MCCALL, Idaho — Cat Skiing operations take skiers and snowboarders beyond resort boundaries and into the backcountry, where an untouched canvas of powder snow is just waiting for a set of tracks.
Brundage Mountain Resort got 29 inches at the summit of the resort this week, and there's more snow in the forecast.
It should be a pretty good President's Day Weekend as Brundage has also fired up their SnowCat Adventures.
Check out the video to see what it's like to go cat skiing at Brundage
"It’s sick, it is absolutely insane," said Connor Hill, who grew up in McCall and was a guest on the cat skiing expedition. "The snow has been awesome, I'm so stoked to be out here, it has been amazing."
Brundage features a cat skiing operation through a special use permit with the Payette National Forest on 18,000 acres. They use a snow cat to navigate 54 miles of roads, providing skiers and snowboarders with a unique way to experience the backcountry.
"My favorite part about being out here is just riding," said Hill. "We get away from everybody, we get away from the lift lines, and there is untracked snow."
The operation features three different guides, Jaime Mitchell served as our lead guide, bringing nine years of experienc,e which not only got us to the best snow, but his team also makes sure we stay safe in the backcountry. We all had to wear an avalanche beacon, and Jaime put us through a drill before we hit the slopes.
"We tailor the trip over the day to the avalanche hazards for the specific day," said Mitchell. "We make sure everyone is having a good time as far as ability goes, we don’t want to put somebody in some terrain that is a little bit over their head."
The day started at 7:30 a.m., and we got in 12 runs and more than 10,000 vertical feet of skiing before arriving back at Brundage Mountain Resort at around 5:00 p.m. In between the runs, we got views of the Seven Devils, the Wallows, and we could even see further into Oregon to the Blue Mountains near La Grande.
“I’ll probably do this job until I can’t ski anymore; this is one of the best jobs I’ve ever had," said Mitchell. "It is super rewarding, everybody is here to have a good time, and it is just a great experience."
Cat skiing is suitable for intermediate to advanced riders. I have to admit I struggled a little bit as this was the first powder skiing I've done all winter.
I can also speak for everyone involved on the trip that it was an incredible experience with real professionals leading the operation.
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