Great Northern Powder Guides
Great Northern Powder Guides
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Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.
Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as wait time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.
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4.5
69 reviews
Excellent
58
Very good
3
Average
1
Poor
3
Terrible
4
Aaron L
Port Orchard, WA1 contribution
Feb 2022
I've done several cat ski trips. This one was probably my worst. The snow was good, the guides were cool, the cat's themselves were very nice and comfortable. My problem was they wasted the first half of our day taking us into tightly treed terrain on south facing slopes (denser snow). Finally after lunch they took us onto north facing slopes with light and deep snow with some open spaces so I could finally make a few consecutive powder turns without getting funneled into trails between trees and playing follow the leader like we did all morning. If they had taken us right to the good stuff in the morning, this would be a five star review. My suspicion is they intentionally do this to preserve the good stuff for other cats/customers to get some each day. My advice would be to not book more customers than you have fresh snow for. I paid for two seats on the cat to ski fresh snow all day, so half of my $900 was wasted skiing tracked up snow in the trees all morning. I'm giving two stars because I feel like this trip was worth 2/5 of the money I paid. We skied good terrain for 1 1/2 hours of the day. That's all.
Written February 28, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Ersin O
2 contributions
Feb 2023
Ride through the snow ghosted trees! A very cool Mom and Pop run operation that has been on my bucket list for over ten years. Owners are kind, work hard, and are true Montanans. Guides know this terrain very well, there is a secret run called "Cole's Stash" that is a natural half pipe from heaven. Some names of the runs and turns will be forever etched in my mind - runs like "7-minutes abs", "Trident", "TJ's Cliffs" (get sendy). We experienced blower conditions with top to bottom white room turns. The cats are really comfortable and have hot water for tea, bucket seats and carpet on the ceilings so you stay dry between runs. Book the 'Steep and Deep Cat' experience for the best and longest runs, they also have a backcountry yurt that you can book overnight so that when you wake up you are already in one of the best zones. I was impressed with the amount of vert and number of runs we got per day. There is a ton of terrain there, lots of fun cut blocks and tree runs with hallways you can trust. When the skies clear you get amazing views of the adjacent Whitefish Mountain Range. Pro tip: bring extra snacks for your pack and bring a thermos for hot tea on the cat. This was our first trip and we will definitely be back each year.
Written March 7, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Danny A
2 contributions
Feb 2024 • Family
I have ridden with many backcountry ski operators and this one is very special. Terrain is insane with something for everyone. We had an 11 yo along with several experts. The staff made sure everyone got what they came for. Even on a challenging winter for snow , we got fresh snow all day for two days. Highly recommend adding the rustic backcountry yurt stay to your itinerary. It cuts out the long approach on the cat in the morning and allows you to immerse yourself 30 miles back in the Montana backcountry. Can’t wait to go back.
Written February 18, 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Brett C
1 contribution
Feb 2022 • Friends
Be careful with these guys. They write their contracts so that they can cancel for any reason and keep your money. They can decide they are too tired, or hung over, or anything, and you have zero recourse. They told me once I was on the plane to Montana that they were cancelling my weekend trip. They will offer you a credit to a trip the following year, but if costs go up (and you know they will), you have to pay the differe, and obviously you have the same risk that you fly to Montana and they just decide to cancel again. I've never encountered a business where I have to prepay for a service that they are not willing to deliver, and not willing to refund.
Written April 22, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
This is a review that is a couple years old but I am responding to it now as this season we have had a similar adverse weather event prompting us to offer rebook options to over 400 guests. These incidents are EXACTLY the reason companies like ours have these cancellation policies in place. This guest signed and therefore agreed to our cancellation policy.
Our cancellation /rebooking policy in the very unfortunate event of non cooperative weather/snow is one of the most generous in our industry . I know because I have owned and operated this business for 15 years and we carefully research and compare with other cat and heli operations. Many places would not have even offered you the OPTION of a rebook. You would have had to go out regardless of snow conditions. We do not do that. All groups to date have been offered the option of choosing to reschedule. It is a courtesy. And if the guest asks for my honest opinion, I give it to them! I tell them that the lower aspects are gone and that the extremely high temps have made for very very heavy snow and crust depending upon the time of day and slope aspect. It's been absolutely terrible out there! In your case, the trip was ultimately canceled by us due to not only poor conditions but very dangerous ones. I know it is disheartening to have a trip like that interrupted. Imagine how disheartening it is to have to reschedule 100's and 100's if not 1000's of guests! This is the exact reason why we have these cancellation policies in place. If we didn't', there wouldn't be a cat or heli op still standing! It's interesting to me that in the event of a year like this (which I must say this is the worst I've ever seen in all the years we've done this) the vast majority of our guests THANK US for our policy. They are grateful that we don't make them go out and thankful for the opportunity to rebook at no upcharge if we raise prices, allow them to transfer or sell their seat, allow them to apply the dollar credit to any type of trip and have no expiration date on using the credit. When our guests agree to our policies ( and they are not confirmed as a booking unless they do) they are understanding and agreeing to not losing their money, but moving the trip to another date. Here is a portion of the policy that is sent to every guest and what is posted on our website. "REBOOKS
In the event of cancellation within 30 days of the scheduled trip due to weather, snow conditions, unstable, unsafe conditions, mechanical failure or lack of staffing, you will have one year to rebook your trip with no upcharge in the case that we have raised rates. Your credit will be good for a dollar amount and may be applied to any kind of trip we offer within 3 years. (i.e., NonPrivate, Private, Over-Night Powerhouse)
If your trip is interrupted due to deteriorating conditions, any of the aforementioned or other unforeseen events we will reschedule you for the portion of the day that you missed out on. We want you to come and experience all that we have to offer! You are of course encouraged to purchase your own trip insurance as we do not provide this service.
REFUNDS
PLEASE BE ADVISED - WE DO NOT OFFER REFUNDS UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES IF TRIP IS CANCELLED WITHIN 30 DAYS OF SCHEDULED DATE.
Please understand our strict cancellation policy and respect our mutual commitment. There is no way that you can move forward with a reservation at GNPG and not have read or heard us talk about these policies. So, it should come as no shock to you, when you call us to cancel your trip, or your trip has been postponed due to conditions, that our strict cancellation policies will be upheld. Over the years, we have worked with tens of thousands of guests and we hope you understand our policies and respect the non-refundability of your deposit and final payment. If it weren’t for these policies, operations such as ourselves would be unable to thrive year after year"
Written February 7, 2024
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
marcospinar
New York City, New York2 contributions
Feb 2020
January 2020 was tough in Northern Montana with several warming trends screwing up the snow. But GNPG found the snow and we were SO glad we weren't on nearby Whitefish mountain.
There's tons of terrain and the Cats are the most comfortable I've been on.
We did the Steep and Deep which lived up to its name.
Ky was amazing in terms of making sure everybody was happy and got the best experience.
Had a blast with Ken and his team.
There's tons of terrain and the Cats are the most comfortable I've been on.
We did the Steep and Deep which lived up to its name.
Ky was amazing in terms of making sure everybody was happy and got the best experience.
Had a blast with Ken and his team.
Written February 8, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Jeremy M
2 contributions
Mar 2023
We were fortunate enough win this trip for two at the Chamber’s Whitefish Christmas Stroll as Great Northern and Ky donating the package. Ky’s generosity didn’t stop there, upon arrival for the trip, she offered to upgrade us to the Steep and Deep package.
Our guides, Adam and Calvin, were professional and fun. The snow was amazing. and with 20k acres, there was no shortage of deep fresh tracks. The day was very well organized and we even hot an hot lunch in the middle of it at the yurt. Absolutely one of the funnest days of skiing we’ve ever had.
We will be back next year! Thank you Ky, Adam and Calvin for a great day!
Our guides, Adam and Calvin, were professional and fun. The snow was amazing. and with 20k acres, there was no shortage of deep fresh tracks. The day was very well organized and we even hot an hot lunch in the middle of it at the yurt. Absolutely one of the funnest days of skiing we’ve ever had.
We will be back next year! Thank you Ky, Adam and Calvin for a great day!
Written March 9, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
tbk_ksk
Newport Beach, CA33 contributions
Jan 2023
The entire day was fantastic from start to finish. Great Northern Powder Guides is a first-class operation. Excellent guides (shout out to Cole and Jackson), speedy and comfy snowcat (piloted by the amazing Kyle), and miles and miles of beautiful pristine pow. They plotted drop zones so we get as many runs as we can fit into the day. And boy, did they deliver the pow!. I wasn't sure how much powder we'd see since it hadn't snowed in a couple of weeks, but unbelievably we were charging through virgin snow all day! Each run was better than the next!
This was the first backcountry outing for my son and me, and we are hooked. We plan to make this an annual event! I can't wait to get back up there!
This was the first backcountry outing for my son and me, and we are hooked. We plan to make this an annual event! I can't wait to get back up there!
Written January 26, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Eastpedro
Winthrop, WA88 contributions
Feb 2017 • Friends
I've done a lot of this type of skiing, whether from cat, helicopter or touring. Safety is the number one consideration...and these folks DON'T do it right. Conditions were sketchy, with great powder (15-18") over an ice layer. The lead guide, with lots of experience, took us down runs that he said would slide...and did...but took us anyway.
Two people were hurt, one pretty seriously (required hospital visit; unknown result) by being swept into trees by slides.
Other than that, I'd rate the terrain below average (nothing above tree line, tight trees & short runs) compared to cat operations in BC.
We skied interesting runs and had very good powder. The guides were friendly & engaging. Lunch was at their yurt, with burgers and soup, so that was a unique touch...though I prefer eat-on-the-go, in the cat, with sandwiches, etc. and lots of liquids. A beer for everyone, after the last run, was a nice touch.
Two people were hurt, one pretty seriously (required hospital visit; unknown result) by being swept into trees by slides.
Other than that, I'd rate the terrain below average (nothing above tree line, tight trees & short runs) compared to cat operations in BC.
We skied interesting runs and had very good powder. The guides were friendly & engaging. Lunch was at their yurt, with burgers and soup, so that was a unique touch...though I prefer eat-on-the-go, in the cat, with sandwiches, etc. and lots of liquids. A beer for everyone, after the last run, was a nice touch.
Written March 4, 2017
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
DRettler
New Germany, Minnesota2 contributions
Dec 2014 • Friends
Not worth the money, rather go to the Mountain. They track you up the hill for an hour then they complain about the snowmobiles, they actually blocked the trail for them causing an altercation, and they even argued with a group of sledders about how they own the mountain. The trail they took us on was very small and not worth the money. The guides are rude, and the day was long without a lot of skiing.
Written January 4, 2015
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
David Rettler, Perhaps you do not realize that your name is used in the posting of this review. You have never skied with us. You are not, nor have never been a guest of GNPG. You are a disgruntled snowmobiler who gives those of your sport a very bad name. It's people like you that give snowmobilers a bad reputation. It is a very small faction of sledders that purposefully shred terrain so our guests cannot ski untracked powder, flip our guests off and yes even vandalize our yurt. The majority of snowmobilers are decent, respectful people and realize that there is room for all of us to enjoy our beautiful Montana. WE are sledders too! The owner responded to your message on our facebook page as well as a follow up phone call. We try and will continue to try to play peacefully in our playground.
Written January 6, 2015
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Steve F
Portland, ME3 contributions
Feb 2014 • Family
I grew up in Steamboat Springs and have skied the last 41 years.
Also lived and skied the Cascades extensively. Similar with Maine and Vermont.
I have had many awesome POW runs over the years ... a few as good as the runs that I had with GNPG.
But I have never had them every run, run after run, for three days straight ! Every run was first tracks for the group with plenty for everyone. It just kept snowing and snowing, no bottom !
An epic father-son trip with my 12 yr old who now wants to move to the FV.
If you want Extreme, book your own cat with a group of ski buddies. The terrain will be limited by the least capable skier in the group, which would be typical for any cat skiing.
See you next year !
Also lived and skied the Cascades extensively. Similar with Maine and Vermont.
I have had many awesome POW runs over the years ... a few as good as the runs that I had with GNPG.
But I have never had them every run, run after run, for three days straight ! Every run was first tracks for the group with plenty for everyone. It just kept snowing and snowing, no bottom !
An epic father-son trip with my 12 yr old who now wants to move to the FV.
If you want Extreme, book your own cat with a group of ski buddies. The terrain will be limited by the least capable skier in the group, which would be typical for any cat skiing.
See you next year !
Written April 9, 2014
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
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