 seats available on the 17th. Let me know, and I'll get you in touch with Ridge Booking.

Okay, I'll take one of those seats on the 17th. Should I just call the main number?

BushMogulMaster · Feb 25, 2016

bheemsoth said:
Okay, I'll take one of those seats on the 17th. Should I just call the main number?

719-486-2277 between 9am and 3pm mountain time.

Cat Skiing

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