KEYSTONE — I’ve never been more desperate for a pair of skis in my life.
If we hadn’t been above timberline, I would have broken off a couple of tree branches, lashed them to my feet with strips of my sweater and headed down the hill.
Instead all I could do was peer over the edge of Keystone’s Independence Bowl and endure the exquisite torture of pure lust. It was last February and my daughters and I had taken a to experience a non-skier’s perspective of the resort.
I had my first tinge of regret when I saw the ski carrier on the cat as we climbed aboard at the summit of Keystone’s front mountain. The yearning for my skis grew with each foot of elevation gained, until we reached the 12,614-foot summit of Independence Mountain. While the others on the tour took pictures of the stunning views of the Ten Mile and Gore ranges, my daughters and I ran to the ropes and looked down at the uncut bounty of the 1,000 vertical feet below us.
Those of us who have skied in Colorado for a long time are always on the lookout for untamed, snow-rich terrain. For those of us of a certain age (too young to be able to afford helicopter skiing on a regular basis and too old to want to spend our day hiking), snowcat skiing is a good alternative for finding these selective stashes.
Colorado resorts have responded to this desire by pushing the boundaries of their acreage with snowcat service. puts skiers atop Tucker Mountain for some sweet, steep lines, and at Keystone the cat goes to the top of the North and South bowls for $10 a pop. (KAT) is celebrating its 10th anniversary this season. The $255 experience averages between 5,000 to 6,000 vertical feet a day in the 1,000 acres of the Bergman, Erickson and Independence bowls.
I was in for another snowcat discovery late last season when I unloaded from Loveland’s Chair 9 and spotted the outline of a red snowcat glowing through the snow squall like a mirage.
This is the fourth season has been giving people access to the 13,010-foot ridge above Chair 8 (that’s the lift you can see north of I-70 before entering the Eisenhower Tunnel). The wind along the Continental Divide blows the snow into pockets and chutes below the ridge — heaven for powder skiers. It was so much fun that I headed up to Loveland this February for the opening of “Marmot,” a beauty of a run at the far eastern reaches of the Ridge’s terrain.
Before heading up Lift 9 to the snowcat pickup point, be sure to get a Ridge Cat Pass from the season ticket office at the base. The pass is free, but you are required to sign a safety waiver. Speaking of possible injury and death, consider getting an avalanche beacon before venturing into the backcountry. Other equipment to consider for snowcat skiing is fat skis (provided as part of the KAT fee), which can be the difference between cruising through deep powder and getting thrown around by it.
If you’re lucky enough to find yourself getting out of a snowcat atop a field of powder, you should know there are two kinds of skiers in this situation: those who will graciously let others go ahead of them to slice through the freshies and those that jump in and take the first tracks for themselves.
Sadly I’ve always been a taker, but I’m going to change my ways right here and now. Because catskiing is so snow-dependent, I have yet to take that elusive run down Keystone’s Independence Bowl. But the snow has returned to the mountains and I’m hoping you can get up there to experience KAT — even if I can’t.
You’re welcome.
Chryss Cada is a freelance writer and journalism instructor at Colorado State University. Visit her at Chryss.com.
