steamboat powdercats

A very well run operation that pays attention to the details. The pretrip communication was great. The guides were friendly and upbeat. The terrain was good. Highly recommend.

The team at Powdercats provided us with a wonderful day! We were lucky enough to get a bluebird day with lots of fresh powder and our guides did not disappoint in getting us down some super runs. A big shoutout to Kyle, Brittany, Kelvin and the test of the team at Powdercats for making it an enjoyable and safe day.

If you love to ski and more importantly, love to ski powder, read on…  Regardless of what Mother Nature brings, the Guides at Steamboat Powdercats always seem to deliver the powder stash.  We rode with Nick, Brynn and Kev-O on Day 1 and Matt, Andy, and Nick (again) on Day 2.  Request these Guides!!!  Everyone of them were amazing guides, knowledgable about the terrain and backcountry, well-trained when it comes to safety, and team players, focused on making the guest experience first class while working together to make that happen.  In addition, their individual personalities add that touch of spice to the whole experience that will make you want to come back for more.  For example, Nick has a gift of making others just laugh and always brings the group together, even if your group doesn’t know each other prior.  Andy is the most incredible skier and if you ask, will gladly give a few pointers.  (He raised my skill in the powder big time!  Thanks, Andy!)  Kev-O is a natural leader and knowledgeable about the area.  Matt brings a sense of confidence and professionalism that balances out the group of guides.  Brynn takes the time to get to know everyone and has a love of life that’s infectious.  You’ll need to book by July to get into a Powdercat.  It’s a true value at approximately $500 per person PLUS tip. (Don’t forget to tip, these guides work hard, while making it look easy.  Don’t be fooled, behind the scenes they are making the experience appear seamless.)  This experience is truly Priceless! My two boys, ages 18 & 17, couldn’t stop smiling and laughing.  We had a great time together as a family!  Thanks again, SPC!  You did it again.  Fresh powder all day, 2-days in a row, and we’ll be back.  We love the Frequent Guest Program and are working toward that 6th free trip!!!

Went on a full Level 3 tour today and had a great time. With somewhat limited snow, our expert guides Peter, Kevin, and Bria worked hard to always put us on top of good cold smoke powder. There were all very friendly and professional and put all of the clients first in every respect. They jumped out of the cat 14 times today for 14 powder runs, and were always quick to pull out our skis and poles and help us in any way. From hotel pickup to lunch, water, and equipment - everything was top notch.

I really love skiing (expert level skier with 45+ seasons) and Powdercats is the best thing I do all year. Kevin, Pete, Bryn, Britney, Matt and Todd are among the many people here who all function as a smooth team to provide a great powder experience for beginner through expert. They were very helpful in finding me the right level cat to ski in (video helps you chose) as well as tips that made me a much more effective backcountry skier. They are friendly, positive, and altogether just who you want to be with when enjoying your favorite sport at the highest level.Safety is a primary consideration with this type of activity and here the professionalism and training of the Powdercats crew really shines. On one trip one of our group was injured and Kevin managed his evacuation quickly and comfortably (all the guides are National Ski Patrol members so can handle any boo-boos). They know every terrain feature and avalanche path given 30 years operating here and you are not going to have any surprises whatever the conditions. The guides knowledge of snow conditions generally and awareness of potential risks is impressive, and they make sure that the group knows what is happening on every run.The photography (included, rather than at some annoying additional charge!) is great and provides nice mementos for your Facebook page, Mom, whatever.In general, these are great people with tremendous love of skiing who are all about making their guests happy. Thanks to everyone at the Steamboat Powdercats team!

This was such a great experience. Well worth the expense. You will get in more runs than you can imagine. You don't have to be an expert skier, but do be honest about your abilities.

You could ski a lifetime on the mountain and never have a day like you will with Steamboat Powdercats... Full service (skis, water, food) with SAFETY being their first priority... Bring a positive attitude, your boots... they do the rest

Powder skiing with the Steamboat Powdercats is an awesome experience. The snow is usually amazing and the guides are friendly, knowledgeable and experienced. We have gone out with them every year since 2009 and have never had a bad time. They will pick you up at your house in the morning and drop you off in the evening. The terrain varies from magnificent open snow fields to aspen and evergreen groves of varying tightness. There is not a lot of tremendously steep terrain up on the Buffalo Pass so the more advanced levels tend to be more about tightness of trees and pace. Our favorite is Level 1 since that is the most unique. Big open snowfields of untouched powder to your knees. Something you will almost never get to experience at a resort. The activity is definitely pricey, but not anymore than any other snowcat operation. Book early during busy times, but expect to lose your deposit if you cancel. I definitely recommend Steamboat Powdercats for anyone interested in experiencing backcountry skiing in a safe and enjoyable way.

Thanks Mr. Schrager for pointing this out to our potential guests and the Tripadvisor Nation. Cancellations are a very tricky, emotional experience in any business, especially a small customer service orientated guide services like ours where world of mouth and return guest satisfaction is of the most importance.Our cancellation policies states a 50% deposit that is non refundable at the time of booking with the final 50% payment being non refundable 72-hrs prior to activity date. We offer a 10% additional activity insurance at the time of booking that all guests have the opportunity to accept or decline within 24-hrs of the booking. This insurance allows the guests the ability to cancel a reservation for any reason except Mother Nature, thus bypassing our cancellation fees where they are only subject to a 10% of total trip cost fee. In this case Mr. Schrager chose to decline the insurance within the 24-hr period.According to our policies we do not have to refund any monies, deposits or final payments, for guest cancellations. This is a general standard in the heli and snowcat skiing industry. We understand this is difficult and frustrating, but its the nature of a business like ours that has a limited timeframe of operation and where every seat counts in the general terms of our seasonal business. Fortunately on many days we have waitlists so there are many times we can fill snowcats after a cancellation happens. If we fill the snowcat then we refund money back to guests even if they didn't pick up the insurance, such as what happened to Mr. Schrager. When Mr. Schrager booked his trip with his family he was in fact the 6-10th seats booked of 12 seats on our snowcat. Once he made his reservation he essentially blocked any group with more than 3 guests the opportunity to join this cat and thus we lost a real opportunity to fulfill a larger group who possibly chose to look elsewhere and book a reservation with a competitor. This is why we define our verbal agreement as stating that we will bypass our cancellation policy and return money minus 10% only if we fill the snowcat. Thanks again Mr. Schrager to pointing this out. It's important to have this clarity out there for all to be aware. We just hope this get's more of our guests to consider purchasing our activity insurance a t the time of booking so when a cancellation occurs there are no questions asked when refunding money to our loyal guests.

This is a first class and well run operation from breakfast to post session beers. This was our first backcountry experience and the guides worked very hard not only to find great snow but to also ramp up our skill set. We started as level 1 and skied solid level 2 by mid day. The guides did a great job of mixing stories, jokes and tips to create a great experience. And the hot lunch break was a welcome touch. Wish we'd have booked multiple days up front as they were booked and we didn't get a second day. We will be back...

If you go to Steamboat and love powder skiing Steamboat Powdercats is a must do. Operating on Buffalo Pass gives this operation a huge amount of terrain to choose from. From the moment you arrive ,you realize this is a first class operation. The day starts with a light continental breakfast and the its a short van ride off to Buffalo Pass. On your first ride up the guides will give you a safety speech and let you know what to expect. The guides are totally professional,extremely friendly and are there to make sure you have a good time. I have been lucky enough to ski with this group 4 times and have never been disappointed. My most recent trips where with my son.Sixteen runs on a level 111 cat ,awesome. The snow was great and lots of wide grins everywhere. So thanks to guides Kevo,Kyle and Brie.A word to the wise if you want to make sure of a seat book it early. another great thing to do is get a group of friends together and book a private Cat. You wont be sorry.

I went at the end of February with a group of 4 snowboarders of varying abilities for the level I tour. The powdercat people run a really professional and friendly operation. Nothing is a problem for the guides -- they are there to make your day as enjoyable and as easy as possible. It was obvious that the guides all love their jobs and this was reflected in their interaction with the people in the group.The runs catered to a range of ability levels - from open glades for the more intermediate to fairly tight tree runs for more advanced riders. There had been a few inches of fresh snow the night before we arrived. The area that Steamboat Powdercats operates out of is large and there was no problem finding plenty of powder throughout the day.Some highlights included the really tasty lunch at their mountain hut, complimentary DVD with photographs taken from several of our runs and apres ski beers.I was provided with a Never Summer powder board which was fun to ride but in retrospect I should have taken my own setup which I am really comfortable riding in powder.The tours are very popular and seem to book out during peak season. I would love to go with these guys again when I return to Steamboat.

If you're headed to Steamboat Springs, CO to ski, you MUST check out Steamboat Powdercats and you won't be disappointed. Three levels of epic skiing, small groups, guided tours through some of the best backcountry skiing CO has to offer. Lunch mid-day at the cabin is a treat and 14,000+ vertical feet of skiing. You'll laugh a lot (guides are awesome), ski Armada JJ's provided (bring your own boots, of course) and enjoy fun in "freshies" all day...guaranteed! .... and no, I don't work for Steamboat Powdercats and didn't get paid to write this review. It's just that good. My 15 & 17 year old boys had as much fun and haven't stopped talking about the day. Enjoy a bit of apres ski back at the office while Kent is preparing your DVD of the pics taken of you during the day skiing. A nice touch to a great day! Ray (@raysclafani)

Steamboat is known throughout the world for deep light powder and generally you have an excellent chance of enjoying a few fresh powder days during any visit here. But for GUARANTEED fresh powder, you must experience a day with Steamboat Powdercats. They outfit you with the latest fat boys, and take you by van to Buffalo Pass, one of the snowiest places in Colorado about 20 minutes from town. Here the snowcats will take you for a full day of fresh powder, breaking only for a sumptuous lunch in their own mountain hut. I have done it three times now, and it's always a spectacular day of skiing. HIghly recommended!

These guys will get you into the deep!Guides are great. Operation is top notch. Very professional and on par with dedicated snowcat trips I've taken up in BC.They go out of their way to make sure you get a fresh line. The guides at the bottom are radioing up to tell the tail guide where to send you so you get fresh tracks. I've never seen a service do this. Usually after the first few people go, you are skiing tracks.Great for snowboarders or skiers.