Mustang Powder

The snowiest zone in southern British Columbia with a 126-bottle wine list.

When the time came for the Warren Miller Entertainment production team to pack up the cameras and begin shooting our 68th film, we figured heading out to British Columbia for some powsurfing was a good plan. Mustang Powder is a backcountry cat skiing and snowboarding operation located in the depths of the Monashee Mountains in B.C., about 30 miles west of Revelstoke. Jeremy Jensen (athlete and founder of Grassroots Powdersurfing), the infamous Provo Brothers, Ian and Neil, and legendary snowboarder Scotty Arnold made for the perfect team when checking out the terrain surrounding Mustang Powder Lodge. Nick Holmes-Smith and his wife, Ali established Mustang Powder in 2004 and the two still work side-by-side in running it today.

Tell us about MP and the surrounding terrain?
We are fortunate at Mustang to be in the North Central Monashee Mountains. This is the snowiest zone in southern British Columbia and benefits from being on the westerly side of the Rockies/Columbia mountain range. Consequently, it typically receives the most snow. We start operations on the first weekend in December – so we are well known for being the place to go for early-season cat skiing. The tree skiing is what makes the Monashees/Selkirks/Caribous such good heli and cat skiing zones. This is not only because of their spacing, but also due to the contrast the trees create in a white-out, so we can ski in all conditions.

How has MP evolved since it was first created? 
Initially, we were a 24-guest operation with two cats that each fit 12 people, but seven years ago we started the ‘small groups, steep chutes’ program.  With a small group of six keen, strong skiers, we can now ski steep, nasty couloirs and challenging Monashee tree runs. Then, last year we added the Private group cat skiing concept. Again, six guests in the group. In high season, most our ski holidays now have three cats with six guests and one cat with 12 guests. We have created an identity for Mustang as the small group cat skiing operation. These small group cat skiing holidays at Mustang are the most expensive cat skiing holiday in existence – at $1500 per day. But, they’re worth it.

How would you compare MP to other cat skiing ops, specifically when discussing terrain? 
Mustang has 35,000 acres of ski terrain. The important thing about our terrain is that it is very usable. Yes, there are some cliffy areas, but for the most part our ski area can be thoroughly skied. To put it into context, we have 275 miles of snowcat road and other cat operations will only have a single ridge or about 10 miles of snowcat road.   

What’s the deal with your lodge? We saw something about wine and a hot tub…
Mustang Lodge is located just below tree line and is accessed by guests via helicopter or with a backup snowcat if helicopters can’t fly. It is a big timber frame structure with a hot tub on a flat section of roof.  Our chef serves gourmet 4-course meals, we have a 126-bottle wine list, a sauna, and beautiful mountain views. Because of the high elevation of the lodge – it takes only a 10 to 15 minute cat ride to the first run.

What sort of planning goes into deciding which terrain groups or individuals will ski or ride?
Our ski guides meet every morning and evening and study weather and snow profiles and decide on the safest and best runs to ski.  All guides are certified by the Association of Canadian Mountain Guides

Follow Mustang Powder’s many adventures on Instagram: @mustangpowder