Note that in picture where my jacket has some snow on it above, it is from being sprayed with new snow while skiing, not falling.
I've never been in a heli other than to transfer out of Mustang once and both ways this year. (First couple of years heli was optional and not very widely used, then they made it semi-mandatory but could not fly on some of the other trips due to visibility or wind. From talking to people who have done both cat and heli, the other advantage of the cat (besides not getting grounded due to weather) is a more relaxing day with time between each run to talk, eat some of the lunch you make before or after breakfast from fixins' they put out and replenish.
There are times when re-locating between parts of their terrain (aka tenure, they have 30,000 acres and almost 275 miles of snow roads) to get best snow that it seems like long semi-circular cat rides, but we've also had days where you repeated same (very wide) areas many times with short rides in between great runs. Some of their longest runs have your cat dropping you high and another cat picking you up low. In 2019, we finished our 3 days with a 4500' vertical run like that. Trip report at
https://www.firsttracksonline.com/boards/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=12832
Not sure if Mustang is reading this, but they sent out email this afternoon offering all guests an opportunity for no questions asked, full refund of 25% deposit paid on last day of previous year's trip if you cancel by August 31. You lose your chance to spot to re-book for following year. If you don't cancel by then and the remaining 75% is due by Sept. 30 which is a little earlier than previous years. After August 31, if you cancel more than 8 days before your trip, they will give you an 80% refund and you get your spot the next year. Previously there was no refund although you could fill your spot with an alternate person.
Some more information from their e-mail follows:
First, we are planning on operating our cat skiing season this upcoming winter. British Columbia Cat and Heli skiing operators are currently crafting a 'Best Practices' document that will outline measures that we will implement inside our lodge, and during the ski day, in order to minimize the chance of the spread of a virus during cat skiing holidays. (Social distancing, PPE, rules/policies etc.) This document will soon be submitted to local government and WorkSafe BC for approval.
So far, the province of British Columbia, and in particular the Interior region of BC, has been very successful in fighting the COVID-19 virus and numbers have been kept extremely low. We are also working hard on procuring adequate COVID-19 test kits for the coming winter. Because a remote backcountry lodge is an insular environment, we are an industry where pre-trip testing will be very applicable. Our hope this winter is to be able to test all guests and staff prior to them entering the lodge. We will keep you updated on this subject over the next few months.
Edit to added that 80% refund for canceling after Sept. 1 mentioned above is not because you or your spouse changed your mind about going.
The above policy only applies to guests affected by the following government-ordered pandemic travel or operation restrictions:
• The BC or Canadian Government orders closure of Mustang lodge
• The Canadian border is closed to non-essential travel
• A Government stay at home order is in place for your registered booking address
