Everyone who lives in San Francisco has at least one friend who ’s obsessed with backcountry skiing . You fuck this because citizenry who backcountry ski are kind of like vegan : they make certain you live about it within second of the first meeting . Backcountry skiers ca n’t help themselves . They ’re stoked on what they do , so they ’re always talking about the avalanche class they just took or the new skins they got for their skis , and they ’ll take any chance potential to force you to take in hours of GoPro footage from their epic day of skiing off - piste . The difference between vegans and backcountry skiers , however , is that I ’m actually overjealous of my Friend who get to experience the backcountry snow – jealous of the untouched snow and deficiency of holiday resort bunch , that is . The other part ? The part where they have to hike for hours and hours to get to that untouched snow ? Yeah , I ’ll take a chairlift any day over a crazy multi - minute trudge up the mountain through feet of refractory snow .
Which is why I was pretty stoked when I found out thatHomewood Mountain Resorton the West Shore ( best shore ) of Tahoe now offers a “ Snowcat Adventure , ” in which a pimped - out snowcat transports skiers and riders above the refuge ’s boundary to access over 750 acres of backcountry terrain . Translation : too lazy to hike , but still need to get that untouched pow ? Snowcat skiing at Homewood is the manner to go . Yeah , you are n’t “ gain your turn ” like backcountry skier , but who cares ? It ’s super play . But just to make certain , I went and checked it out for myself . You know : research and whatnot . There ’s no sleeping in on a snowcat sidereal day , as I had to be at the mountain by 8 am so that I could get hooked up with avalanche gear and a spry safety object lesson from templet , Alycia “ Fish ” Glines and Laura LaPlante , on how to use it all . Good news : the beacon are truly easy to forecast out – and important to wear – since even though the guides are trained to take you down spots where the blow ( hopefully ) wo n’t skid , there ’s always a peril . After we strapped on our beacons and packs with probes and shovels , we direct up the rhytidoplasty to suffer the cat at the top of the mint . playfulness fact : Steve Smith , the number one wood , bought the snowcat from another resort six years ago , but totally root for it apart and rebuilt the entire affair , including a usance designing for the passengers . Fancy !
The snowcat has seating for 10 multitude , which is the maximum number of skier and riders ( minus the guides ) on each dangerous undertaking ; I learned the concentrated way to heave my seat belt – we plump up some legit unconscionable terrain that had me slither out of my bum . The computed tomography move about 8 mph , but it ’s a crazy drive , as it often comes within an column inch of tree , rocks , and cliffs . I ’m frightened of heights and even though I get it on I was in good hands , it definitely got my heart racing . Homewood has a permit to operate the snowcat on US Forest Service lands , which is kinda the whole pointedness of the experience . It took about 20 minute to get us nearly almost all the way up Ellis Peak , then a short wage hike took us to the very top of the peak , where we souse in the incredible 360 - degree opinion – while stand 8,740 ft above ocean level .
Garry Moore/Homewood Snowcat Adventures
Confession : I ’m one of those people who chokes up when she pay back overwhelmed with felicity . After the first run on an awing pulverisation daylight , you ’ll unremarkably come up me pass over binge off in the elevation line . I escort Lake Tahoe in a style I never had before , Desolation Wilderness ’ name in the end made sense , and I could really understand for the first time why Twin Peaks is address Twin Peaks . There I was , standing on top of the world with a bunch of alien so overwhelmed with beaut that I could n’t serve but tear up . ( Thank God for goggles . )
Yeah , that ’s right-hand : I was crying … and I had n’t even start out riding yet .
I was super golden the day I did the qat adventure ; there was a storm a few days before so there were several feet of untouched , creamy powder everywhere we give-up the ghost . I do n’t want to be that skirt who brags about how she shredded the gnar – or be the chick who say hooey like “ shredded the gnar , ” for that matter – but I will say the experience was heroic in every sense of the word of honor .
Megan Michelson
The guide led us down tree running , steep , clearing , and bowling ball , making certain we knew where to go at all time , and did n’t accidentally ski over any drop-off – since that was in reality a matter that could happen . There was some major tramp at point and by all odds some spot where we did a lot of traversing , especially for me and the other snowboarders , but pretty much every ladder ( you may get anywhere from five to 10 in a solar day ) and every bend was full beau ideal , admit the last one , which was a total of 1,828 erect ( and exhausting ) feet . I ’ve never want a beer so badly in my full animation .
So is theSnowcat Experiencefor you ? Clearly , I vote yes . It ’s an awesome experience you ’ll remember for the rest of your lifespan , even if it can get a little pricey . Only thing : Homewood requires that all participants be in advance skier or snowboarder ( although they will do private tours for intermediate tier skiers / rider with a full buyout ) . I was worried perhaps I was n’t restricted , since I have zero backcountry experience and have only ever ridden powder in bounds at a resort , but I was fairly comfortable with all of the terrain ( and excited to push myself in the field I found challenging ) . The guide are awful , excuse everything you need to bang , and rest with you throughout to make certain you ’re holding up .
So what do I mean by costly ? All in , it costs $ 400 a person , which admit the snowcat , lift ticket , lunch , and safety equipment . ( Passholders and their friends and house get a $ 100 discount though , so go make a friend with one of those.)Miracle March ( and hopefully April ) is still in full effect , so even though spring is almost here , there ’s no reasonableness to wait until next year to get out and get yours .
Daisy Barringer/Thrillist
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Garry Moore/Homewood Snowcat Adventures
