As Becky and I have been able to spend quite a few ski days together each year, I have constantly been looking for opportunities to give here good powder experiences. Last spring on our Whistler trip, we stumbled onto 7th Heaven as it opened after a couple of days of closure because of a big snow dump. We got to make a couple of runs in knee deep snow together and she started to get the hang of skiing pow. In many ways it was a seminal moment for her and she saw that a pow day could be really special.
From that day I thought that she was ready for a more rigerous powder experience. Last Fall when it came time to buy new skiing toys I special ordered her a pair of Line Pandoras, the absolute fattest woman's specific ski on the market. (The pandora has the same geometry as Sir Francis Bacon. I have been skiing on Sir Francis for a couple of seasons and totally love it. Becky had demoed Pandora at the WWSRA demo and she liked it.) I thought if she coould have a good, not threatening full day of powder skiing that she would be hooked. It kind of works on the same principle as a drug pusher; give away the product until you get em hooked.
My plan was simple. Brundage Mountian in McCall ID offers daily private snowcat rentals for $1600. Sounds like a lot I know, but.... $1600 is only slightly more that a day of heliskiing would cost with Canadian Mountain Holidays. By renting the whole cat I could be sure that the day was tailored just for her and nobody could ruin it for her.
I made the reservation and set the adventure up for the first week of February when we would be on our anual ski trip. While we were skiing in north Idaho, on the first weekend of our trip, Brundage custome service called me and suggested we reschedule because of the current snow conditions and the weather forecast. So we rescheduled for March 14,
Becky and the snowcat. There were two guides and a cat driver for just the two of us.
In mid February the La Nina snow machine turned back on so we were very hopeful that our day with the cat would be fantastic.
We showed up on March 14 ready to have a great time in fresh powder. Conditions were generally good, but not great and a long way from epic. The weather on the 13th managed to put a bit of a crust on the snow. Not bad and still skiable, especially with a wide rockered ski, but not precisely what I was hoping for.
Becky starting to get comfortable on the Pandora in fresh pow.
Even with a bit of a crust the guides managed to find very skiable snow in protected areas. Initially Becky was very much out of her comfort zone, but by the end of the day she was skiing well and had a big smile on her face. The grin on my face when I am backcountry skiing, is as permenant as the on on Joker's face in "The Dark Knight". Needless to say I had a fantastic time.
The entire experience at Brundage was outstanding. Out guide, Niki, went the extra mile to make sure that Becky was comfortable and having a great time. I would strongly recommend Brundage's snowcat operation for nearly any level of skier. The variety of terrain ranges from very mellow and open to moderately steep. Lots of gladed skiing and fantastic views. The price is reasonable and the staff is very friendly. Brundage is only a few miles outside McCall and we have found the McCall Winter Festival a delight every time we have been there.