We have now launched the Powder Prediction contest for this year. Join in the fun by predicting the first day it will snow on Mt. Werner (also the depth) and you may win a free day snowcatting with us this season.

Click here for details.

There are specific rules to this contest so please review that link above. You will need to email Kent to (kent@steamboatpowdercats.com) join in the fun. Please do as you could win the free day.

Check out images here from last seasons first snow.

With Summer Solstice come and gone, we are getting ready for our annual reservation calendar opening for next season. This July 5th we will launch into our booking engine and start taking reservations for next years epic powder day. Don't slack here. Many of you know how fast some of our weekends get full. Details are as follows:

• July 5th – 15th, 2010: reservation calendar opens first for returning guests who wish to reserve private cats. You can email Kent today if you know of a date for your private cat reservation.  He will reconnect on the 5th to collect deposit and finalize your group reservation.
• July 16th – 31st: returning guests who wish to reserve individual seats or smaller groups.
• August 1st: anyone can place reservations.
• All reservations require a 50% non-refundable deposit.
• Call or email Kent to discuss bookings.  970-879-5188 or kent@steamboatpowdercats.com

Rates for this season have changed.  We have slashed pricing during the beginning and end of season, establishing a shoulder season once again. 

Dec 11 - Jan 13: $325/seat or $3,300/private

Jan 14 - Mar 13: $400/seat or $4000/private

Mar 14 - Apr 11: $325/seat or $3,300/private

We hope your summer has been good for you. We've been rolling and enjoying the fine times here in Steamboat Springs. This time of year is really magical here. Here are some images from recent activities taken by our guides. When not guiding powder skiing our team is all over the world exploring, working and searching out the next great experience. Here are some shots:

Our season has come to a close here at Steamboat Powdercats. We are tapping out and leaving the ring. After 4 months of ripping the backcountry, we are moving on to warmer pastures. This past week we had one of our deepest days of the season, a 21"er that blew our minds. Unfortunately, we have no images from the trip we had into our expert terrain as our cameramen had already flown the coop.

The guides have dispersed to Thailand, Sweden, Tibet, the Yucatan, Peru and Costa Rica, or are on road trips to rivers, deserts and canyons or family trips to the Salt River, California and Missouri. Only one of our guides went directly back to the other job. If you were employed to tag whales off the Atlantic coast for military research, you to would be psyched to go back to work.

We will get back after it come mid June with another eblast and web update regarding timing of our 10/11 reservation booking launch. For those familiar, we've been booking around 800 trips in July as many of you hope to secure another weekend or private cat date where many of those go quick. Return guests should always email us with a tentative date, numbers and what cat so we can get you on the list prior to July where we will then ask for deposit monies.

Thanks again for playing and we really, really appreciate your commitment to revisiting us over and over again. We hope your days sent with us were more than you expected. Though we didn't have our deepest season ever, the snow was consistent most of the time and the feedback we received back from you was only positive. Be safe over the next few months and remember to always, always have fun.

Our company party this year was in Copper Mountain where we attended the Woodward at Copper indoor jumping facility called "The Barn". If you have ever wanted to huck your meat without breaking yourself, this is the place to try it. The crew at Woodward were outstanding coaches, helping us get acquainted with all their toys and then they let us loose to launch ourselves time after time after time.

Needless to say, after a dozen or so inverted impacts into the pit you get exhausted but just can't stop. The next morning and following days, all of us were extremely sore. So much so that we passed on skiing Copper on our last day and spent the time indoors watching classic movies and playing guitar hero on the Wii.

Click here for today's image gallery

More snow, about 6+ in areas, so you know how stoked our groups were. March storms are a gift and these folks deserved every splash of powder on their faces. Thanks for coming again to play. You guys rock! Click here for today's image gallery

Some new snow today added to the small group experience. Only 1 group of 4 guests so there was lots of room to stretch out after the 19 runs made everyone gasping for more and more and more. Click here for today's image gallery

Okay. About 9pm last night the wind finally arrived...argh! What is it with our storms this season? Our 2 groups went out today with high hopes for all day freshies and wind affected or not, the conditions surprised everyone except super guest Jim Grew who knows better. Read Jim's blog from his season with us this year. Lucky man that Grew. Click here for today's image gallery

No trips out today but its snowing and there is no wind - YESSSSSSS! We have space tomorrow on both our expert and advanced cats. We are uncertain how much new snow will fall out of this system but the one thing we do know is that tomorrow is going to be good no matter what. Why you ask?

Over the weekend, we lost one of the true Powderhounds here at Steamboat Powdercats, The Governor, Kent's golden retriever, passed away after a quick and sudden illness. She was nine years old.

Along with our other Powderhounds, Gaucho, Chama, Gallitan and Betsy, Governor was a mainstay at the office and the occasional cabin dog who greeted all our guests with her good looks and stinky breath. She loved surveying the pre and post powder day rituals here at the office and was grateful that many of you gave her some love and muffins alike.

She lived a fully active lifestyle and was blessed to have the opportunity to go to work with her dad everyday during her days. Govy's favorite thing in the world was to chase snowballs, run rivers and spend time with her human family and doggy mom (Lucy) and sister (Cedar) who she was very close with.

Her loyalty, happy disposition and do anything attitude set a great example for all us humans to aspire to.

Please give your hounds back home an extra biscuit and extended walk in memory of Governor today.

R.I.P. buddy.

After yesterday's relentless winds, we didn't quite know what to expect of the conditions for today. With visions of wind buffed crust and hell snow, our 3 groups of powder chasers arrived with second thoughts and low expectations for what we could be a long day.

Fortunately for us, the beauty of Buffalo Pass is that there are always freshies to be had. It's like a powder gift that keeps on giving no matter the situation. Kudos to the guides for digging deep into their arsenal of tree lines while inspiring the guests with fresh turns all day long.

Click here for today's image gallery

The adventure continues for us here. As today's forecasted storm blew in it really blew in hard with some much needed snow but also heavy winds. We think that we were the only skiing to be done in Steamboat as the ski area closed for the entire day leaving our 12 guests as the only skiers in all of Northwest Colorado. Our one cat of experts sought out the deeper trees and the guides put the guests onto fresh turns and powder filled lines. Click here for today's image gallery

Top O' the morning to ya! May the luck of the Irish bring some fresh snow to our mountains and guide you to powderchase with us over the coming weekend.

The forecast for this weekend looks very promising for us in the Northern Mountains of Colorado where northwesterly flow is expected. You should be making plans now to get up to the mountains for a few more fresh turns. If you are unsure of where to go, why not plan a trip with us?

The Colorado Avalanche Center says: "Expect increasing clouds and mountain snow starting by Thursday evening. A trough of low pressure crosses the state on Friday and winds shift back to northwesterly on Saturday. The Northern and Central Mountains will be favored with this next system, but this looks to be a good snow producer for all mountain locations for the period extending from Thursday night into Saturday night.  Northwest flow persists for the remainder of the weekend."

Powderchaser Steve from www.powderchasers.com has issued a powder alert saying "Heavy snow will begin in northern Colorado on Friday with the best shot of a super deep day on Saturday."

Finally, Joel from the Colorado Powder Forecast has build a quick forecast for this coming storm. Check it here.

For those who have already visited us this March, or if you have been watching our blog, you have noticed our guides and some of our guests have once again been celebrating Moustache March with new growth to pay homage to the powder gods. 

It is looking more and more like this weekend will be a big one for our powderstaches and we hope that you will gather your troupes for one more powder day in the 'Boat.  Call us up now and book your trip as we have space on all of our cats this weekend.

The sun came out and allowed the snow to evolve a bit, opening up a bunch more terrain that we were unable to access yesterday with the wind. Click here for today's image gallery

With intense winds and overcast skies our guides had their handful today. As the 30-70 mile/hour gusts closed the Steamboat Ski Area, we kept it going by heading deep into the trees and escaping into the snowcat. This was another reason why you should come cat skiing, the wind won't close us down. Click here for today's image gallery

Two fun and action packed tours out today. Our salute to the Olympians cat went off in grandiose style and an expert trip with loads of returnees made for a rocking and sociable day. Click here for image gallery from today's trip

A group from Summit Investments made SPC home today by ordering up all 3 cats and an amazingly blue bird powder day. Thanks again fellas for bringing the party to us and we can dream about this day for a long, long time. Click here for image gallery from today's trip

After 3 years and a bit since the accident that would redirect his life, Dave Genchi found his way back to Steamboat today with a major goal in mind, to get back on the mountain and ride. With the help from the Stars of Steamboat's instructor George Hurley, Genchi made his first turns since December of 2006. It was a major hurdle and achievement for a man who has been thru so much.

With an ear to ear grin and a sparkle in his eye, Genchi carved turns in unison with George who was masterful behind the sit ski. After a lap of getting used to the rig, George added out riggers and tethers so Genchi could try turning the ski on his own. On a sharp carve near the middle of the run, Genchi washed out and crashed, mashing his side into the snow. "Just like old times" Genchi laughed as George and helpers righted the ski upwards and pushed off for the next line.

On the last lap, Genchi asked to make a top to bottom run and George, who was having as much fun as Genchi, obliged with a high speed assault down Why Not.

There are magical moments in all our lives, certain capstone experiences that epitomize ones character and define our days. For Dave Genchi, today was one of those days.

Click here for image gallery from Dave's first turns

The cards were aligned today as another 5-8 inches hammered the terrain. Beyond the 2 cats that booked weeks prior, we had a group of 7 powder chase with us, booking their trip the day prior, and did they ever make the right call. Rumors of "best day ever" were circulating thru the group and satisfaction all around after a day like this. Click here for image gallery from today's trip

Snowing hard at times, especially in the afternoon. Two groups out, our advanced and expert cats who enjoyed another March storm. This snow should make the weekend full of freshies. We have space - come get it! Click here for image gallery from today's trip

Only our expert cat was up and did we ever nail it. A great, international group, plus returning guests made our all day northern aspects off Soda Mountain even that much better. Click here for image gallery from today's trip

An interesting day today with super foggy visibility, like skiing in the clouds. It would have for surely been a down day if we were a helicopter skiing operation. Another reason why you go snowcat skiing. Click here for image gallery from today's trip

Another beautiful, mostly sunny day here in the Valley. Lots of psyched folks enjoying the clean fresh powder. Next storm is suspected tonight but not really sure about this one as it could miss us. Click here for image gallery from today's trip

A classic March day here in Steamboat with winter in the morning and spring in the afternoon. This storm has given us 14" over the two days, so you know what that means right? A big day for all with lots of south side runs before things got warm. Tomorrow should be real fine. Click here for image gallery from today's trip

The past few days of sunshine have been great and all but today's snowstorm is what our life here at SPC is all about. A bunch of stoked folks, including the gang from Arcstone who do it right. Click here for image gallery from today's trip

It was a double lather up day here at SPC where the sun and sunscreen were out in full force. The guides did a great job impressing the guests with freshies all day long. Good work team! Click here for image gallery from today's trip

With base area temps hovering in the 40's, spring like conditions have developed in the terrain. Up top, we are still finding soft and drier snow. All south and west aspects are sun affected so we will be staying clear of them till they warm up when the sun comes out. Today it was overcast most of the day so we had to stay on the more northern aspects.

One of our groups today was all the years best employees at the Steamboat Ski Area. it was a "thank you" trip from management at Ski Corp for those folks who worked so hard during the winter. Our other groups were repeat guests back for more fun searching out the freshies on the Pass.

It looks as though we will be getting another storm on Thursday evening and Friday then the next wave on Sunday/Monday. The CAIC has the Northern Colorado Mountains forecasted for 2-4 on Thursday night and 2-5 on Friday. Keep your fingers crossed!

Bring on the first March storm of the season!

Click here for image gallery from today's trip

Though the sun is out and the snowpack is warming, our day today was classic. Cold, northerly open turns with a small group putting in 16 runs with endless freshies. Click here for image gallery from today's trip

Many of you have contacted us regarding the tribute film on Dave's website. If you haven't checked it out, go there now and be entertained by the 7-min's of throwback style film making that Genchi's friends did in honor of him. Thanks for keeping Dave in your thoughts.

This February, we have seen more days with new snow than not. It has been a great month of powder for us all. Today it has warmed up a bit and next system looks to enter Colorado on Thursday. Click here for image gallery from today's trip

We ran our first and what looks to be our only moonlight tour tonight. We hosted a group of locals who have been booking one of these full moon skiing tours for several years now. It was a riot of a time with moon shadows guiding us down the slopes.

Our next full moon is on the 30th of March and we run these tours the days leading up to and that night of the full moon.

When conditions are right the skiing is amazing. But you can be rest assured that the cabin dinner party will be a hoot.

A busy day for us here with 3 cats out during the day and one on a moonlight tour. Snow is holding fast. Looks like high pressure will enter the Valley in the coming days. Click here for image gallery from today's trip

If powder skiing was an olympic sport, our guests today would all be gold medallists. Deep blue skies and clean fresh snow all day long...what more could you ask for? Its days like this that will be locked away in the memory bank and come August, during the heat of the summer, you'll smile thinking about how great Feb 26, 2010 was.

Click here for image gallery from today's trip

As March approaches, we are anticipating more of the same with days of El Niño induced flow. Conditions this past month have been insane and if we can only keep things cold, the next month could make us really spoiled. El Niño winters are known to carry lots of moisture into the spring. We can only hope this year is similar to those in the past.

As we pass by the middle of this winter, we understand that many of you have already visited us for this season. Thank you for coming. To all those guest who are scheduled over the next few weeks, keep praying for snow and get ready for all day freshies.

The next few weeks our reservation calendar has availability on many days, check it out and you'll also see that the end of March is more or less wide open for bookings.

We are excited about staying open into April as this will be the first time in years that we've extended our season past the end of March. Late season there was a monster storm that arrived in Northern Colorado at the end of March and early April. It dumped for over a week making for an outrageous end of the season.

In hopes to inspire you beyond your basic need to powder chase, we have decided to reduce rates from March 14 - April 10, our closing day. They will be $325/day or $3300 for the private cat (12 ppl max).

This would be a prime time to watch the weather and manage your time (and money) to get back up here. Even better, go plan an end of season party for your friends or staff? Click here for more details regarding the discounts during March Madness.

These discounts won't impact our frequent guest incentive where you ski 5 full days with us over time and then get your 6th day free. Today we had several guests on their FREE DAY - Thanks Dale and Dave - YOU GUYS ROCK!

Also, for those already on the books for post March 14th trips, we will drop your final payment to reflect the discount.

Bring on the powder!

Dumping all day, at times 2-3 inches per hour. Our super guests and amazing snow reward us with a truly remarkable powder day. We are set up nicely for another epic weekend. Space available on Sunday. Click here for image gallery from today's trip

Still snowing. We have been nailing the south, keeping our northern aspects open for the next few days where the weather looks to be clearing. Thank you all who have been visiting and booking trips. You guys rock! Click here for image gallery from today's trip

7" more and it is coming down! Whoever is booked over the next day or so is stoked. We have space so what are you waiting for? Come and get some! Click here for image gallery from today's trip

Conditions are primed for epic skiing and riding as we received another 4-6" today with it snowing for most of the day. All our guests found endless freshies mostly knee deep and virgin snow. It is looking more and more like the storm will arrive in full force tomorrow and into Sunday. We have space every day this coming week so you should all be storm chasing. Now is the time to get in another sick powder day.

Click here for image gallery from today's trip

7" more today. This February has turned out to be a very consistent, snowy month for us in Northern Colorado. Click here for image gallery from today's trip

Another 3" with much, much more on the way. Looks like Sunday could be magic. Today was close. Click here for image gallery from today's trip

Click here for image gallery from today's trip

Our photographer Pete Beuth put together a nice mix of our January best images. Enjoy this and we'll see you soon.

An unruly day where cats wouldn't start, couldn't run or were blocked by children buried in the snow. Click here for image gallery from today's trip

Among others. we had a fun loving group of ladies here on a bachelorette party. As you can imagine, we had some fun with this gang. Click here for image gallery from today's trip

10" new and it snowed all day. Due to some wind, the depth and some heavy moisture content in the snow, quality today was more like the foam on a Guinness Beer than the cuvee de prestige Champagne we are so used to having on Buffalo Pass. It was an adventure indeed and a lesson in powder skiing for all involved. Click here for image gallery from today's trip

And then the snow gods laid their hands upon the clouds and made it snow, and snow and snow. Our first double digit day in about a month YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!!!!!!! What are you doing tomorrow - WE HAVE SPACE!
Click here for image gallery from today's trip

A glimpse into the forecast for the weekend and into next week. Video courtesy of Joel Gratz and his Colorado Powder Forecast.

Another 4-6" of new snow with more coming our way. The bulk of this storm looks to hit us on Saturday. Let's hope for no wind! Click here for image gallery from today's trip

Two cats out today with all returning guests. Another inch and a half of snow and wind from the east made it feel like a bit more on certain aspects.

We had the gang from Steamboat Magazine with us for their "powder clause" work trip. Deb, the owner, is a die hard powder skier and looks forward to bringing her loyal staff along for some much needed powder therapy. You have probably seen the Steamboat Magazine on your visits to Steamboat Springs and if not, you should subscribe to this award winning publication as it represents everything Steamboat Springs with well written articles and outstanding photography from the paradise we call home.

Click here for image gallery from today's trip

Travis Gainsley, from 3-Wire Media Group was on the trip with the gang and uploaded this video of some tree skiing with SPC Kent's wife Jules. For those who wonder how the snow is in the terrain, this shows you a real honest view.

A couple more inches again today from our orographic friends.

We had two groups out today with one, our expert group, being a gang from the Mahogany Ridge Brewery & Grill. The owner Charlie has been bringing his employees on a mid-season party with us for many seasons now. He books 3 private cats over 3 days in our variety of ability levels so that most every staff member can get a chance to rip the soft and fresh powder with us. Charlie of course gets to come every day. Thanks again Charlie for the good times. We'll see you next December for our company party!

Click here for image gallery from today's trip.

Freshies all day long. Where were you? We had space on 2 of our cats. Come and get some. Click here for image gallery from today's trip.

Six more inches today adding a really soft layer to what has turned out to be a nice snowy week. Keep it coming. Click here for image gallery from today's trip.

A few more inches today from what looks like a short lived storm.

We had 3 groups up in all our ability levels and lots of returning guests. One group, our expert cat, was a private crew of 6 buddies who annually pitch in for the kitty and come to rip. This season they made 17 runs.

Many of you will remember these guys from the excellent video (watch below) from one of the bunch, Mike Donegan, who made it after videoing a bunch from last seasons tour. We can't wait to see this seasons mix as they had 3 helmet cameras with them today. Click here for image gallery from today's trip.

Click here for image gallery from today's trip.

Another 4"+ in the terrain today. This amount almost refreshes all the tracks from the past week, hiding the ghost tracks and setting up the next few days for endless fresh turns. Click here for image gallery from today's trip.

The next storm arrives into the Rockies on Thursday with a chance for us to pick up a couple more inches into Friday. The more the merrier of course. When looking at this season, specifically with snowfall in mind, we are about 71% of our historical average to date. It sounds bleak but in actuality the terrain is set up and most if not all our runs are open for us all to play in.

A high flying group came to visit us on this last day of January. With almost half of our seasons total guests arriving to visit in February we are now just starting to crank up the season. You'd think there is no space with us, but have a look at our calendar and you'll see spots here and there, mostly mid-week, that you can come and fill in and get that powder day you deserve. We have space on all our cats this week and it looks like storms are coming in. Click here for image gallery from today's trip.

Click here for image gallery from today's trip.

Still snowing here with 7" more for us to play in. Three snowcats out and a good mix of first timers and returning guests. It seems like everyday we now have a group that has reached their 6th trip and thus we give them a FREE DAY. You can tell that Jim and Tom here are on their free day by the size of their smiles. Click here for image gallery from today's trip.

The promotion goes like this: after your 5th trip (non-private cat or discounted trips for any reason), we will then give you a free day on us. Your trips carry over year to year so it is not necessary that you come 6 days in a row or all in one season.

Another deep day on the pass and 7" more on the stake. It snowed most of the day and our 3 cats had a great time playing in the pow.

Along with our returning guests, we've had several groups here for consecutive days (lucky SOB's!), we had a large group from Sierra Snowboard visit us to rip up the goods. This crew manages www.sierrasnowboard.com which is an online community and sales venue for everything snowboarding. Their purchasing power allows for some great deals so check them out next time you need some gear.

The snow was not as deep and over the head as yesterday but it was still as good as it gets.

Click here for image gallery from today's trip.

We woke up today expecting a powder day but what we ended up with was a life changing experience for some of our guests and a very deep day for all. With 15" at our cabin at 9:30 am, and another 7" falling during the next 4 hours you know its game on and winter has really kick started once again.

For most of the day you couldn't see but 10 feet in front of you and that was when the snow wasn't over the head forcing you to porpoise your turns. We could more or less get into all of the terrain as it was just light enough so it wasn't to deep to ski. The real challenge was navigating our road system, especially on the climbs. A huge kudos goes out to our staff for leading a safe tour on a day like this that brings back memories of Star Wars and the Planet Hoth.

We had 2 groups out with one storm chasing group booking yesterday and another here for their last day of a 3 day trip with us. At the end of the day, all those involved will remember gasping for air and the crazy adventure that is Steamboat Powdercats on a day like this.

Click here for image gallery from today's trip.

See for yourself here how the snow was. Kevo used his pole camera to capture the true essence of how today's skiing was:

After a couple weeks of drought and the past couple days of the big tease from the monster storm that has dumped feet and feet in Southern Colorado, today it was our turn and we finally had some new snow to play in. Most of the old tracks were filled in by the 6-8" but more importantly all of the memories of the past week or so of no new snow have been dismissed and forgotten.

It feels like winter again and looking at what has happened to southern Colorado we are crossing our fingers that we will finally get our due out of this storm. Tomorrow could be epic!

Click here for image gallery from today's trip.

Click here for image gallery from today's trip.

It wanted to snow today so many of us were tempted with images of face shots. After 2 weeks, you'd think people would be going crazy (yes the guides are of course) but our guests are stoked with the soft and mostly fresh conditions something that you cannot really find at the ski area anymore unless you go out of bounds.

If it were March we'd have a different story to tell but in January where it is below freezing all the time, this season at least, the snow is keeping a nice quality.

Click here for image gallery from today's trip.

Three cats out today with all ability levels showing up on the schedule. Beyond our expert cat which was a group organized by John Damiano. who is a regional sales manager from Burton Snowboards, our other cats were small groups with 5 guests respectively enjoying the fresh. All were amazed with the powder we are still finding in the terrain, now 13 days since last storm.

Click here for image gallery from today's trip.

The Burton group which included Johnny D, his staff and Burton exec and ex-pro snowboarder Dave Downing, is on day one of a 3 day cat fest where they have invited sales teams from BC Surf and Sport along with Specialty Sports to rip it up on next year Burton models.

The crew from Crestone Capital Advisors, a wealth management and services group from Boulder, came to play today. They have been hosting their annual company trip for their employees with us for many years. It has been fun getting to know their gang and watch as everyone has really taken to the powder.

Beyond Crestone's ripping powder addictions, these guys and their staff are recognized by many in the industry as a leader in taking care of money for entrepreneurs and their families. Their company ranked 26th out of 407 firms by Wealth Manager magazine in 2009. Crestone currently advises more than $1 billion of client assets and serves 43 clients from around the world.

If you are looking for someone to manage your money, call Crestone!

Click here for image gallery from today's trip.

Like many of you, every season you come back to visit us at Steamboat Powdercats. For some reason, be it the snow, the guides, the terrain or the tradition, you return to us in hopes that the cards will play out for another epic powder day. Our returning guests are our greatest asset so we'd like to introduce you to some of them throughout this season.

Meet Sean D. Tucker who along with his daughter and friends have visited us during the MLK weekend every year since 2003. Sean is one of our most fired up guests, a true character and champion of the snowcat. Our guides love having Sean around due to his positivity and lust for life.

As a living legend in the air show industry and an aerobatic pilot who was inducted into the National Aviation Hall of Fame in 2008. It is easy to understand why our guides, who have one of the worlds greatest's jobs, would trade with Sean anytime. Sean's company Power Aerobatics includes his Team Oracle which performs in air shows worldwide as well as Tutima, an academy of Aviation Safety. Sean is well known for his speaking engagements and was recently hired along with his Team Oracle to manage the aeronautic safety for a Hollywood film project this coming summer. Check out Sean flying on YouTube and here below:

Day 11 of no new snow, so as you'd expect, most of our guests expectations are fairly low. We like it this way, because when we get them up in to the terrain and the guides magically producing fresh meadows and some untracked snow, the guests are amazed. Click here for image gallery from today's trip.

We've never had to stop running trips due to drought. It's a balancing act for us being a powder skiing/riding operation as we cannot guarantee the snow or fresh turns. We provide a "backcountry experience" so whatever it is, it is. Fortunately, the terrain is vast and the guides are genius in making the days happen no matter the conditions. Keep praying for snow!

We made it to the top of Soda Mountain today, a first for the season. Soda is the Holy Grail of our terrain, a sliver of big mountain feel within the greater and more gentle Buffalo Pass region. Our expert cat is the only cat in our day that gets to climb up Soda, providing 12 guests with a mountain more or less to themselves. Click here for image gallery from today's trip.

Today we laid down the first tracks on North Soda for our season. The snow was fast and remarkably light after the 10 days of drought. All the guests were amazed at the snow quality still existing.

The next storm cycle looks to enter Colorado this coming Tuesday but it is setting up to favor the south. We'd take 2 inches and a bunch of wind at this point for a quick refresh of the terrain.

With much anticipation, today marked our first trip into our expert terrain, at least some of it. We've been crazy busy with road building and moving snow to get here and thanks to Meeker, Eric and our gang we made it. Click here for image gallery from today's trip.

In all, the day was a success and our gang of 12, a 50th birthday celebration and a crew from Tabernash, enjoyed the north facing goodness in Bitch Creek. As the days progress we will be getting into Soda Mountain and Pepsi Ridge but just can't get there yet. Looks like snow this coming week which will help a bunch with our roads and refresh the terrain for our next round of guests.

The 5th annual Adaptive Ski Camp was a success with 3 full cats enjoying the backcountry. As always we'd like to thank Craig and Andy Kennedy from Access Anything and Joel Berman from Adaptive Adventures for helping us organize the event. These guys put on the Steamboat All Mountain Ski Camp where they invite every type of adaptive skier or rider you could imagine.

We had 9 mono skiers on our cats along with visually impaired, three track and four track skiers. There were several Wounded Warriors and disabled veterans who's stories matched the incredible smiles that were ear to ear, all day long.

Click here for image gallery from today's trip.

Happy Birthday folks! We celebrated a 60 and a 30 year old party on the pass today. With a group of 5 for the birthday, then a father son team from Australia and then a single fellow in our cat, it was spacious and spread out. We ran an intermediate tour with the gang, skiing our most gentle terrain to ease the new backcountry skiers into the powder.

Over the years we have entertained many a birthday party. It's understandable of course as a day up on Buff cat skiing can be one of the best days of skiing in your life.

Click here for image gallery from today's trip.

This was our final day of the second AIARE avalanche class we put on every season. We spent most of today in the field learning how to dig snow pits, perform compression (tap) test and Rutschblock tests and evaluate snow crystals. The group enjoyed the on snow experience after spending most of the previous two days working in the office reviewing slides and learning about proper decision making and travel techniques in the backcountry.

It was a good show for us as the terrain we were in had some recent, natural avalanche activity on some of the pitches.

Click here for image gallery from today's trip.

No new snow today and it is looking like a trend of dry, cold weather will be with us for a bit longer than hoped. Maybe mid next week we will get another blast but for now it is uncertain.

We only took one cat out today and also hosted a dozen folks for our annual AIARE avalanche course where we teach them how to plan, prepare and execute safe backcountry travel. Our group on the cat was mostly returnees from the past days along with an Aussie, a Serb, a couple father son teams and a fish biologist who was happening thru Colorado and drove to Steamboat to catch a ride in the cat. Click here for image gallery from today's trip.

We had a 40 degree inversion in the terrain today with -20 degrees at the base and 20 degrees up top. The conditions are holding strong with the south skiing fast. Lots of sunshine.

There was a first for us at Steamboat Powdercats today as we think it was our first group of triplets who came to visit. Their group of friends had the entire cat and for many it was their first time cat or heli skiing. On every run they were hooting and hollering down the slopes. It was a ton of fun.

Click here for image gallery from today's trip

Snowing like mad most of the day - love it! Except for 2 newcomers, all others in the cat were returnees and all were here for multiple days - lucky sob's. We wish everyone who comes with us would get days like this where the snow gods cooperate day after day after day.

Over the past few year we've started to get more and more multiple day guests (thank you very much!) and if a drought hits for you - ouch! The dream is like what we had today and over the past couple weeks. If only February it could snow like this.

Click here for image gallery from today's trip.

With only 5 guests on the cat today we ran the trip with our minimum number of guests. There was lots of room to stretch out legs, lounge and really get to know the others in the group. Along with the space, the trip was even that much better with all retuning guests, some from yesterday and some who will be here all week. Click here for image gallery from today's trip.

Our cats hold 12 guests and we typically run the trips with 10 or more but on some days this minimum comes into play and we have to turn guests away if we cannot fulfill this policy. Keep an eye on our calendar and track the storms because we made 14 runs today and it isn't uncommon with the smaller groups to get 15-17 where our average is 12 runs with a full group. This next week looks like storms are coming and at the moment the groups are small or the minimum has yet to be reached.

Our first Kids Cat - Powder Pups adventure went off today in grand style. The little rippers had the deepest day's of their lives while the parents enjoyed watching their kids go deep. We had several families out with 4 kids ages 7-10 on the cat. The guides had a ball helping the monsters ski untracked for their first times. Click here for image gallery from today's trip.

We've been pitching this type of trip for several years and finally we put together enough folks to make it happen. You can find all details about this trip here. Our typical age limit is 12 but for these specialty trips, we allow for younger guests.

Seven more inches today and it really pounded hard throughout the morning. We picked up 3 inches over a 2 hour lunch shift, now that's dumping. Since Santa brought us snow over the holiday week, we've had consistent storms and over 50" of new freshies have fallen since then.

We had one group out, all returning guests, a full cat and the powder was deep.

Click here for image gallery from today's trip.

There is nothing better than a day of skiing untracked snow with your friends and family, on your birthday, on the 1st day of the Year. Happy New Year and happy birthday to one of our returning guests who makes it a tradition to come skiing with us on this day. Good work Ted and congrats for another year!

We can only hope that 2010 is as fresh and deep as the last with a snow storm every week and happy guests on all days. Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!

Click here for image gallery from today's trip.

Celebrating the last powder day of they year in style with 16" of new snow. Our two cats of well deserving guests toasted the New Year with face shot after face shot of the pure champagne bubbly. What a way to remember 2009 with one last great powder day. Click here for image gallery from today's trip.

It was one of the deepest days we had in all of 2009, a top 5 day for depth in our terrain for the year; our deepest was a 20"'er we had on January 6th, oh my.

It stopped snowing around mid day today and clouds parted in the afternoon. The next wave looks to come in on Saturday full-bore.

Due to a rather unfortunate event yesterday, we blew a track off a snowcat (ouch!), we only could take one cat up. Those guests we had out had a great time and enjoyed themselves with lots of fun and laughter and stories and of course the endless fresh turns. Click here for image gallery from today's trip.

We ended up getting the track put back on the machine thanks to Meeker, Eric and Pete, good work boys.

Oh yea, it's snowing again and looks like good moisture over the next few days - come and get it!

Another lather up the sunscreen type day here in the Yampa Valley. It was our first 2 cat day of the season after a last minute booking yesterday with 5 guests opened up another cat. We had a returning group who has now come 12 years in a row with us and then this other crew making for some happy folks. Click here for image gallery from today's trip.

Looks like another storm is brewing. Come Wednesday we should have another system bearing down on us according to the weathermen, whoever they are? Suggestions coming in are for Northwesterly flow which is the best option for us in the Northern Mountains of Colorado.

A crisp, cold, blue bird day with one cat out and 11 guests on the pass. It was your typical December powder day, a few days after a storm which equates to light, dry snow on most of the runs and where the sun was hitting, the snow was still staying soft.

We had a family reunion group of return guests, plus a couple snowboarders (owner of Never Summer Snowboards) and a retuning guest from the UK who drove up from Vail to make some fresh turns.

Click here for image gallery from today's trip.

Santa and his elves were busy making snow for us during the holiday. 12 guests got after it today in the 16" of new snow since we last went out. It skied much better than last week, its amazing what a new layer will do. We have tours all this coming week and several cats with space available. Check out calendar here.

Click here for image gallery from today's trip.

We are now set with the Steamboat Powdercats Ski with Olympians cat on March 13, 2010. Being that this is another winter Olympic year, we think it is fitting to now launch this trip and allow our guests an opportunity to play with past Olympic and Steamboat locals Caroline Lalive and Nelson Carmichael.

Check out the page we've built for the trip. We offering the tour up in the advanced level and there are 10 spaces for those wanting to enjoy the day.

Caroline and Nelson have a combined 5 Olympics under their belts, along with a half dozen National Championships in their respective disciplines. They are psyched to come play with us and we are looking forward to a classic powder with them and you in the powder.

Santa showed up early this season with a gift of 10" of snow on our doorstep this morning. Last week we caught him testing out his new sleigh, minus the rain deer. He was looking trim and happy and ready for tonight's big show.

The 10" of snow couldn't have come at a better time for us. We had to turn away a few trips this past week but are back on track and will be running tours again come Saturday. We have a tour on Sunday that is in need of additional folks to make it happen. Remember we always have a 5-fly rule that if we do not fulfill at least 5 guests on the cat, it doesn't move.

The extended forecast looks looks frigid with temps in the single digits. It doesn't look like much more moisture beyond tomorrow and into next week.

Our 2010 Calendar would be a great stocking stuffer for you and your crew. Email us if if you wish to get one prior to the New Year. We will also have them for sale in our office when you come to ski.

This seasons calendar cover is a sweet March shot of the cat with the Diamond Face and Mushroom Fields in the background.  The calendar is once again selling for $22 per calendar (includes tax, shipping and handling).

Remember that for every calendar sold, we will be donating profits to the David Genchi Recovery Fund.

Today marks the third anniversary of Genchi's incident and not a day goes by that we aren't thinking and missing him and encouraging Dave to work hard at making positive progress on his recovery.

For those of you who are not familiar with Dave Genchi. He worked with us for many years as our photographer and videographer, capturing the epic powder days and putting together some outstanding videos that you can see on YouTube or on our website here.

Unfortunately, Dave took a fall with us while on the Pass and injured his spinal cord. You can read up about Dave and his efforts toward recovery here. Since the injury, the Powdercats Nation has been kind to Dave and we continue to encourage you to support Dave in any way you can. Financially or spiritually, Dave's road to recovery is a difficult task and anything you can do is always helpful.

Dave is now living in Florida where he is from, after a year and a bit in California, and spending time in Steamboat Springs this past summer where he enjoyed time with his friends here in this beautiful place.

Thanks again to everyone who helps Dave with his recovery.

Let the games begin here at Steamboat Powdercats as we ran our first tour for the season. We had a great time with the crew and the guides and everyone loved being back out in the fresh.

With that said, we need snow! There were 3" on the snow stake this morning, but come on already, give us some love. Another round of storms which seem more favorable are coming in off the coast and lets see what happens. Until then we are day by day and honestly, this weekend we aren't running another tour.

Click here for images from this first trip.

It's snowing in Steamboat again this morning. We are not expecting a lot of accumulation, but at this point we will take whatever we can.

We were up on the pass the last couple days and are now finished with our first round of training and are set to run our first tour tomorrow.

You will see in this photo gallery that we have been doing our avalanche, lost skier and incident rescue scenarios among others to practice in case of a real incident were to occur while you are with us during your trip. Here is to a safe season.

We received a good dumping over the weekend with 16.5" of snow settling out on our snow stake.

This has improved the snowpack considerably so we are heading up on the pass over the next few days to continue our guide training where we will run toboggans and do our traditional scenarios for incidents that we may see during the season.

The next storm looks to be heading North but there is a chance that come Thursday the snow gods may show us some pity and bring it on.

After months of anticipation and excitement, the day has come and we are officially open for your skiing and riding pleasure. But, as you can see by the image of our snow stake, the event that is our first day of the season is a bit anti-climatic because the snow isn't deep enough for us to pull off a tour.

So, with that said, we are really hoping Mother Nature to step it up and unleash her wrath upon us. Last season we opened on December 19th with 49" and pulled off a great tour.

Looks like this weekend the forecast is for snow...come on baby!

Guide training is now in full swing. We are in the midst of our refresher for the Outdoor Emergency Care medical part of the training where we run thru multiple scenarios and situations to prep for the emergencies that may arise while in the terrain.

We are now really crossing our fingers that the storm predicted for this weekend comes about as the terrain is thin. Clouds are rolling in now and forecast are looking like moisture arrives later this evening.

With everyday, we approach our opening, scheduled for Friday, December 11th. We've been pushing snow around on the Pass, building the infrastructure necessary for getting you deep into the fresh. Our guide training begins this week and all of us are psyched for the coming season.

We are in need of snow so please keep the candle lit. Looks like we should have a cycle coming in this week so help us out by praying the Mother Nature kicks down with some moisture this time.

Today, the official last day of summer, wasn't very summer-like at all. We woke up to snow on our mountains for the first time this season. It was fitting that we received our first powder day now as our autumnal equinox gets ready to take over from where summer has left off. Fortunately, no one told Mother Nature about this and she has jump started winter for us. View images of mountains here.

With over 300 entries, our powder prediction contest was a fun filled event. We are sorting out the winner and will get back here with specifics. But, the report from the ski area was 1/4 inch. Thanks for playing and we'll see who wins that free day with us this season.

We have once again launched our annual Powder Prediction contest. Please join in the fun in predicting when the first snow will fall on Steamboat's, Mt. Werner. The rules of the game are located here. Last season, it snowed on October 5th and a trace was reported. In the past, we've seen this initial layer come anywhere from August to late October. Check it out and email us your thoughts.

After sorting through nearly a hundred thousand images from this past season, we've compiled our "Best Of" image galleries to carry you thru till the next.

We start with you our guest, those of the Powdercats Nation, who keep coming back to visit us year after year after year. Beyond all the elements of our acquaintance and friendship, its the powder filled experiences and passion we share that link us all deep in the backcountry together.

Click here to view the best 08.09 GUEST images of the season

Oh the Face Shot. What would we do without you? You must feel sorry for those who have never had one, won't ever get one or just don't know how. It's a pity for sure, but probably means there will be less tracks in front of you and more for your taking.

Not all of these images in this gallery are of big face shots but also of those fine skiing and snowboarding images that just have something about them.

Click here to view the best FACE SHOT images of the season

We are blessed to have a fantastic group of guides; a loyal crew of co-workers, friends and family. Many of us have been working here for many years and its this tradition in seeing the same faces in our staff that builds on the connection with our our guests.

Beyond all the hard on snow skills and the leadership required its the friendly nature and unique personalities that really make our crew click...most of the time at least.

Thank you again to our staff for making the experience at Steamboat Powdercats as much safe and fun as possible.

Click here to view the best 08.09 GUIDE images of the season

At the end of the day, during our apres ski party, we showcase our daily best of images for each snowcat group to reflect on. There is no question that it's these crash images that always make for the biggest cheers.

Sometimes it's not fun and games, so be careful when crashing but remember that the image will last and it is really funny, for the moment at least, when you are deep, upside down and yard saling across the slope.

Click here to view the best 08.09 CRASH images of the season

Along with the Face Shots and the Crashes, it's the jumping images that are always the crowd pleasures. Catching big air in the powder makes for a softer landing and having a bit of Kodak courage always helps.

Good fun as always with these shots.

Click here to view the best 08.09 JUMPING images of the season

If it wasn't for our snowcats where would we be? Though hiking and chairlifts are good and all, it is these machines that provide us the lift to get the access we need as a snowcat operation into the backcountry.

Thank you to Felix, Tigger, Calvin and Hobbes for your ease of operation and reliability (most of the time) and comfort you provide us with during the fantastic days on Buffalo Pass.

Click here to view the best SNOWCAT images of the season

When it is not dumping snow, overcast or a white out, the landscapes seen from our terrain on Buffalo Pass are unparalleled.

Big, huge views of the commanding valley and of our skiing and snowboarding terrain provide our guests with inspiring glimpses into the big picture that is Steamboat Springs and that of Steamboat Powdercats.

Click here to view the best 08.09 LANDSCAPE images of the season