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between resort skiersandbackcountryskiers,”says
SamMoulton, executiveeditorat
Outside
magazine.
“In the lastdecadeeveryonehasbeen racing toward
themiddleground.Today’s fatter, rockeredskishave
madepowderskiingmucheasier—andmuchmore fun
— foreveryone, expertor intermediate.And resorts
havewisely latchedonto that.”Some resortsnowoffer
theseexperiences inevensmallerdoses, as littleasa
singlesnowcat runorhalf-dayheli-trip.
Thereare threemainalternatives to lift-served
skiingyou canfindat resorts.Heli-skiing, the crème
de la crème, hasmorevertical runs startingabove
treelineand fasterascents (about $1,000perday).
Snowcats, basicallybuseswith treads, offer the same
great powder conditions, butwith slowerascentsand
shorter runs. Theyusuallybeginbelow treelineand
are typically less technicallydemanding, rarelyaf-
fectedbyweather, and cost from $400 to $500.A few
resortsofferprivate, guided “side-country”programs
that take skiers into thewildernessadjacent to the ski
resort, sometimesusing lifts for easieraccess. Ingen-
eral, cat-skiing requires the least expertiseand isof-
tenavailable to solid intermediates, but evendaily
heli tripsarenot asdauntingas theymight appear,
with someaimed squarelyat intermediates.
Inall threecases, guestsareprovided fatterpow-
derskisandavalanche transceiversandare ledby
experiencedguides.And inall threecases the reward
is thesame: deep, unbrokenpowderonevery run.
“Anyonewhohasever takena turn in real resort
powderknowshowgreata feeling that is—andhow
hard it is tofind,”saysSherman. “Butwithheli- or
cat-skiing, it isgoing tobe like that every turn, every
run, all day long. Ifyou takeaweek’svacation, there is
noway toguarantee itwill snow20 inches, butwith
theseday trips, thatpowder isalmostguaranteed.”
55
celebratedliving.com
WINTER 2012
