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Bruce Christenson
interviewed by Anthony Qaiyum on 11 December, 1995
"Every turn is an untracked turn of powder."
Bruce is a director for Snow Canyon Snowcat Skiing, just north of Salt Lake City, Utah.
Tripod: For people who don't know, what exactly is snowcat skiing?
BC: Snowcat skiing is back country skiing, in the mountains, like heli-skiing is. We take people up the mountains in a snowcat -- like a groomer-cat at a ski-resort, but it's got a custom-cab on the back -- it's kind of like riding in an airliner. It's enclosed and heated, and has comfortable seating. We drive up the mountains in those, and then we guide people down, skiing or snow boarding down the mountains, and then we return to the snowcat, and pick them up, and go up for another ride. That's basically what snowcat skiing's about.
Tripod: What are some of the advantages of snowcat skiing over regular chair-lift skiing?
BC: There are many advantages. First of all, we're skiing on track powder, that's what it's all about. Every turn is an untracked turn of powder. We ski with a maximum of ten people -- compared to ski resorts, which can have a thousand times that much -- they can have 10,000 skiers there a day. So it's a very small group, which is really nice, as far as skiing -- it's very intimate, not having to deal with a crowd. No lift-lines, obviously, and then the terrain -- we have so much more terrain than what a ski area does. A large ski area in Utah has about 2,000 acres of terrain -- we're skiing with 24,000 acres. So we're skiing with about ten times the amount of skiing that a large ski resort has, yet we're doing it with one thousandth of the skiers. So there's quite a bit of room for not many people. That's the beauty of it -- we're out there in the wilderness, skiing alone with just a few friends, and having a great time.
Tripod: That sounds great. How many runs do you get in an average day?
BC: Generally we try to ski 10,000 vertical feet of skiing. And that usually is about six to nine runs. Most of our runs are 1,000 to 2,000 vertical feet, per run, sometimes we do ski some runs that go up to 3,000 vertical feet in length.
Tripod: Just in case some people are sitting there saying, "I could get more runs in on a chair-lift," can you tell me how long an average snowcat run would last, compared to a chair-lift run?
BC: Well most chair-lifts gain generally about 1,000 vertical feet, most chair-lifts don't run on that much longer. So you're looking at ten runs, and if it's ten 1,000 vertical foot runs, it's like riding ten chair-lifts. But you're looking at a totally different type of skiing we're doing. We're doing quality powder skiing and not just flying down the hardpack. Yes, you can ski more vertical at a ski resort, if you ski hard all day, you might be able to ski 20,000 vertical feet, but you're not skiing 20,000 vertical feet of untouched powder. That's the whole difference. It's a whole day -- we leave at 8:30 am, and don't get back till 5:30 pm, so it's longer than a ski resort day. And it takes much longer to ski down a run in powder. It's much more taxing on your legs, and we have to ski very carefully.
Tripod: So, how about lengthwise?
BC: Oh, anywhere up to a couple of miles in length.
Tripod: Do you have to be an advanced skier?
BC: No, you don't have to be an advanced skier. We require that you be an intermediate skier. We have intermediate, advanced and expert terrain. The majority of our clientele our intermediate to advanced. Even if you don't have a lot of powder experience, we offer the wide powder skis, and they make it that much more enjoyable, and that much easier for you to ski the powder. Put it this way: an average hardpack intermediate skier can get out in the powder now with these wide skis and have a good time, on intermediate terrain. Even with very limited powder experience, these wide skis give them that much more balance, and that much more confidence out there, and control. You're able to ski it up and have a good time instead of pulling yourself up every other turn from falling. So definitely, intermediates can ski with us.
Tripod: So, you said you take about ten people?
BC: Yeah -- ten people maximum in a day.
Tripod: It sounds like that could be a real nice outing if you got a group of friends together?
BC: Correct, yeah. And we offer a deal on if you rent a cat out -- we offer a price reduction on that.
Tripod: Could you tell me a little bit about your location?
BC: Yeah, we're located outside of Salt Lake City, about fifty miles north of Salt Lake City, in the Warsech Mountains. So we're about an hour drive from Salt Lake City, about an hour and 15 minute drive north of Park City. We usually lodge people up in Huntsville, that's the closest place to lodge, about 15 minutes away. More specifically, we're located about six miles north-east of Powder Mountain ski area. A lot of people lodge in Huntsville, again, about 15 minutes away, or in Argon, which is about half an hour away. But people do do day outings with us from Salt Lake City and Park City and the Cottonwood Canyons too.
Tripod: Are there other activities around, like snow-mobiling, or things like that?
BC: There is. Up in the Huntsville area, there are three other ski resorts -- Powder Mountain, Snow Base and Nordic Valley -- and they're great places to ski, because they're not nearly as crowded as the big resorts, say at Snow Bird or at Park City. So there's a nice, refreshing difference there. Also, there are snow-mobile tours going out there, there's fly-fishing and ice-fishing down on the reservoir in Huntsville. In the springtime, once the golf-course gets going, they can go golfing and skiing.
Tripod: How safe is snowcat skiing?
BC: Snowcat skiing is very safe. We do ski areas that are, at times, avalanche-prone. We don't ski them when they are prone, but there are avalanche areas out there with any back-country skiing. You're not safe at a ski resort either. People think they are, on a very new day with a couple of feet of new snow and winds -- there's dangers in that ski area too. But we've been going for six years, and we've had one broken leg. I worked as a ski-patroller for ten years, and we were taking people off daily at the ski resort. We don't get the number of people getting hurt like a ski resort.
Tripod: How much does a day of snowcat skiing cost, per person?
BC: It costs $165 per day, and that includes all the powder skiing, and lunch. If you book the cat for the day, it's $1,250. So that would cut you down to $125 per person.
Tripod: Say you wanted to use the powder skis -- is that included?
BC: Powder skis are an additional $25 a day. You can rent them from us, or there are shops in town, too.
Tripod: How does the pricing compare to helicopter-skiing, which is another way of accessing untouched territory?
BC: A big difference. There are powder birds here in Utah that charge $500 a day. So there's a huge difference, and a lot of it's the price of the helicopter. We're different from heli-skiing. I'm not saying heli-skiing isn't a great thing -- it is a great thing, but it's very expensive. It's very fast-paced with a helicopter. Obviously you can access some pretty incredible terrain -- along with that comes the inherent risks of that. ... One thing I can say about cat skiing, it's definitely a more relaxed, unintimidating experience, It's very casual, warm and comfortable ... and generally we ski about the same amount of vertical as heli-skiers do in a day.
Tripod: Are you looking forward to a good season of snow?
BC: Oh, you bet! We're looking forward to a good season. It kind of started out a little slow this year, but I've been here in Utah for eleven years, and we've never had a bad season as far as I'm concerned. There's always been three hundred inches, and on the good years, like last year, which was a great year, there was six hundred inches of snow. It's a pretty reliable place. Hey -- everybody come on out and ski!
For more information on Snow Canyon Snowcat Skiing:
Call (801) 649-1674 or (801) 731-3411
Fax: (801) 649-2622
Write: Box 680972
Park City, Utah 84068For more information on snowcat and heli-skiing in general, check out the North American Heli-Ski and Snowcat Guide at http://www.blarg.com/~kupf/heli.html
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