What is “catskiing”?

Question

On a hiking trail recently, I overheard some people talking about going "catskiing" as part of a winter vacation from school.

Obviously, that doesn't mean skiing with or by means of a cat.

What is catskiing? How is it done and in what situations? Does it require a special type of skis?

Charlie Brumbaugh · Accepted Answer · 2018-11-07 05:39:27Z

5

Cat skiing is a type of guided skiing where the skiers go up the mountain in a snowcat, which is a tracked vehicle with an enclosed cabin.

Also see,

answered Nov 7 '18 at 5:39

Charlie Brumbaugh

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To add: catskiing often brings you to more challenging, sidecountry or back country terrain where ski lifts don't service, but not always. – whatsisname Nov 7 '18 at 5:59
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@whatsisname ski lifts don't service those parts, but that doesn't mean that you need a snowcat to go there. You could simply ski there. – njzk2 Nov 7 '18 at 7:09
@njzk2: hence the words "often" and "but not always". Neither snowcats or ski lifts are required to go anywhere, but they are much more convenient or comfortable than 'simply skiing' there. – whatsisname Nov 7 '18 at 16:17
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Hi @whatsisname! Would you be willing to add an answer to this, based on your comments about catskiing being used in more difficult to reach terrain? Part of our community likes backcountry activities. This sounds adventurous and fun for them. An answer wouldn't have to be long or complicated, I just think it would be a good addition! Now that you've mentioned that use-case I'm going to add the backcountry tag. Thanks! – Sue Saddest Farewell TGO GL Nov 7 '18 at 23:50
I guess the name comes from analogy with "heli-skiing", then? – Toby Speight Nov 8 '18 at 10:21

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