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The Ultimate Skiing Experience

For most skiers however, good “powder” is a short-lived and infrequent pleasure. Ski areas in some geographic areas enjoy frequent “powder days” but in most areas, powder is rare and the dryness and depth of snow is often marginal.

In most ski areas too, when powder does occur, it is only a matter of hours before it is completely "tracked out”, lumped up and beaten down. Only those few early birds that ride the first chairs in the morning get the ultimate run of the day, in deep, consistent, smooth, untracked snow. Oh joy!

For years, avid “powder hounds” have headed for the backcountry to ski the powder among remote alpine peaks, far from crowded ski areas. Many enjoy the peace and quiet of ski touring and move and ski at a pace governed by their own physical fitness and endurance. Ski touring enthusiasts tend to be young and fit, very experienced and knowledgeable in backcountry travel. They are well equipped and self-contained.

Others who may have less ambition or limited time, but fairly “deep pockets”, have skied the backcountry from helicopters. For about $1000 per day, heli-operators offer small proficient groups guided skiing on huge pristine slopes, high in the mountains. Guests stay in comfortable lodges and spend their days being shuttled back and forth with their guides, with each run on a fresh untracked slope. Helicopters are very expensive and must be kept flying. Many operators will share one machine among multiple skiing groups.

Helicopter skiing has its “issues”. There are “down days” when storms make flying impossible, there is the economic need for efficiency and there is always the inherent risk of all backcountry skiing: avalanche.

Avalanche risk depends on many factors and much special training and experience is needed to assess risk. All reputable backcountry operators provide highly qualified guides to accompany their guests. Guides choose areas for skiing and a safe route down the hill. On days of poor weather or unstable snow, guides may avoid alpine areas and restrict their groups to "skiing the trees”. Tree skiing is a fixture of all mechanized backcountry skiing and is even preferred by some skiers to the more open “alpine” skiing. Tree skiers often enjoy the deepest and lightest snow, unaffected by wind or sun.

In recent years, a new type of mechanized backcountry ski operator has emerged. Snowcat skiing operators use snowcats to transport skiers and snowboarders into high backcountry regions. Snowcats are fitted with comfortable cabs that usually seat 12 clients and two guides.

Of course, snowcats are much slower than helicopters. They are also much less expensive and guests can expect to pay between $500 and $600 a day, including transportation, lodging, meals, and guiding. As slow as snowcats may be, most clients will wear themselves out every day and get just as much skiing as their group can handle.

The great advantage of cat skiing is that “down” days almost never occur. Clients ski every day and bad weather can often mean extra-good snow. Cat skiing is more relaxed and “laid back” than heli skiing as there is no need to share equipment between groups or to maximize equipment usage. Cat skiing is very “client-friendly”. Each group has a dedicated machine and it moves at the group’s pleasure. Weaker skiers can be at ease and not feel “pushed”.

Snowcats provide a relatively quiet, relaxed environment in which the trip back up the hill can be almost as much fun as the run down. Guests sit in soft individual seats. They can “unbutton”, dry out, warm up, converse and browse on sandwiches, cookies, cake and drinks. If a guest gets tired, it’s easy to “sit out” a run and ride down to the next pickup with the cat driver.

Helicopter skiing is much less restricted geographically than snowcat skiing. This permits greater opportunity to find “great snow”. However, there is a drawback. Since they can operate in a much larger area, heli-operators may sometimes be less familiar with changing snow conditions and risk factors than snowcat operators who work in a more restricted area. Snowcat operators make greater use of a smaller area and tend to get to know it very well. Snowcat operators have easy access their terrain by personal snowmobile and can implement snow testing and slope stabilization measures that are much more difficult and expensive for heli-operators.

Most snowcat operators have ample terrain to consistently provide clients with good snow conditions, even in periods of drought, and to ensure that clients exhaust themselves every day. Chatter Creek Mountain Lodges Ltd. operates in a 130 sq. km area and ski between the elevations of 4900ft and 9500 ft. Monashee Powder Adventures (Tsuius) advertises an area of 66 sq. km and operates between the elevations of 7800 ft and 3,000 ft. Baldface Lodge uses over 140 sq km. Guests need not worry about running out of terrain!

Snowcat skiing provides a wonderful holiday for intermediate and advanced skiers alike. Individuals, family groups, groups of friends, business associates can have a “trip to remember”. Operators with remote lodges offer a real “backcountry” experience, usually with good food and very comfortable accommodations.

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Lockie Brown is retired and lives near Vancouver, B.C., Canada. He has cat skied for about 10 years, taking groups of 12 and 24 friends to different cat ski venues in British Columbia. He now takes his groups to Chatter Creek near Golden, B.C.

Ski Terms
alpine		ordinary downhill skiing
aprčs ski		whatever you do after you ski, e.g. get drunk, swimming, shopping
boot liner		soft stuff in your boots
boot shell		hard plastic boot coating
boot tree		boot-carrying device
bowl skiing		skiing on wide slopes with no trees
carve		to turn making a clean arc
diagonal stride		going forwards, pushing out diagonally. used in cross-country skiing
dropping		what a snowboarder shouts when he is 'dropping in' to warn others of his presence
dropping in		entering the pipe by means of either wall
drag lift		lift that drags you, rather than carrying you in a chair
edge		metal strip in skis and also verb to push skis into the snow
express chair		high speed chair lift
fall line		quickest route down the slope
fat skis		bigger than usual skis
flat		the flat bottom of the pipe between the two walls
flex		how much the ski bends
free riding		snowboarding across any terrain
freestyle		snowboarding with fancy maneuvers, e.g. jumps
glade		slope with lots of trees
get air		to jump in snowboarding
heli ski		helicopter skiing, used for accessing pure, powder nosw high up in the mountains
hit		ridge in the snow for jumping- how you 'get air' in snowboarding
lip		the acute angle at which the wall terminates
log slide		log used for sliding in snowboarding
micro ski		see 'ski boarding'
off-piste		skiing away from marked runs. can be dangerous, e.g. risk of avalanches, not patrolled
parabolic skis		hourglass-shaped micro skis (see 'ski boarding')
piste		slope
powder		fresh snow
run		when a rider completes the full length of the pipe, linking several 'hits' in the process
shell		un-insulated ski jacket
ski boarding		skiing using short skis with greater carving ability, unsuitable for deep snow
skierised car		car kitted out for skiers
snow blading		see 'ski boarding'
snow cat		a car on skis used to get to inaccessible areas
snow plough		braking manoeuver, by forming a triangle with your skis
super g		new downhill skiing discipline
t-bar		lift that pulls skiers up by a bar
transition		the angle arching between the 'flat' and the 'vert' of the wall
treeline		point at which the trees stop
vert		the top section if the wall that is completely flat
walls		the vertical sides to a pipe. These comprise two elements- the 'transition' and the 'vert'
wedge		braking manoeuver
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Snowboard Terms Backside The backside of the snowboard is the side where your heels sit. The backside of a snowboarder is the side to which his/her back faces. Baseless bindings Snowboard bindings that don’t use a baseplate, so the boot sits directly on the snowboard. Some riders say it gives them a better feel for the snow and more control. Others find them just a worthless gimmick, no better than baseplates. Blindside Any rotation where the rider approaches or lands “blind” to the direction of travel such that he/she must look over his/her shoulder. An air performed with this technique usually increases the level of difficulty. BoarderCross Competition Like their motorcycle counterparts in motorcross, boardercross participants race through turns and obstacles and jumps in heats of 4-6 riders. Bonk To hit a non-snow object with the snowboard while riding as part of a trick. Boost To catch air off a jump or a halfpipe. Bust A more enthusiastic version of to the verb “to do”, e.g. “Check out this shot of Ryan busting a huge air!” Camber The amount of space beneath the center of a snowboard when it lays on a flat surface and its weight rests on the tip and tail. Cant The angle at which either foot points pigeon-toed or duck-footed. The angle of your feet affects whether your knees bend toward or away from each other. Centered stance Your stance is centered when your bindings are mounted on the snowboard so the distance between the tip and the front binding is the same as that between the tail and the rear binding. With your bindings set this way, you would have similar control riding forwards or backwards. Chatter Vibration of the snowboard as a result of high speed, tight turns, and/or icy conditions. Corduroy A term to describe the tracks left by a snowcat grooming a trail. Corduroy is usually great for laying out clean turns. Dampening Reducing vibration (chatter) to increase handling. A shock-absorbent material like rubber is sometimes laminated into boards for this purpose. Delaminate Separation of the layers in your snowboard, usually the result of long-term usage, impact from crashes, or a board defect. Directional stance Your stance is directional when your bindings are mounted on the snowboard so the distance between the tip and the front binding is different from that between the tail and the rear binding. With your bindings set this way, you would ride more easily in your preferred direction. Duckfoot You are duckfooted if your stance angles have your toes pointing outward like a duck. Effective edge The length of your snowboard’s metal edge that makes contact with the snow. When you turn, you shift your weight to your effective edge. Fakie Riding backwards, meaning the opposite direction than your usual stance. Fall line Like a plumb line is to wallpaper, the fall line is to a slope. It’s the path of gravity’s pull on you down the hill. Flat bottom The part of the halfpipe between the two walls. Flex Describes the stiffness of a snowboard. Different degrees of flex are better for different styles of riding. Forward Lean The degree to which the highbacks of traditional bindings or the boots of plate bindings keep your ankles and calves bent over your toes. Freeriding Snowboarding for fun on any terrain, not including a halfpipe. Freestyle snowboarding Usually associated with riding a halfpipe, but encompasses any kind of riding that includes tricks. Front hand/foot The hand/foot closest to the nose of the snowboard. For regular-footed riders, the front is the left hand and foot. For goofy footed riders, the front is the right hand and foot. Frontside The frontside of the snowboard is the side where your toes sit. The frontside of a snowboarder is the side to which his/her front faces Goofy footed Riding with the right foot closest to the nose of the snowboard. Grab To hold the edge of the snowboard with one or both hands during an air or other trick. Halfpipe Built with snow, a halfpipe is a vertical U-shaped structure used in freestyle snowboarding. Like a skateboarding halfpipe, riders use the opposing walls to get air and perform tricks as they travel down the fall line of the slope. Hard boots Similar to ski boots, hard boots are rigid and made from hard plastic. They are typically used for carving and racing. Many freeriders dislike the stiffness and prefer the soft boots typically used with strap bindings. The Belligerent" Sinch Strap gives the convenience of step-ins without sacrificing the comfort of soft boots. Heel Drag/Overhang Bindings should as centered as possible between the toe and heel edges. When they are placed too far toward the heel side, the heels drag in the snow while riding and interfere with turns, etc. Heel edge The edge of the snowboard where the heels sit. Heelside turn A turn made on the heelside edge. Highback bindings This type of binding includes a piece that supports the ankle and calf while edging and making heelside turns. Hole Pattern The layout of holes on the top of a snowboard, through which the bindings are fastened. Both three- and four-hole patterns are standard, but most snowboard companies use the 4-hole pattern. Insert The piece of metal laminated within a snowboard in order to secure the screws that attach the bindings. Jib To ride on a non-snow surface, e.g. rails, logs etc. Leash A lasso-like device used to attach the snowboard to the front foot so it won’t slide away while getting in or out of the bindings. Lip The top edge of the halfpipe wall. Nose The front end of the snowboard, specifically the tip. Ollie Borrowed from skateboarding, to Ollie is to get air by first lifting the front foot, springing off the back foot, then landing on both feet. Pipe Dragon A grooming machine used to groom halfpipes. Plate Binding Similar to ski bindings, a plate binding requires hard boots that connect directly to the snowboard through a flat plate. Unlike ski bindings, however, plate bindings are typically not designed to release the foot. Poach To ride regardless of posted signage; e.g. when the powder is out-of-bounds or the halfpipe is closed. Poseur Someone who pretends to be something he/she is not, in an attempt to impress his/her audience. Quarterpipe Designed like a halfpipe but with only one wall. Rail Part of a snowboard, consisting of a sidewall and an edge. Snowboards have two rails. Railing To make hard, fast turns. Not to be confused with railing (n.), which is a handrail- type structure on which freestyle riders might jib. Rear hand/foot The hand/foot closest to the tail of the snowboard. For regular-footed riders, the rear is the right hand and foot. For goofy-footed riders, the rear is the left hand and foot. Regular footed Riding with the left foot closest to the nose of the snowboard. Rocker The opposite of camber, so when the snowboard is placed on a flat surface, it rests only on the center portion. Roll down the windows What it looks like a person is trying to do when he/she is off-balance or out of control and rotates his/her arms in an attempt to recover. Rollout deck The horizontal part of the halfpipe wall that serves as a vantage point, waiting area, or walkway to the uphill end of the pipe. Running length The range of the bottom of the snowboard that comes in contact with the snow. Session Nonspecific length of time for which someone rides, e.g. “We had a great session this morning before it started storming.” Sinch Strap An innovative solution by Belligerent" to the hassles of conventional straps and the shortcomings of step-ins. The Sinch Strap keeps your desired ratchet setting and allows you to get in and out one-handed, without sitting down. The patented system retrofits to any existing baseplate and is also a feature of Belligerents" new complete binding line. (Visit www.belligerent.com or call 619.581.5080 for more information.) SlopeStyle Competition A freestyle event where the participant is judged on tricks performed while riding over a series of assorted jumps. Soft boots Boots worn for freestyle and freeride snowboarding. Most riders prefer the comfort and range of motion of soft boots to the rigidity of hard boots. Speed check To slide sideways in order to quickly slow down before a jump or other situation where speed control is necessary. Stance How one’s feet are positioned on the snowboard, as in regular or goofy-footed, but also including the width and angles of the placement. Step-in binding Like a ski binding, the rider steps into the step-in binding to engage it and pulls a lever to disengage. Special boots with compatible mechanisms are required for this kind of binding. Although some riders prefer step-ins, one of the largest problems is that the mechanism clogs with snow. The rider then has to sit down and clean it out before the binding will engage properly. The "Belligerent" Sinch Strap, however, allows the convenience of step-ins without the clog. Stomp pad The piece of non-slip material on the snowboard, attached next to the back binding. The stomp pad gives you a place to rest your back foot when youre getting on or off the lift. Tail The end of the snowboard closest to your back foot. Toe edge The edge of the snowboard where your toes sit. Toeside turn A turn made on the toeside edge. Transition a.k.a. Tranny The initial curved part of a halfpipe wall between the flat of the bottom and the vertical section of the wall. Traverse As in skiing, to ride perpendicular to the fall line of the slope. In the halfpipe, a freestyle rider traverses the flat bottom in order to perform tricks on either wall. Twin tip A snowboard whose nose and tail are shaped identically, so the board will ride equally well in either direction. Vertical a.k.a. Vert The topmost portion of the walls of a halfpipe. They are vertical in order to allow the rider to fly straight up from the halfpipe wall. Wall The opposing sections of the halfpipe. A wall is comprised of a transition (where the rider begins the ascent) and vertical section (where the rider launches and performs a trick).