Heli-skiing vs Cat-skiing - How to Choose

Cat-skiing vs Heli-skiing - Which is Best for You?

The saying goes that cat-skiing is the poor man’s heli-skiing, which has some truth. But the reality is more nuanced and depends on you.

If you’re weighing up cat skiing vs heli skiing, here are the key things to consider for each experience.

Heliskiing is best for you if:

• Time is more of a limiting factor than money
• Your travel to get there is expensive or time-consuming (in which case, the extra return makes the cost difference more marginal)
• You snowboard and might struggle with heelside traverses and exits through uneven terrain, which are more common in cat-skiing
• You have the fitness to enjoy more, and longer, descents
• You’re in Canada, and you want more open alpine skiing or snowboarding than trees
• You are travelling in March/April

You can read our full guide on what to expect on a heliskiing trip on our blog for more insight.

Cat skiing is best if:

• You are going to a place like Japan, where heliskiing options are limited
• You aren’t going to spend a lot of money or time getting there and would rather hedge your bets with more days for the same money
• You can’t afford more than one trip and can’t stretch to heliskiing
• You tend to get cold or tired and want the option of taking a break
• You hate flying

For many people, choosing between heli-skiing and cat-skiing comes down to the budget they have available for their trip, their flexibility in where they can travel, and their overall level of fitness and skill.

Advantages of Heli-skiing

Still considering your options? Here are some of the key advantages of choosing heli-skiing.

1. Faster – A helicopter ride back to the top will usually take about 2-3 minutes, while a cat ride might take 20 minutes or more, and only gain half the elevation. As a result, you can do a lot more runs (wallet permitting).
2. Longer Runs – Comparing cat-skiing vs heli-skiing, most heli-ski runs will offer descents of 800-900m, whereas in cat-skiing, 500-600m is more common.
3. Better Quality Runs – Snowcats are limited to cat roads, so a descent might involve starting with a traverse or poling over low-angle areas, as well as exiting through flat glades or negotiating your way down a creek bed. For snowboarders, flats, traverses, and creek exits can be particularly challenging. By comparison, helicopters usually drop you where the good bit begins and pick you up where it ends, which means a lot more powder turns per run.
4. Higher Elevations – Cat skiing terrain generally tops out a few hundred metres lower than heliskiing terrain. That small difference can make cat-skiing more susceptible to mild temperatures.
5. More Open Alpine Terrain – This is location-dependent, but when it comes to British Columbia heli-skiing, you have access to the higher elevation alpine bowls for faster riding and bigger turns, whereas cat-skiing rarely gets out of the trees.
6. Smaller Groups – Many heli-ski operations now use smaller helicopters with groups of four, plus guides. That makes it easier to fill a machine with your buddies and reduces the risk of waiting for people who fall to dig themselves and their skis out of deep snow.
7. Size of Range – The speed of helicopters gives them far greater range than snowcats, and this is reflected in heli-ski tenures, which are often 20+ times bigger than cat-ski tenures. This matters for three different reasons: more variety of terrain, less chance of running out of untracked snow during a dry spell and more options if good snow conditions are limited to particular elevations or exposures.
8. Ability to Relocate – Guides are pretty good at knowing where the snow will be good, but they don’t always get it right, and weather can also be very localised. The ability to move quickly to another area that has better weather and better snow means the helicopters have this one.
9. Scenery – Flying around spectacular mountain ranges is a treat in itself, while the view from the back of a cat is more likely to be dense trees and misted-up windows.

Advantages of Cat-skiing

There are plenty of perks to skiing with a helicopter, but the cat skiing vs heli skiing debate isn’t completely one-sided. Here are a few reasons why cat-skiing can trump heli-skiing.

1. Weather and “Down Days” – Cat-skiing can sometimes operate when helicopters can’t, especially in places without trees, though flat light isn’t that great for skiing either. For British Columbia heli skiing, old-growth forest enables pilots to see and skiing to continue in spite of bad weather, so the cats’ advantage is more marginal. It’s only on days when conditions are conducive to “icing”, a dangerous occurrence when fog or precipitation forms ice on helicopter blades, that helicopters are grounded and the cats will keep rolling.
2. Specific Locations – In some mountains where you can cat-ski, heli-skiing either isn’t available at all, or it doesn’t add much benefit because the terrain isn’t on a scale to require it, or the weather makes heli-skiing unreliable.
3. Taking a Breather – The longer ride in the cat, the more time you have between runs to rest your legs and refuel. What’s more, most heli-ski programmes run with 2, 3 or 4 groups per helicopter, meaning that sitting out for a run if you are getting tired is rarely an option.
4. Extreme Cold Days – On really cold days, the cat cabin and the longer ride give you space and time to warm up with handwarmers, extra layers and hot drinks.
5. Cost – Neither heli-skiing or cat-skiing is cheap, but heli-skiing is usually 40-75% more expensive per day than cat-skiing.

How to Decide

We’re obviously a little bit biased but, given the amount of time and money that most people invest in getting to a cat-skiing or heli-skiing location, we think that heli-skiing is worth the extra investment. Whilst cat-skiing is a good option that provides plenty of backcountry access, the marginal extra cost of heli-skiing increases the number of quality turns exponentially. .

If you’re thinking about a heli-skiing trip, why not take a look at our collection of heli-skiing experiences for some more inspiration? You can also get in touch with our team directly to discuss your options.

FAQs

What is Heli-skiing?

Heli-skiing transports you via helicopter to remote, snow-covered mountains, providing access to untracked powder and backcountry routes that would otherwise be inaccessible. It’s the ultimate, exhilarating skiing and snowboarding experience, led by guides who are experts in finding the best snow conditions (and in mitigating the risks). Contrary to popular imagination, there is no jumping out of helicopters involved. The helicopter lands to enable to the group to step out safely before flying away to leave you to choose your line to ski down to the waiting helicopter for your next run.

What is Cat-skiing?

In a similar, but less extreme vein, cat skiing involves being transported around the mountains by a snowcat vehicle, granting access to many more backcountry routes. You won’t be able to reach the same kinds of unexplored areas as you can in a helicopter, but this kind of skiing is still a great way to go off-piste and discover untracked snow and slopes that you wouldn’t otherwise have been able to get to.

Is Cat-skiing Safer than Heli-skiing?

Cat-skiing is generally considered to be marginally safer than heliskiing, as avalanche risk usually decreases with trees and the consequences of a snowcat failure are lower than those of a helicopter accident. On the other hand, the type of terrain that is common in cat-skiing is more conducive to tree-wells and a helicopter is faster to bring help when it is needed. All backcountry skiing and snowboarding has inherent risks so caution is advised, and you should always follow the instructions of your guide.

How good do i have to be to go Heli-skiing and Cat-skiing?

You'll need to be at least a confident intermediate and some experience of skiing or snowboarding ungroomed snow is essential. If you can ski black (Europe) or double diamond (North America) runs reasonably confidently - by which we mean linking turns all the way and riding top to bottom without stopping, you are probably ready. Getting good advice on choosing the right location is important - some are well suited to first-time heli-skiers and snowboarders while others are best left to the experts.