Required Skill Level
For safety reasons, guests at PC Powder Cats must be advanced or expert skiers and riders.
That means you can ride an ungroomed black diamond run in any conditions (powder, slush, ice, crust, etc.). We do not have groomed terrain.
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Detailed ReportA typical day
8:30: Arrive at our cabin at Private Ranch. Check in with our staff and fill out all forms
8:40: Meet your guides, Beacons distributed, lead guide gives snowcat assignments, orientation for day along with safety protocols.
9:00: Hop in the cat, review safety protocols in depth.
9:45: Arrive at a slope, take your first run (one at a time for safety).
10:00: Ski untouched powder with 5-10 minute cat rides between laps. Chat, snack, and hydrate between runs.
12:00: Lunch of sandwiches, wraps, soups, teas, and fresh-baked goods.
1:00: Boots on, roll out.
1:15: Powder, bowls, chutes, glades, etc.
3:45: Return to cabin.
4:30: Celebrate how epic your day was.
*Weather, snow conditions, & avalanche danger dictate terrain choice.
PCPC provides:
- Small Continental Breakfast/Lunch/ Snacks
- Water
- Avalanche Beacon
Please bring:
- Skiing or snowboarding equipment
- Sunscreen/chapstick
- Backpack with extra layers, socks, gloves, etc.
- Probe and shovel (optional)
- Strong quads and friends who rarely complain
Please wear:
- Your resort skiing outerwear
- Base and mid-layer depending on the weather
- A helmet (optional, but highly recommended)
A word on powder skis and boards:
- Once upon a time, skiers used to use 10-foot-long planks. The skis got shorter as technology improved. And then, along with most Americans, skis got fatter.
- If you still rock early 2000s skinnies, power to you. BUT, if you’d like to get the most out of PC Powder Cats, bring skis with at least 100 mm. underfoot.
- Boarders, almost any snowboard will be adept in powder. Even still, consider bringing a powder or freeride board. They will a) Float better, b) Save energy, and c) Prevent those unexpected wipeouts where your nose dives under the snow. Simply put: powder skis and boards = more fun for less work.
