Cat Skiing at Homewood

[Baaahb]

Homewood has applied for a cat skiing permit. What do y'all think?

South Lake Tahoe, Calif. – The Forest Service is seeking public input on a proposal submitted by Homewood Mountain Resort to offer guided snowcat skiing and snowboarding tours in the Ellis Peak are during winter 2014-2015.

The proposed area of operation is identified in the current Lake Tahoe Basin Management Snowmobile Guide as open for motorized use. The resort hopes to provide six to eight trips per day, three days per week depending on weather and snow conditions. Each trip would transport 10-12 passengers via a snowcat with a passenger cabin from Homewood Mountain Resort through National Forest System lands to the Ellis Peak area. Passengers and guides would ski back to the resort via existing glades, bowls and treed terrain.

If the proposal is approved, the Forest Service would issue a temporary special use permit and evaluate the operation to determine the viability and appropriateness of the use for future seasons. A map of the proposed area of operations is available with the scoping letter at http://www.fs.usda.gov/goto/ltbmu/HomewoodSnowCat. Written comments or concerns are due to Jonathan Cook-Fisher at [email protected] by Friday, October 31, 2014
. For more information, contact Cook-Fisher at (530) 543-2741.

[Rodbelan]

Homewood has applied for a cat skiing permit. What do y'all think?

First thing we should ask ourselves: would they also allow dog skiing?

[Baaahb]

I'm sure many would be amused if you submitted serious comments along those lines, perhaps on behalf of the American Kennel Club. Heck, unlike dogs, cats don't even like to get wet. And also unlike dogs, they're unlikely to follow the tracks and will likely stray out of bounds. Very ill-conceived, likely by some bureaucrat sitting at a desk reviewing pet ownership figures but not applying common sense.

Dostie.....

[Noodle Boy]

Here's a video from C.A.R.C.A. They can handle themselves very well in Mountain Environment.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JAYQyrsX1HM

[James]

Here's a video from C.A.R.C.A. They can handle themselves very well in Mountain Environment.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JAYQyrsX1HM

My wife is going to love that.

[bobs]

The Ellis terrain looks interesting. I'm guessing that current usage by backcountry skiers is very low (would be more popular if Homewood was the kind of place that attracted the kind of skiers inclined to do a 1000' OOB ascent). Based on available info, I don't have a problem with the snowcat proposal.

[Baaahb]

Awesome, noodle boy, I had no idea. Love the quick deployment.

[bergbryce]

I've heard Ellis is great. Doubt they really need cat service though.
Every resort needs something to make them stand out. Would be better if they stuck with their cheap lift tickets and un-crowded slopes (when it snows).
They'll likely need a clause that allows them to operate the cat on some bare ground.

[fogey]

Ellis can be a good introduction to earning turns--the skin is straightforward and quick from the top of the lift and the terrain leading back into the resort is pretty mellow--or a pleasant diversion for someone skiing the Homewood lifts. Off the other side of the peak, things look steeper and more interesting, but you'd end up climbing back out.

Either way, I don't see much use as things stand. When I've been there (twice?), there have been tracks but no other skiers visible. For pass holders or resort employees getting in a run or two it could make sense, but probably not many people are going to buy a Homewood ticket to skin to Ellis Peak, and if you're going to start from the road most will go for other options.

The interesting question is how far Homewood would want the cats (or dogs) to go.

[Dostie]

You'd have to be pretty inexperienced to pay to ride a snowcat to ski Mt. Ellis. Skinned it once. Barely worth the hike. Nice views from the top, and a nice skin up, but LAME (low angle mediocre excitement) skiing back down. Good skipping material.

[thornton]

^^^that sounds like a similar description to the cat skiing that Kirkwood offered (I'm not sure if they are still doing it at Kirkwood).

[bobs]

You'd have to be pretty inexperienced to pay to ride a snowcat to ski Mt. Ellis. Skinned it once. Barely worth the hike. Nice views from the top, and a nice skin up, but LAME (low angle mediocre excitement) skiing back down. Good skipping material.

Yeah, it doesn't look like anything special, and seeing as how I'm not a Homewood pass-holder, I'm not going to spend 90 minutes worth of a day ticket going OOB for it.

I'm sure not paying to cat-ski that. But let's face it, the market for this sort of thing is mainly people with money to throw away.

And it does have a few steep bits in there (there're plenty of cool runs at major ski areas that are only exciting for a couple hundred feet), and there is fun to be had doing that moderate-angle zen glade thing, depending on snow conditions (and it helps to be on tele for enjoying the mellow stuff IMO). If I did have a HW pass, I'd probably check that area out (skinning it) regularly.