What ability level do I need for cat skiing?

Our cat skiing area in Georgia has a variety of terrain that suits a broad range of abilities. The fresh, light powder and open mellow bowls make for huge smiles and everybody looking like a legend! There are tighter, steeper line choices through the forests for a more challenging ride. And tricky gullies make for an interesting finish to several of our favourite runs.

So we have options for all types of backcountry skier and snowboarder. The starting point is that you need to have off-piste experience for our standard trips. If you don’t, we do offer beginner camps. Below, we offer some guidance on what you need as a minimum cat skiing ability on our trips. Remember that ability levels will still vary across a snowcat group. You can always make a private snowcat booking if you want to get your own group of friends together.

01.

CAT SKIING ABILITY:

To get the most out of your cat skiing trip with us, we recommend:

  • You have experience skiing or snowboarding off-piste (in the backcountry).
  • You are confident in a variety of snow conditions: powder, hard-packed snow and crust.
  • You are comfortable skiing in trees.
  • You have a good fitness level.

02.

SKI TOURING ABILITY:

We also have the following additional recommendations if you are booked for cat skiing and ski touring:

  • You have experience ski touring or split boarding
  • You can kick turn
  • You are in strong physical shape, and can ski tour up to 1000 vertical metres a day.

03.

HELI SKIING ABILITY:

If you have booked heli skiing during your trip, you only need to refer to our cat skiing recommendations. As the helicopter trip is so much quicker than a snowcat, you will get less rest between runs, so be aware that this is more tiring than a cat skiing day.

04.

Beginner Freeriders:

If you don’t have all of the experience that we recommend above, don’t worry! Get in touch, as we can organise special beginner camps that cover all of these essential skills as part of the cat skiing trip.

Freeriding is a physically demanding activity in a remote, extreme and changeable environment. If you have any questions or concerns about your ability or the terrain, please contact us and we’ll be happy to answer all your questions.

And if this sounds like your kind of scene, join one of our cat skiing trips and enjoy all that Bakhmaro has to offer!