Powder Snow
|
|
| They don’t get bucket loads of snow relative to Canada cat skiing and some other USA cat skiing companies, but the quantity of snow is still more than enough and the quality of the powder that falls is generally very good. Much of the terrain doesn’t have the protection of trees, so sometimes the powder is left to the mercy of the sun and wind.
|
Overall Terrain
|
 |
The terrain runs off the sides of Richmond Ridge, a north-south running ridge out the back of Aspen Mountain ski resort. It is mostly low angle sub-alpine terrain (open meadows with a few trees) and there are also some patches of tree skiing.
Whilst the terrain size is twice that of Aspen Mountain, APT has one of the smallest cat skiing tenures in North America. The average
USA cat skiing is 5 times the size, and the average Canadian operation is about 14 times the size. Small terrain results in guides having fewer options to choose from to find optimal snow quality, and the potential to ski over old tracks. To compound the issue, there may be ski tourers using the same terrain and Aspen Powder Tours run three snowcats simultaneously. They have just enough terrain to last for three days. After that they can’t guarantee fresh tracks, but to compensate for this they provide discounts.
The vertical per run is rather short and the average vertical per day is only about 10,000 feet, the equivalent of three top to bottom runs on Aspen Mountain. The amount of skiing is not so much dependent on the power of the snowcat or the efficient placement of the snowcat roads (which are both very good), but rather the speed of the riders in the group, and this cat skiing outfit typically attracts some slower skiers. Of course if you pull together your own group of speedy Gonzales, then the world is your oyster!
|
| Alpine Terrain |
|
| Even though the terrain is largely sub-alpine, we’ll categorise it as alpine for the sake of simplicity. The terrain is far from intimidating. It is mostly mellow and wide and has a lovely fall line. The terrain doesn’t seem to vary much, and it’s largely devoid of chutes, rock bands or other features. |
| Tree Skiing |
|
| The area has patches of trees that are reasonably tight and provide some good challenges. Whether you get to play in the trees may depend on the ability level of others in the snowcat, although sometimes they divide the group in half so that advanced skiers can head into the glades. |
Strong Intermediate Terrain
|
|
| This is Aspen Powder Tour’s forte. The terrain is mostly low angle (so you can practise your powder 11s if you wish!), and trees, other obstacles, and features are few and far between. With all this wide open space, the terrain is perfect to get more experience riding powder. Most intermediates are also probably very happy that the runs don’t go on for miles and miles. |
Advanced Terrain
|
|
| The west terrain is a little more challenging than the main east terrain, although access to this area may be dependent on the ability level of others in the cat. The trees are also a good place for advanced riders to play. |
Expert & Extreme Terrain
|
|
| There are no gnarly steeps or chutes, and there are negligible cornices, rocks or cliffs to throw yourself off.
|
| Guiding |
|
Both the lead and tail guide were incredibly experienced, very amicable and loads of fun. They also gave everyone the confidence that they had everything under control, and as to be expected considering the small terrain, they knew the area like the back of their hand.
The guiding was very relaxed. They didn’t give many specific instructions about where to go, and on various occasions the tail guide was down below some riders. However considering the openness of the terrain this probably didn’t matter too much.
|
| Snowcat |
|
All their snowcats were reasonably new and the cabins very luxurious. There were steps up to the back to make it easy to get in and out, and the cabins were heated and nicely insulated so it wasn’t noisy. The seats were very comfortable, and there were little niceties like bottle holders, other storage, a sound system, and windows in the roof so that it was possible to fully appreciate the beautiful views.
The cabins had one row of seats that faced the rear but there were kick plates that folded up, so if your foot was on one of these, you didn’t end up on someone’s lap when going up the hill (damn)! This seating arrangement also made things more sociable.
In the unlikely event of mechanical issues, they also have a backup snowcat, so there’s no risk of getting left stranded out on the hill whilst awaiting repairs.
|
Avalanche Mitigation Strategies
|
|
It could be assumed that Aspen Powder Tours has various avalanche mitigation strategies and safety plans in place, but these were not at all evident to guests during the day. There was no discussion with the group about avalanche forecasting, no slope stability testing was undertaken, and guest safety packs were not provided. There’s also nothing on their website about it, which could indicate that it’s not a priority. This is very common amongst USA cat skiing operations where there is not the same degree of industry regulation found in Canada.
Part of the rationale for the imperceptible safety strategies may be related to the terrain. Apparently slides are very rare, which is not surprising considering the mellow gradient, so the same degree of vigilance may not be required.
|
Safety Briefing
|
|
| As discussed above, the industry is unregulated, and like many other USA cat skiing operations, there wasn’t much emphasis on safety. The safety briefing went for about two minutes and covered topics such as not skiing too fast. The briefing didn’t include how to use an avalanche beacon, and nothing about snowcat hazards, what to do in the event of an avalanche, or tips for not getting lost. There was no practical component to the briefing, and they were also OK with guests wearing earphones whilst riding, or drinking alcohol at lunch.
|
Frills
|
|
Aspen Powder Tours provide a first class experience with respect to food, akin to what you’d expect for Aspen. Bottles of water and basic snacks were provided in the snowcat, whilst lunch was an extravagant affair for cat skiing which was held in a little cabin with a roaring stove. There were also tables and chairs outside the cabin (and even bathroom facilities). Thankfully there were no soggy sandwiches, but rather a buffet gourmet spread of cold items, soup, a hot hearty dish, brownies and coffee. Guests have been known to BYO a bottle of fancy champagne to top off the lunch experience.
Unlike many other cat skiing companies, there’s no photo or video service, and no après ski session where you can look at the photos and high five about having an amazing day.
|
Value for Money
|
|
The cost of the cat skiing is well above the average price for USA cat skiing and the use of powder skis is not included in the price. However everything in Aspen costs more, so the rates are really quite reasonable. It may cost about 4 times as much as an Aspen Snowmass lift ticket for the day, but you get one hundred times the value!
Aspen Powder Tours ensure you get good value for money because they discount seats if they know that conditions aren’t primo or they can’t ensure freshies.
|