Organize A Cat Skiing Trip, Ski At A Discount
By Lockie Brown, Thu Dec 8th

What’s better than backcountry powder shared with a couple ofgood friends? What beats chasing your buddies through the trees,sharing great lines on open slopes and watching your mates “pop”off bumps into the “pow”? Now, if that though brings a smile,broaden the picture to include 12 good friends. Think about aday of great powder shared with the 12 people you most like toski or ride with. Then expand that thought to three or four daysin succession. Oh, yes, and throw in some uphill tranportationthat gives you 12 to 15 great runs a day.

If it seems like a wild dream, it’s not. Snowcat skiers andboarders are doing it every year.

Assemble your own group to share a snowcat and two guides and tocontrol the pace of each day’s skiing. The cat rides back up themountain become almost as much fun as the runs down, filled withthe old lies and jokes and stories that you all enjoy sharing.Evenings in the bar at the lodge playing pool or darts for“shots” or soaking in the hot tub just continue the fun of theday. Our Favorite Chatter Creek Photos(http://favorite-chatter-creek-photos.blogspot.com) were takenby a number of cat skiers including some old friends who go catskiing together every year.

Many cat operators in BC encourage groups. At least twooperators offer no particular incentive to group leaders, butpoint out the advantage to having companions that know oneanother and are all compatible skiers and riders. However, atleast three BC operators provide group organizers a free seatand one operator offers two free seats (take 12 people, pay for10). Other operators offer a discount ranging from $1200 perday, to $1500 for a 4-day tour. Typically, it’s all or nothingand the group size must be 12 to qualify for a discount. As niceas it is to get a great discount, Group Organizers shopping fora cat tour should think about group discounts last, aftermaking a short list of operators having terrain and skiingconditions that best suits their group’s needs.

Organizing a group is no cakewalk. The group organizer is thesole point of contact with the company. He or she collects andaccounts for all funds, makes lump payments on behalf of thegroup, distributes company literature, collects clientinformation and submits it to the company. Above all, theorganizer ensures that group members understand the tour dates,transportation arrangements, meeting times and specialconditions like baggage restrictions or clothing needed for thetrip in to a remote lodge.

The real effort goes into filling the group with compatibleskiers. A sign-up list circulated at the end of each tour alwaysgenerates lots of interest in the following year. Everyone’sready to be back next year; same time, same place, same group.Fantastic! However, things change a bit in the following weeks,when the deposit becomes due. People return home and remember(or are reminded of) family vacation promises, visitingrelatives, budgetary constraints and other priorities. Then it’s“scramble time” for the Group Leader. The deposit is due shortlyand the group is not full. Some Group Leaders end up subsidizingthe group deposit.

Finally, the organizer handles last minute changes. People getsick or have emergencies or “things” happen at work andsubstitutes

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have to be arranged. Snowstorms can forcelast-minute changes to travel plans, requiring telephone callsto the entire group, as described in the article, “Getting toChatter Creek: Go Early and Get there“(http://backcountrywintervacations.com/getting-to-chatter-creek.html )

You may have known your buddies for years, but you don’t reallyunderstand them until you try to organize their ski trip. As onecat ski operator noted, “It’s like herding cats”. One or twoemail messages is not enough to convey critical dates and otherinformation. There is always that benighted soul who forgets oris confused or looses forms or is always late with payments.Experience teaches the value of a standby list of people happyto step in and replace “foot-draggers”. That usually focuses theattention!

Regular reminders and specific confirmation is needed to ensurethat people really do understand what they need to know, andthat critical dates and times really have been recorded in nextyear’s calendar, and not this year’s. If the meeting point is ina different time zone, alarm bells have to be rung regularly, orpeople will forget the time shift, or get it backward. Peopleneed reminding that there is a day of travel before and afterthe dates of the tour. If tour members are married, it’s a goodidea to ensure their wives know “the drill”.

Different organizers handle their discount in different ways.Merle McKnight, manager of Chatter Creek, in Golden recommends,“Put it in your pocket, you’ve earned it!” Many organizers dojust that. Others share the discount with the group members,giving everyone a small discount. One organizer rents a bus totake his group from Calgary to Golden, where his cat tourstarts. That tour really starts and ends in Calgary andeverything in between is a blur.

In the end, whatever frustration a group organizer may bearfalls right away on that first run of the annual tour, as one’smates charge down the hill, with whoops and hollers and powdersnow flying. The grins on their faces make it all worth while!

Having written so much about organizing groups, I should addthat, over the years, I’ve had a number trips with two or threefriends, sharing a snowcat with strangers. Without exception,these trips have been wonderful experiences. I’ve made newfriends and have thoroughly enjoyed myself. Even though I am anexperienced skier, I have rarely felt held back by weakerskiers. Well, perhaps just once. Snowcat is so “laidback” and relaxed and guides are so skilled, that a range inability within a group can “work” very well. Most snowcat skiingoperators encourage just strong intermediate and expert skiers,so “slower” skiers are rarely far behind. More often than not,they end up waiting while the hotshots “scope out” specialchallenges; cliffs, bumps and the like.

If you don’t really know what cat is all about, check outthe Cat Articles photo gallery athttp://cat-skiing-articles.blogspot.com.

About the author:Lockie Brown lives in Vancouver and skis at Whistler. He alsosets up cat sking tours for friends to Chatter Creek Cat Skiing, near Golden BC(www.chattercreekcatskiing.com). For more information, see theChatter News photo journal athttp://powder-skiing.blogspot.com.