Cat skiing
We do our cat skiing and snowboarding from the summit of Schweitzer, opposite of the ski area, riding through a marvelous array of west-facing, glacier-carved bowls which collect over 300 inches of snow annually. Most uniquely our snowcat road at the summit is 6-mile wide and plays host to our 78+ fall-line runs, all of which lead to powder fields, pillows and super glades! With our pick up road also being very wide there's plenty of room for you and your crew to get untracked turns top to bottom! Need to get the real low-down? Read our client's reviews below. Day in and day out for the past 19 years, our cat-skiing and cat-boarding guests have found Selkirk Powder to be consistently one of the best powder skiing days of the their lives!
The tour price excludes 6 % Idaho state tax; online and direct reservations incure a 6 % booking fee.
After booking, you may request to change your reservation time or date outside of 45 days, though we assess an administrative fee of $100 for each change. Please visit Policies for our full cancellation policy.
- Visit our desk in Lakeview Lodge at the base.
- Stop by our Summit Lodge located near Sky House.
- Give us a ring on the phone: +1 (208) 263-6959.
- Send your booking to reservations@selkirkpowder.com or use our contact form.
Lodging
We’ve gathered together a few condominium, resort, hotel, and bed & breakfast properties.
Travel insurance
We’ve found a policy to consider that suits our nature-reliant adventures.
It’s the flow! With our summit-based lodge, a 7 min chairlift ride, and literally one pole stroke or foot-kick away from Schweitzer’s summit lift puts you almost immediately into the cat skiing terrain. Our longest vert is 2,200 ft; the average is 1,200 ft. The fall lines are incredible. The snow conditions and temps: typically awesome. The cat lap times are quick and efficient. Water in custom, reusable bottles, electrolytes, and snacks like Clif Bars, nuts, chocolate, and salty chips are provided. Lead and tail guides are tops in their field, playful yet stern, and adeptly lead groups to achieve an average of 8 runs and surpass 10,000 ft of vertical per trip.
While every snowcat operation is intrinsically different, perhaps what really sets Selkirk Powder apart from other cat skiing operations is the breadth of our permit area and speedy access in the morning: no vans, no long snowcat ascents, just a quick ride up the Great Escape quad, a skiing safety session (always important), and you’re dropping into the flow.
We ski with two cats (a maximum of 20 guests per day) in one huge drainage of the U.S. Selkirk Mountains. The Selkirks run north; our drainage runs west. This great combination provides the perfect aspect for 75 shaded runs interspersed along our 6½ mi upper cat road—that’s right: 6½ mi of continuous drop points!
Just like cat skiing in BC, we rip through big, open powder fields, steep pitches in fir glades, and find flow among wicked fun, natural terrain features like monster cornices and droppable cliffs. Steeps range up to 40° or more down to mellow cruisers. Size-wise, compared to all North American ski resorts, our 4,350 acres rank us #6, just behind Heavenly.
Visit the Terrain page for more information, or jump straight to the media gallery.
The snowpack in our area is a mix between continental and maritime and is famous for being deep and well-bonded. Lying in the natural storm track, snow is often refreshed, which results in an annual snowfall that exceeds 300 in. Depth-wise, we average 120 in of snowpack in April. In our history, we have observed areas with depths over 20 ft and cornices reaching outwards 50 ft. View the webcams and weather reports
- licensed guides *
- BCA avalanche transceiver for the day
- snow safety awareness and equipment training
- single-use lift ticket for the initial chairlift ride to the summit
- snacks like Clif Bars, nuts, chocolate, and salty chips
- water with complimentary sports bottle
Ski rentals
Powder skis and snowboards may be rented from Schweitzer’s Ski & Ride Center.
We would be happy to contribute some frosty fun to your special event. Examples of occassions we serve include:
- birthdays
- bachelor and bachelorette parties
- weddings
- anniversaries
- corporate outings
- reunions
| Register at our desk in Schweitzer’s Lakeview Lodge. You’ll complete registration documents and be fitted for an avalanche transceiver, watch a safety video, and receive your lift pass for the chairlift ride up to our Summit Lodge on the summit. | |
| As you off-load from the lift, you’ll meet your guide and head towards our Summit Lodge to complete your safety briefing and gear check. Then off you go to drop into the backcountry! Our snowcat will be waiting for you at the bottom of your first run, warmed up and ready to whisk you back up. | |
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| – | After about six hours of cat skiing, we’ll return to our Summit Lodge. Ski & ride your victory lap down one of the resort’s trails on the front side to our Village-based reception area. After checking back in and returning your beacon, you can opt to head straight back to your car for a quick ride home, perhaps wind down in the hot tub of your hotel or condo, or hoist a glass of your favorite beverage and swap stories of epic powder turns with your new friends at one of Schweitzer’s Village pubs. |
To rally our guests for their day of pow, we purr along in PistenBully snowcats, outfitted with custom-built “in-the-round” seating cabins that comfortably accommodate ten (10) passengers. Cabins are heated and vented, sport wireless speakers, and are funished with comfortable, padded seats. Helicopter-style fresh air vents are installed into the window system to cool and provide fresh air flow in addition to fully-opening windows.