BigGameHoundsmen.com

So here's what I found out about my original question. Seems that the cats right around my house will still move just as much in 18" of snow as they will in 2" after a storm but they seemed to be staying close to the roads that were bladed(lots of oilfield roads around that are kept cleared) and using them as much as they could while hunting cottontails. I still don't know how long they'll run before they tree cause I never got one jumped this weekend. Saturday the dogs cold trailed 600 yds to rocks then all three dogs came back out. I met them about halfway as I was headed in and it was still a cold track there and Diva on it so I know she took it as far as she could. I didn't walk all the way to where they lost it cause it was a bitch walking is knee deep powder so I don't know the whole story. I do know 18" might not be to much for cats to move but it's right at my limit of me wanting to be out in it without snow shoes lol. Where the cats were walking they were only sinking about 4" but the dogs were going all they way through. I bet if we got one jumped and running it would've been falling through as well.

Yesterday was about the same deal. Turned three dogs loose at about 2 pm and they cold trailed about 2 miles in 2 hours. I picked them up where the cat crossed another road and they were still cold trailing and I had to get home to feed livestock. Seems that as long as the cat isn't pressured and there's a frozen layer of snow not to far under the powder that those cats can move a lot easier than the dogs, especially uphill. The front dog definitely has it the hardest breaking trail, but it really seemed to slow them all down a lot.
Russell

Doesn't matter how deep the pack is, they move very little however in deep powder conditions I've found. Once it's set up and based they'll be back to normal. And I've also found if they can they prefer to stay out of the snow or deeper snow. Thickets are great places to look when it's deep powder because usually it's not as deep in those places.

A few things I've taken in, is that the cats around here typically don't leave their range no matter how deep the snow gets. And the deeper the fresh snow, the longer I drag my feet in the mornings. I sometimes won't even go out the day after a big storm. For one, I like the snow to settle. And two, it seems like the cats aren't going as far and hitting the roads you would expect.
In my cases Another factor in deep snow is getting dogs through it! I read where a couple guys had said it makes the races easier and shorter but here lately I've noticed the opposite. I've had my sled out this year quite a bit! I can say I hardly ever pass on a cat track, be it a day or two days old. But I have been a bit more select with the cats I'm kicking out on due to the deep snow. Cats don't sink as bad as my dogs. And ive used that excuse quite a bit to the point im finding myself looking for lions more now lol. And even when jumped they seem to be able to stay on top of the snow way better than my mutts.
I watched a jumped cat casually trot across the road the other day with three dogs about 30 seconds behind it wide open bucking through the powder. They hardly could climb back on the road after dropping into the culvert they started it at. I told the guy with me, "good deal, they might tree this one close." About ten minutes later down in the bottom of a steep draw they finally treed. After a total of about 2 hours going maybe 2 miles. Now here's my dilemma, snow shoes and a steep hill or no shoes and three feet of snow.
Cats are cool but years like this make a guy like me appreciate bear hunting!

Rezdog, I agree the deep snow really slowed my dogs down on a cold trail.

I always thought snow was great, it has been a big help getting my dogs started trailing but the DEEPER snow just seems to make things slower and getting around more difficult. Most years it snows here and is gone in a day or three, this year it has snowed more early and stayed colder so the snow has accumulated more than usual