Two tours is not that crazy since they are typically 3 or 4 days, so it is really just a week of cat skiing.
The separate travel requirments are something to consider, but from the west coast, flights to Calgary, Spokane or Vancouver are reasonable typically in the $200s if you book ahead. Spokane (6h+) is a bit far but can be broken up with stays in Nelson (Whitewater) or Rossland (Red Mt). Calgary (4.5 h) is easy with Banff and Kicking Hose on the way.
I have gone to Alaska and booked back to back heli operations (but with the assumption you only fly at 50-60% of time):
1. H2O and Black Ops
2. Chugach Powder Guides/Alyeska and Black Ops
Not sure about the boards here, but one of the guys on the Jan cat now has 6 slots per year at Mustang which is crazy. He has them lined up with 2 back to back each time making for 3 full weeks of Mustang per year for him, about a month between each trip to Mustang.
Must be semi-local?
to people who have their own private cat booked and they invite whoever/however many they want, etc...
My brother's trip to Chatter Creek turned out to be this. The Group he skied with has booked a private cat (3 or 4 days) for the last 10+ years. Also, they take over the lodge and decorate it. They think they are going to Burning Man in the Kootenay Rockies.
Nonetheless, even if they create a group, it still ends up being more expensive per seat than if you did it privately. I'm not sure how much they max things out. Anyway, I asked my brother if he was going to repeat it, and it was likely 'no' since it would be difficult to recruit a friend, given the cost per day plus tip, which was more akin to heli-skiing than snowcat skiing. Sounds a bit ridiculous, but he had a good time.
I've discussed Mustang with ChrisC but the late February time period conflicts with when he usually is skiing in Telluride with his brother, who can't get away then because it's peak season for his business.
This year, he started talking about returning to Canada in mid-to-late February, after the 20th. Me? This is new. He somehow decided that MLK and Spring Break are his truly busiest weeks. However, he has hired/promoted a year-round GM, which now allows more flexibility.
Anyway, I have told him that if he wants to grow up and ski with one of the most desirable BC cat operations, he needs to commit for 1+ years in advance. Otherwise, you will be looking for scraps during the summer, with typically only early January and late March dates available. Or be skiing lots of trees at White Grizzly, Retallack, etc. We were able to find desirable single days following COVID, but that is no longer the case. K3 and Valhalla no longer need to do single days anymore. And the Revelstoke heli operations have substantially increased their single-day prices since 2020.
Europe remains the best destination for heli-skiing, offering flexibility and affordability: watch storms and call 48-72 hours in advance. You don't really get skunked. It's mostly Italy, but you can also heli-ski in Lech.
