Mustang Powder Cat Jan 13-15, 2023

[Tony Crocker]

I never see people using powder cords anymore either. They are a hassle and have to be fiddled with every time you take your skis on or off, which is a lot when you are cat or heli skiing.

That said you never know what a released ski will do. In 2012 one of mine submarined under the powder for ~30 feet before coming to rest and leaving only a subtle disturbance on the surface which Mustang owner Nick spotted after half an hour of searching. Sometimes a fat ski will run down the hill on the surface for 200 feet or more as the ski brake doesn't have much effect in powder.

 

[jamesdeluxe]

I find the “newer” wide skis are more likely to stay on top of the snow

You'd think that to be the case but one of my skis that went missing on a steep slope was a rental Line Prophet 130, which is pretty wide.

I can still remember my third and last incident, six years ago in Vercorin, Switzerland (scroll to bottom). That was the most concerning of the three as it happened toward the end of the day.

Apologies for the thread detour.

 

[ChrisC]

How much do those airbags cost?

The air power bags are expensive. $1k starting. And canister bags are a bit of a waste.

Rough start to decent ending is the gist of the overall storyline

Cat/heli operations can be risky investments.

In Alaska, a lot of operators only fly 50-60% of the days. We skied for 2.5/5 days, but there was insurance so we got cash back. And did it for five days and skied 4.5/5 days. Groups before us were get skied at 1.5/5 days. It's just alpine terrain without any trees, and if there is a storm with wind - your not going out. I'm sure Canadian operations have better records - think asked Eagle guide and claimed a flew rate of 90%.

Those trees look nicely spaced. I think Baldface's terrain had been logged so they grew back denser

The cat operations generally can always get you out there.

 

[Tony Crocker]

I think Baldface's terrain had been logged so they grew back denser

I thought the opposite. Baldface bragged that their forest was old growth and that's why spacing was so good. Yes I think 90% for Canadian heli is about right. However some operators have mostly alpine terrain so their tree skiing is limited and somewhat uninspiring considering what you pay. I try to find operators with both alpine and trees because you never know what the weather/conditions will be.