By Powderhound Matt \ February 28 2013
Oct 9 2013
Oct 9 2013
Oct 9 2013
Oct 9 2013
Oct 9 2013
Oct 9 2013
Oct 9 2013
Oct 9 2013
Oct 9 2013
Oct 9 2013
Who knew Snowbird had cat skiing? I sure as hell didn’t. How is it even possible, that the guy who calls himself the “Powderhound” was unaware of such offerings. When I got the call Sunday night to test out the goods on Monday morning, the day after a 20” dump in Little Cottonwood, needless to say I switched up my plans, set the alarm clock and hit the sack.
Cat Skiing is new to the Bird... here is my take on the whole situation. Let’s say you’re a tourist and you’re on vacation. It just dumped on the mountain, and you skied the resort the entire day. Obviously, your sea level loving legs are shot. You still have another day tomorrow... and you don’t want to hit the 300 vertical feet of tracked runs. How do you still ski the Greatest Snow on Earth? Get on the phone (801) 947-8222 and book a day with Cat Skiing for Nature Adventure. You’ll be able to spend the entire morning skiing Powder at your own pace with no competition.
With that ticket, you get a first class breakfast at the Forklift Restaurant. It’s at the Base of the Tram and is a huge upgrade from those operations that say “breakfast included,” which really only equates to a Cliff Bar.
Breakfast is followed by a quick orientation and a PrePublic Tram ride! That in itself is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. From there, you get to rip around Mineral Basin all by yourself. When I say rip, I mean it! We were going full throttle back there, skiing at speeds up to 65 mph. Depending on how fast you go you can get one to three laps before the public shows up.
From there, it’s out to the Bookends Traverse and the real meat and potatoes of the day. The Cat Skiing. Now, like I said earlier, the terrain is new back there so the opportunities are endless... but for now the set up is super mellow and relaxed. You don’t need to be a pro skier to take this tour.
Once your Cat has reached its final destination, your group will ski between 6 and 10 Cat laps in an old growth forest. That in itself is extremely rare in Utah because of our mining history. If your not sure what I’m talking about, Spencer and Jono your guides will get you up to speed on your Little Cottonwood mining history. These guys seem to be mining buffs with all the knowledge they unloaded on our group.
As the day rolls on you’ll ski untracked powder in shots that range from 600 to 900 vertical feet. It’s not overwhelming but certainly not underwhelming either. You won’t find the super challenging terrain Snowbird offers at the resort, but you will find the famous champagne powder the Bird and Little Cottonwood Canyon are famous for.
So to summarize, here is the deal. Get to Snowbird, ski the heck out of the resort on the powder day and just as you begin to run out of gas but are still craving more, make your reservation and guarantee yourself another day of skiing totally untracked powder. Now this is just my opinion, but I think skiing 1-3 days after a storm would be the best time to ski this terrain. You don’t necessarily want to be there the day it’s dumping, I mean why would you when you have the legendary terrain of Snowbird and chairlifts at your disposal. Well that’s my take on the situation. Let me know if any of you have been out there yet.
Matt Baydala
Ski Utah's Ultimate Powderhound
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14 Comments
Bob larsen \ 2.3 years ago
Don't waste your time on the backcountry skiing at Snowbird the runs are very short and not worth it at all. They are basically taking away a portion of where we used to ski has the public and turned it into CAT scan and ruined it so very expensive for maybe a 10 second round at the most
Matt Baydala \ 5.1 years ago
Better believe it Kevin, Tim is my father. Then obviously there is Mary Jo, Troy a.k.a Tack, Terry, Tom and Sue. Kevin do you make it out to Utah often?
Kevin Haig \ 5.1 years ago
Hey Matt
Any relation to the Baydala's from Garden City South. I graduated Carey 1969
joe pow \ 5.1 years ago
well it does not look fun at all -- it was all skied out tracks everywhere- big fat skies no face shots lazy day for big $$ no thank you
Matt Baydala \ 5.1 years ago
Hey Richard send me your email and I'll get you what you need.
Dave \ 5.1 years ago
Looks fantastic! Geoengineeringwatch.org for why our weather is so crazy
richard \ 5.1 years ago
Hey Matt,
Great film! Was such a fun day, please send over the images, as we'd like to print them up, oh and the film would be very cool too. Thanks
Matt Baydala \ 5.1 years ago
Sam, Snowbird does offer some sort of pass that allows you early morning tram access as well no lift lines at any lift including the tram. I think it's call the Seven Summits pass. As expected it's super pricey, out of my league for sure... Hey there is always the lottery right? Oh yeah, just not in Utah...
daven kaopua \ 5.1 years ago
What I also dis like are those great photos snowbird uses in all their marketing materials not stating it was from pre public times that they were taken suckering in those not in the know.
Sam wadsworth \ 5.1 years ago
I am so annoyed by pre-public skiing. I guess money talks.
Matt Baydala \ 5.1 years ago
Hey Rob, glad you had fun. Find me on facebook -Matt Baydala or Twitter @ISkiDeepPow and get me your email address. I can email all the photos I have of you.
Matt Baydala \ 5.1 years ago
Glad you guys had a good time, I know I did. I will email you guys the photos tonight when I get home from work.
Kirstin \ 5.1 years ago
Matt-This looks great.
Soundtrack is what I actually had playing at one point, perfect tune for a great day.
Hope to ski with you again.
Rob \ 5.1 years ago
Matt! Had a blast from this day. Shoot me some of those pics or give me a link to these so I can rub this in my buddy's face hahaha.
Thanks in Advance!