Resorts set out to lure more enthusiasts onto chariot rides to the top of Colorado ski country
I know, you’re piste off. But a growing number of Colorado ski areas have a solution.
You know who you are. Either now or for the last few seasons, you’ve found yourself wandering farther and farther from the state’s gorgeous groomers. Your haunts are Lifts 8 and 9 at Loveland. You only see the front of Copper Mountain when it’s time to go home. You know what’s in the trees, and you like it.
Time to take a ride; a snowcat ride. More Colorado resorts and indie companies than ever are offering boarders and skiers a way to play in the snow where almost nobody else goes. Cats are carrying those who relish skiing the untamed mountain from the top of Chicago Ridge, into the Mirkwood Basin, down from Berthoud Pass and to the top of Loveland’s lofty crags. Skiers and riders with confidence and at least intermediate skills are treated to an all-you-can-eat buffet of doable powder, steeps and trees on terrain that’s everything from serene to extreme.
“This is not just an experience for experts,” said Colorado Ski Country spokesman Craig Bannister. “This is something for a wide range of skiers looking for a new kind of skiing experience.”
Not sure about it all? Start slowly. Loveland is offering their guests free cat rides on the south side of The Ridge, taking riders and skiers to advanced and expert snow that starts at 13,000 feet. “It gives us a chance to showcase some of the best terrain at Loveland that so many aren’t getting to see,” said Loveland Marketing Director John Sellers. With the price of a lift ticket, guests get a taste of just how much fun cat rides in the back country can be. “There’s no denying there’s a certain VIP factor to being chauffeured around in a snowcat that makes this kind of skiing irresistible.”
Copper Mountain has a similar experience, allowing ticketed skiers and boarders a free cat ride into parts of the mountain most skiers would never see because of the hike needed to get there. Try your hand at Monarch Mountain’s pristine Mirkwood Basin cat experience for a taste of everything that makes ski movies so pornographic. Wide tree runs, rolling ridges and steeps, powder that goes from the top of your bindings to the top of your knees in seconds. Even though these cat rides start from the top of a Monarch Mountain lift, within minutes, skiers are transported to some of the best backwoods skiing the state has to offer. And it’s for the average skier as much as it is for the elite and obsessed.
“It’s a phenomenal experience,” said Greg Ralph, marketing director for Monarch Mountain, west of Salida. “It means not crossing your tracks all day. We have terrain facing all aspects, so the guides are pretty adept at finding really good snow, even days after a storm.”
Yep, guides. Areas like Monarch and the indies, such as the San Juan Ski Company’s legendary cat tours at Purgatory near Durango, provide someone with a great deal of skill and experience who maps out what’s thrilling without being deadly. “I call it backcountry light,” Ralph said. “It’s all the thrill of backcountry skiing without the real dangers of going out there on your own.”
There is still some threat to your credit card, however. You don’t have to pull a second mortgage to play on these cats, but be prepared to fork over between $250 and $300 for about a dozen runs in a day, usually with a memorable lunch and the expertise of one or two guides.
“We feel that the experience is worth the cost,” said Ski Cooper Marketing Manager Bob Casey. It’s that good, he says about their program that drops skiers off with two guides somewhere among the 2,400 acres along the Chicago Ridge near Leadville. That, he points out, is the size of Copper Mountain. Lunch there is of the gourmet variety served from an exclusive yurt. The Chicago Ridge offers a wide range of terrain allowing most adept skiers to feel comfortable and wowed by the day.
Still worried? All of these programs invite the curious and cautious to call in and talk about whether they have the skills needed to make a cat skiing day in the backcountry an incredible adventure and not a miserable mistake. Casey said guides at Ski Cooper play to the group, meaning that even families with children are welcome and have some of the best days ever.
So go ahead. Kiss your trail goodbye and see what the float fantasy is all about. n