I think we had the best snow I have had at Mustang over 6 tours (2015, 2016, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2022). We arrived Friday evening February 18 and skied Saturday the 19th, Sunday the 20th, and Monday the 21st. It more or less snowed the whole time, although the storm was more intense on the front end. The storm started warm on Thursday and slowly cooled until it was pretty cold when it finally fizzled out about the time we took our last run on Monday. The result was deep, perfectly right-side-up snow that was medium-density creamy on the bottom and pixie dust on top. By Saturday morning 60 cm had fallen and by Monday morning the guides estimated we had added another 22 cm. Predicted clearing did not occur on either Sunday or Monday, so visibility wasn’t good enough to get into the high alpine. Early in the tour, we skied a lot of trees and cut blocks in the southern half of the tenure. On Sunday afternoon and Monday we got up to somewhat more open terrain a little further north (Super Bon Bon, the lower elevation Roman runs, etc.).
Our group of 11 was entirely new to us as Tony and tseeb were skiing elsewhere and the large group of Ontario orthopedic surgeons and their friends that we had skied with for years booked a private cat. Our group was also very strong. In our early 50s, John and I were the oldest in the cat, and no better than average in terms of powder chops. We had three excellent skiers (two of whom were former tail guides) and no true intermediate or out-of-shape skiers. Our group’s pace was interesting compared to prior years. We were arguably less efficient at getting out of the cat and into our bindings. The pace on the downhill, however, was noticeably faster, at least when nobody paused to set up for airtime. Ours was the only large cat this year. Otherwise, there were two small-group private cats (8 and 4(!)) and the steep-chutes cat (6).
Our guide for the last two days, Philipe (a former ski-cross racer from the Czech Republic) was excellent and similar, in terms of adventurousness and risk tolerance, to Bruno, our guide in 2015. (https://www.firsttracksonline.com/boards/threads/mustang-powder-cats-bc-2-21-23-2015.11729/) Our verts weren’t particularly impressive in light of the pace (16.9k, 22k, 16.6k) due to some longish commutes, Philippe’s encouraging/facilitating significant hucking, and the setting up that sometimes required, and due to searches for a couple of lost skis that likely resulted from overly-aggressive skiing.
However, John and I were very happy not to be in the private cat with the orthopedic surgeons and friends, as they were very significantly slowed down by 3 new skiers they recruited to fill seats.
John and I agreed that one of the remarkable things about the snow was how consistent it was on just about every significant pitch. We were very seldom hitting changes in density on the same pitch. This was true even on the few runs where we ventured to just above or at tree line. There was wind slab up there for sure, and such runs were only skied after much ski cutting and instruction from our guide to ski one at a time with significant spacing, etc. However, even the wind slab was consistent in that it was all supportable, with shallow, high-quality powder on top. This was a lot of fun, as it allowed high-speed carving with some pretty spectacular rooster tails. The vast majority of our runs, however, were below tree line in the trees or cut blocks, where the snow was very consistently deep and right side up.
The brisk pace and the storm meant I took far fewer pictures than I have in the past.
Over all, a good time was had by all and we are looking forward to this year’s trip.
Our group of 11 was entirely new to us as Tony and tseeb were skiing elsewhere and the large group of Ontario orthopedic surgeons and their friends that we had skied with for years booked a private cat. Our group was also very strong. In our early 50s, John and I were the oldest in the cat, and no better than average in terms of powder chops. We had three excellent skiers (two of whom were former tail guides) and no true intermediate or out-of-shape skiers. Our group’s pace was interesting compared to prior years. We were arguably less efficient at getting out of the cat and into our bindings. The pace on the downhill, however, was noticeably faster, at least when nobody paused to set up for airtime. Ours was the only large cat this year. Otherwise, there were two small-group private cats (8 and 4(!)) and the steep-chutes cat (6).
Our guide for the last two days, Philipe (a former ski-cross racer from the Czech Republic) was excellent and similar, in terms of adventurousness and risk tolerance, to Bruno, our guide in 2015. (https://www.firsttracksonline.com/boards/threads/mustang-powder-cats-bc-2-21-23-2015.11729/) Our verts weren’t particularly impressive in light of the pace (16.9k, 22k, 16.6k) due to some longish commutes, Philippe’s encouraging/facilitating significant hucking, and the setting up that sometimes required, and due to searches for a couple of lost skis that likely resulted from overly-aggressive skiing.
However, John and I were very happy not to be in the private cat with the orthopedic surgeons and friends, as they were very significantly slowed down by 3 new skiers they recruited to fill seats.
John and I agreed that one of the remarkable things about the snow was how consistent it was on just about every significant pitch. We were very seldom hitting changes in density on the same pitch. This was true even on the few runs where we ventured to just above or at tree line. There was wind slab up there for sure, and such runs were only skied after much ski cutting and instruction from our guide to ski one at a time with significant spacing, etc. However, even the wind slab was consistent in that it was all supportable, with shallow, high-quality powder on top. This was a lot of fun, as it allowed high-speed carving with some pretty spectacular rooster tails. The vast majority of our runs, however, were below tree line in the trees or cut blocks, where the snow was very consistently deep and right side up.
The brisk pace and the storm meant I took far fewer pictures than I have in the past.
Over all, a good time was had by all and we are looking forward to this year’s trip.
