Move out
We had hoped that a super-dump of lake-effect Utah powder would bless this experience, but that’s not how it goes tonight—no fresh, just overcast skies. Ty pokes a few buttons on the smart phone that’s connected to the entertainment system, and the cats roll out one-by-one to a soundtrack courtesy of the brothers Allman.
A thumb-controlled, quarter-size dial on the right joystick operates the throttle and requires an obviously light touch to maintain the proper speed for the slope and snow conditions. Within the first quarter-mile, the cat in front of us turns right and heads off to cover the northernmost assignment. Another smaller, slightly faster, and more agile Piston Bully charges ahead and disappears as our captain drops the tiller and puts down the first few hundred yards of what will become miles of corduroy.
Total focus on the tasks at hand is understandably required, but Tyler does his best to promptly respond to my questions. He explains that the snow conditions dictate the operator’s choice of blade depth, tiller speed, and downward pressure of the rubber mat. His thumb and forefinger shift between multiple buttons on the joystick, and the clicks and subsequent sounds of air being released represent the small adjustments he makes in depth, tiller rotation speed, and blade angle. Thick, heavy rubber mats cover the underside of the tiller and feature giant combs that subsequently lay down the final product: corduroy. Ty raises and lowers the ends of the mat, also known as “Dumbo ears,” to create a smooth transition on the edges of runs.
“This is where things start to get a little tight,” Ty tells me as we approach the first of many bridges on this route. He hits two switches simultaneously on the console as we glance out the 
back window to see the “ears” flop up, thus giving each side around 4 feet of ground clearance. But a mere 8 inches between the tiller and the thin logs that line the bridge creates a very small margin for error. The same goes for the lift entrances and exits that Ty grooms, where only a few inches separate the tiller and massive steel structures. Practice and confidence is the only way to know the limits. Each night, the groomers clean up crucial runs that link intermediate areas and lifts as well as the actual lift areas—additional areas are hit periodically throughout the week as needed.
By now the other six cats are spread out from one end of the resort to the other and, as we gain elevation, we see the lights of a cat in the distance. As dusk morphs into night, we can see the natural features of the snow in front and the clean results behind, thanks to the spotlights. Up a relatively steep blue slope, Ty holds the driver’s side of the run to the top, proceeds downhill for the first time since we started, and repeats a similar process for the next few hours. Snow, churned up by the tiller and tracks, resembles fresh snowfall as it’s blown around behind us. We make pass after pass as Ty drops the blade in spots with excess snow and moves it to thinner, concave spots that get brushed free of snow during the day. Snow curls up the blade and spills over like a wave crashing on the beach. What might multiple feet of fresh snow look like?
Time flies, especially for the operator, and after a few hours and multiple turns that had to be filled in and smoothed over, Ty decides the results are pretty good. We head back down knowing that tomorrow, skiers and snowboarders will slice and slide across the smooth grooves that a handful of dedicated, skilled dudes created from the choppy, bumpy mess left behind the day before.
Next time you visit a new resort or hit the local hill with a need for speed on your carving skis, trust the people who know where to find the best corduroy … check the resort report for the groomer’s pick.
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Tags: resorts, skiing, snowboarding, technology
