Powderproject.ch in Bakhmaro/Georgia launch the world’s first Electric SnowCats for Catskiing
Swiss company Powderproject.ch and Italian manufacturer xelom from Bolzano join forces in the Lesser Caucasus to promote sustainable winter sports and eco-conscious freeriding.
To mark its tenth anniversary, Georgian catskiing pioneer Ingo Schlutius and his company Powderproject.ch are taking a bold step toward innovation and sustainability: beginning this season, two fully electric snowcats built by the Bolzano-based manufacturer xelom will transport international freeriders and powder enthusiasts into the snow-covered slopes of the Lesser Caucasus. Far from the Alps or the Rockies, in the remote mountains surrounding the 2,000-meter-high village of Bakhmaro, a new era of freeriding is underway.
Catskiing entrepreneur Ingo Schlutius has invested around one million euros in two electrically powered snowcats from specialist manufacturer xelom. With this investment, Powderproject.ch becomes the first company worldwide to use electric snowcats for deep-snow catskiing.
The goal is to prove that these fully electric, nearly 700-horsepower machines can handle the harsh winter conditions of Georgia’s mountain terrain. Until now, catskiing operations around the world – in Canada, the U.S., and Georgia alike – have relied exclusively on diesel-powered vehicles. Powderproject.ch is breaking new ground.
In mid-November, the two electric snowcats will embark on their 3,200-kilometer journey by truck from Bolzano to Bakhmaro. They are being delivered with specially designed passenger cabins that can carry up to twelve freeriders comfortably, quietly, and without emissions into the backcountry.
In February 2016, the German Ingo Schlutius – founder of Powderproject.ch – first explored the freeride terrain around the then-uninhabited winter village of Bakhmaro. With a single used snowcat from Germany’s Black Forest and a handful of test guests, he launched his first season. Today, ten years later, Powderproject.ch has become Europe’s largest catskiing operation. The company operates 20 diesel-powered snowcats, three hotels, two guesthouses, and two mountain cabins, welcoming around 1,000 freeriders each winter season over an eleven-week period. With the introduction of two electric snowcats, Powderproject.ch is not only reducing its environmental impact but also setting an example of innovation and responsibility in modern mountain tourism.
https://www.powderproject.ch