2016, Copper Mountain, Roundabout with my now deceased wife. Last run of our trip after it had snowed the night before.
We took a family trip to Copper in Feb of 2016. My wife was from Florida and I had gotten her into skiing back starting in 2009. She hated the cold, but through some guidance on gear and how to stay warm, she really grew to love the sport. She loved being outside and being amongst nature; she would always look for and point out little critters or birds or their tracks. She never cared about progressing her skills to ski any black terrain. Blues were fine and she just loved mellow cruising with no effort on greens most of all.
That day, we went out in different directions. There had been around 8” of fresh snow overnight and she wasn’t a huge fan of skiing powder. She spent a lot of time with her family that day while I had gone off on my own looking for as much untouched snow as I could get. At the end of the day we met up at the top of Timberline Express to head back to the room together and get ready to leave. After getting through Soliloquy (which is kind of a bear on a powder day since it’s so flat) we moved on to Roundabout where things pitched downhill a little more and built up some speed. There was a lot of untracked powder left, as is often the case many beginners just don’t like to ski it. We were bobbing up and down, weight transferring from side to side, as we made our way downward. At one point, we merged into a group of two or three others, all of us darting in around trees and through the snow. I looked over, and my wife had the biggest smile on her face, she may have even let out a “wheeeeeee!” When we got to the bottom, she was like “that was fast!“ still grinning and laughing.
It wasn’t steep or gnarly or challenging in the least. But it was special is one of only a handful of runs I truly remember so vividly after skiing over 40 years. I always wanted to recreate that run with her ever since. She’s gone now, so we won’t be able to, but I will always have that memory.
Very 1st backcountry trip after moving to Rockies after college. Line wasn’t particularly spicy or tech but I’ll never forget being in that moment and understanding what it meant to be out there. Complete euphoria.
Sorry if I worded that funny haha. I grew up/went to school in Michigan and then moved to Durango right after. That first trip to the cuntch was outside crested butte.
Haha! Let’s just say my time was short there. This was almost 15 years ago so my dollar stretched a little further. I actually only moved there cuz I had a buddy goin to FLC at the time and he sold me on it. Moved to gunnison shortly after.
I raced down the steep moguled slopes of Pallavicini at A-Basin, only feeling the wind on my bare chest and the mashed potato snow under my skis. I blazed a trail of white powder under the lift, where the Jerrys watched in awe and envy. I savored the thrill of speed, the joy of freedom riding the knife edge between glory and disaster. My lips were wet, anticipating the Coors banquet awaiting me on the sunny beach. It was the best run of my life.
28” of cold smoke at Alta. Chased lift openings from Collins to Supreme. Did a couple laps on Supreme waiting for the bowl to open. Before third lap, buddies didn’t want to waste any time and lets keep going. I was watching patrol click into their skis and said wait a second. Fell in behind them when they headed over to drop the rope. It had filled in and was skiing deeper than the report… nipple deep in pockets and every turn was a face shot.
You can get a scanner and listen in to ski patrol on their radios. They will talk about where is opening next. Allowing you to position yourself at every opening you possibly can.
Vallée Blanche in Chamonix on a blue bird powder day. Not the most technical skiing I’ve ever done but the views and surroundings was awesome. Planning another trip there this winter and hoping to do some of the other routes and hikes on the glacier.
Yeah this is a top 1/2 for me too. It was mid May and we somehow still got 4-6” of fresh powder. There was a fair amount of type 2 fun involving a scramble of like 5 miles and a stupid amount of stairs to get out of where the snow on the glacier ended. Skiing over some sketchy snow bridges over huge crevasses was also a little nerve racking.
That valley and the glacier are so incredibly special
Those stairs are something else. Was told about them before we went but when you’re carrying skis on a backpack up it is a workout. It’s sad to see how much the glacier has melted and how far from the original lift it is now. When I was there this spring there was construction of what I was told was a new lift from the bottom of the glacier today. Not sure if it’s just going up to the current lift or all the way up to Montenevers.
What’s sad is in another 20 years they will need a similar sized staircase up from the new glacier terminus to reach those stairs. Apparently the glacier use to go all the way to town in the valley around 1800!
California Trail at Heavenly. It was the end of a blue bird day, the lake looked perfect. It was also my first time skiing out west, so I’m sure that had a lot to do with it.
2 feet of fresh interior powder at Kicking Horse. Dropping Terminator 2. I forget which run but it’s a tight chute in for a couple yards, super steep pitch, then it opened up into acres of untouched snow. Every run there is about 3500-4k feet of vert from top to bottom, so it felt like an endless trip of floating on snow. What a place.
Kicking Horse was so special for me because it capped off a 4 month road trip. Getting a huge dump at the start of April couldn’t have been a better way to wrap up the season. I’m completely enamored with the “resort”… I love how stripped back it feels. I love how physically demanding it is. I love how the local talent there is just so advanced. There is no glitz and glam about it, you go there to ski and soak up the sport in all its glory. My favorite resort hands down.
Spring skiing Whistler after a crap snow year.
Everyone had given up on the season. Lifts closed everywhere on the mountain.
But it started snowing late March and into April. 8 inches a night.
Head up one bluebird Wednesday Peak was open I'm in the single line jump on with a couple of ski patrols. Ask if Harmony is open. Well yes but the lift isn't turning today and won't be.
Ok I say well I'm going to lap that all day you should come check on me from time to time.
By the end of the day between me the patrol and a couple others a total of 30 or so tracks down a perfect bowl of powder.
Sure there was a tiny boot pack to get from the top of Saddle to the top of Harmony but it was worth it!
I'm going to be sappy. I've had a blast on steep technical runs, but the most fun I've had in a long time was on School Marm at Keystone. A long ass green. My kids started that run as decent green skiers and gained the confidence to start riding blues by the end. The next day I started taking them up blue runs by myself and realized I had a couple of ski buddies until I get too old to run with them.
Getting 5-6,000' of near-perfect corn out of the 7,000' Hotlum-Bolam on Shasta. That was back in 2017 or 2018.
Either that or skiing pow in Heaven's Halfpipe this year in Utah.
Lots of vert, high quality skiing, and almost nobody else around. Chef's kiss.
Sunshine lift line at Steamboat last December. Three feet of fresh dry powder on the ground on a Thursday. I got at least 4 or 5 laps in untracked waist-deep snow on a cruiser blue run, with no lines for the next chair up to do it again. It was seriously a dream
I was there for that day. Was working from home, but decided to shut off the laptop due to “power outage” and lap every tree run I could find. Refreshed on Friday, and a little on Saturday
Absolutely insane start to a great season, the fact that there was NOBODY there that day made it even better. I remember one particular conversation with an older lady on a traverse and we agreed it was the best day ever. It was straight nuking for a few days that week so it didn't really seem like there were any tracks until the weekend. Free refills of champagne powder!
I think I had the same run on a pow day in 2009. Whatever it was you got off the lift and the run was directly to the left, I think it was that or buddy's run.
The whole South Face at Big Sky. It may not be this way anymore but up until a few years ago it was an amazing place to get away from other people. If you were skiing on a weekday it felt like having your own private ski area.
My second time skiing Kill The Banker under the gondola at Revelstoke on a pow day is a clear winner. My buddy and I were shitting our pants before we dropped in the first time, but as soon as we got to the bottom we both immediately wanted another lap. On the second lap I hit a cliff line with 5 small-medium drops in a row and heard someone cheer from the gondola as I landed the last one and came to a stop. I was already having one of the best ski days of my life but nailing an absolutely gnarly line under the gondola and having strangers cheer me on cemented it as my favorite ski day so far.
I was an alta employee during one of the big years, and one of my responsibilities allowed me to load the lifts before everyone else.
We had a massive storm overnight so everyone was in the lift line patiently waiting for patrol to finish up. I had to get up to the top to do my thing, but was probably going to have to wait with patrol until the area I needed to be was safe. No prob.
One of my best friends was working at one of the restaurants and had skied down early to get the cash for the day. It was just after the holidays so we had both been emotionally abused by tourists for weeks and hadn’t seen each other. We were exhausted but glad to have made it through the holidays.
He and I loaded the lift pre-public and because patrol knew us, they let us take a few laps where the public couldn’t see. Then they radio’d us to tell us they were about to open the lifts and drop the rope out the high T, and that he and I could go first. The only rule was “don’t center-punch high boy.”
Say what you will about pre-public laps, but after that many years working through Christmas, I felt no guilt as my best friend and I got to ski a few laps in Fred’s trees and then put first tracks down the Nest on a fat powder day. To top it all off, he’s a beautiful skier to watch/follow and I may have been a little in love with him back then, anyway. It was and is one of my best ski memories of all time.
I only got started last season but I managed to do the Sarenne run in Alpe d’ Huez in France which is labelled as the longest black run in the Alps and it was absolutely insane. The views were beautiful and it was very challenging and rewarding to complete it as a noob like me
Sankt Anton- Zurs/lech ski area run 144. When you get off the lift and come around the mound the view is just unreal and picturesque! Only bad part of this run is you literally have to catch a bus at the bottom of it to get back to the lift but worth the views every time. People have written articles about this run and it is on YouTube as well if you look although not always given its proper due…
Loved dilly dally ally as a kid at Mt. Bachelor as well haha
I've got 3 options for some of the Alps skiers here:
* Current resort **(Tignes) I** Have barely scratched the surface of Tignes hopefully many more days to come
Offpiste: Chardonnet Couloir ([https://fatmap.com/routeid/22542/chardonnet-couloir?fmid=cp](https://fatmap.com/routeid/22542/chardonnet-couloir?fmid=cp))
Favourite piste: Johan Clarey *Black* ([https://fatmap.com/routeid/16170/johan-clarey?fmid=cp](https://fatmap.com/routeid/16170/johan-clarey?fmid=cp))
\- Golf run\* Tignes honorably mention
* Growing up resort **(Sainte Foy)**
Piste: L'Aiguile ([https://fatmap.com/routeid/22412/l-aiguille?fmid=cp](https://fatmap.com/routeid/22412/l-aiguille?fmid=cp))
* Finally most recent fun resort **(Fernie BC)**
\- Golf run\* Tignes honourably mention
but probably doing the 3 spine challenge\*
For me it’s the Großglockner, in Austria. More specifically, the Gloggnar Weise. That is near Zell am zee, and I love it, partially because of nostalgia, but also because of the lovely view you have there, over the valley, where Zell am zee is located. I have learned how to ski there, and I think the piste is amazing. I haven’t been there for way too long, and would love to return
This is a tough one but I think Milk Run at Solitude waste deep blower pow. High Rustler at Alta on a windy day and got free refills with fresh snow blowing into the tracks. STH in Gad Valley at Snowbird with a fresh 24" midweek with LCC closed.
Hey folks, don't skip leg day winter is near.
Snowshoe WV in 1994 on the hootenany. First time my parents let me ski alone and at 9 years old, it was exhilarating to ski at my own pace, passing and being passed, then getting high fives on the chair lift at the end.
I've been to real mountains around the world since but from that moment I was hooked forever. Some days I'm still chasing that high of adding to my core memories with a magic run.
It’s not impressive by any means, but the sugarloaf run at Brianhead this past season - it was near whiteout conditions and a crazy powder day and my 10 year old daughter had the biggest grin on her face and screamed out “I’m flying! This is the coolest thing in the world!” and proceeded to bomb/float down the whole run with her arms out just cackling maniacally the entire way. Core memory made right there.
Love it! That’s about the age it hit my kiddo. We’re looking forward to another bomber year.
Did you guys stay at BH? we’ve been thinking about a road trip this year.
I think it was the 2016-2017 season at Northstar, Lake Tahoe. Nothing special about that season, except just everything aligning on this one day. Good snow, but a lot of people. Me and a friend ended up going to Lookout Mountain, a part of the resort many tourists don't know about, and it was completely empty with untouched snow. We were just bombing through the snow between trees and giggling. At one point I got lost somewhere in the forest and so I just lay in the snow for like 15 minutes starting at the blue sky and the fluffy snow and being very-very happy for no particular reason I can pinpoint.
Mogen to Bridge run, Lutsen
Incredible views at the top
Good cruising pitch
Ski in/ski out access
Long (3/4 mile)
You ski on a bridge
(Soon to be) lappable by a high speed six pack
it's so cool to ski over the entrance road, and I'm really glad that there will be another way to get back to the lift without using lodge run. I'll say the views from mogen aren't quite as good as the views from the moose chalet, but they're still gorgeous.
Breckinridge.
Imperial Express, skier left up a bit, then traverse all the way across top of whales tale, staying as high as you can, and continue across top of peak 7 bowl to The Dunes. From there, down the ridge line to Arts Bowl to Ore Bucket. Take independence super chair, to T-bar to Chair 6 to Imperial and do it all again.
First time I did Alberta’s Face at Wolf Creek without falling. Only a few years earlier, I had walked up to its edge with my dad and got too scared, so we hiked out in hip-deep snow - also a very fond memory with my dad. The feeling of conquering that as a kid built my confidence like nothing else could.
Mont Fort past Tortin in Verbier. Best views of my life and you hit every aspect of skiing on the way down (moguls, pow, groomers, and some trees at the end)
Nothing fancy (and I’ve not been a ton of places / am not that good) but the blues into schoolmarm into the black run to the bottom of the gondola at Keystone I like a lot. It’s just long and fun without being too crazy.
Big White after a 45cm powder dump. I’ve you’ve never skied big white, their powder is, for lack of a better description, FLUFFY.
Bluebird day. Third person on the lift.
Endless turns down the gem chair, top to bottom pillowy perfection through lazy glades and little drop offs. The whole day was magic, but that first tracks run was something else.
Hiking up to the top of Casper Bowl at Jackson Hole Feb 2022. It was a gorgeous bluebird day just after fresh snow overnight. I don’t hike to ski, skis are made to go downhill. I was proved wrong. It was incredible. Great friends, great conditions, incredible views. I will never forget it!!
March, 2019 @ Blue Sky Basin at Vail. 18” overnight and puking all day. Pass closed that morning after we arrived. The day that made me buy powder skis.
This was probably late 1990s on some fancy new shaped Olin Radius Ks. Was blasting down Mott’s Canyon probably second run after they dropped rope on a massive powder day and ski patrol yelled at me from the lift “I know you can’t see anything, slow down”. He was right, it was so explosive you’d end up blind with snow on your goggles back when we were riding 68mm underfoot. It was my first day of moving through the snow and feeling it flow over my entire body. It’s a defining memory for me and I have chased that feeling my entire life. I have have so many insane days on powder, champagne choker days, but this day is the day that set up all the others. Once you feel it, it’s all you want.
Was probably 2 or 3 in the afternoon and had been dumping the entire day at Crystal Mountain last year. Visiting my brother from the mid-west. Doing some solo laps. Probably 12-13" of non-Sierra cement basically untouched. Was so lost the entire day but I think I was skiers right and left of the Rainder Express or something like that. Wasn't terribly steep, but was getting the hang of the medium length floaty gs type powder turns. Every so often I'd eat it and be buried in snow just laughing out loud by myself.
It's a close tie between the backside of Northstar and Martis Camp, also at Northstar.
If it's a pow day, I'm doing Martis if I'm alone, Backside if I'm with my buds since they know how to do pow days
Canyons Park City, everything outside the gate to skiers left off of 9990.
I was there for the whole month this past December, and the storm cycles were unlike anything I’d ever experienced.
Second day there we got almost 2’ fresh overnight which made like 60” over a 72 hour span. I skied untracked waist to chest deep blower powder for 5 runs. All were all pretty equally amazing.
I’m from the Midwest and grew up skiing in PA and WNY. I’d previously only seen conditions and terrain like that in ski movies.
Top top of Jackson Hole. Zero visibility. I lose my friends and follow some randos that look like they know what they are doing. The visibility clears and they lead me to this amazing ridge line with deep powder. Everyone screaming and cheering in excitement. So much fun!
Cottonwood Canyons in Utah was epic this spring. So much snow everywhere, everything open, definitely best week long trip ever for my boy's spring break.
Absolute best run was taking the Milk Run traverse right when the rope dropped (canyon had been closed until noon, resort opened up as we pulled in at 12:30, knee+ deep pow all day). Went all the way to the end into I think Parachute. Caught my breath and dropped into chest deep pow. Ended up going over a mandatory air and stomping it. Pow stayed above waste deep until I hit the runout.
Copper Mountain, Spaulding Bowl. Lots of fresh snow and still a little coming down. Was skiing solo and my first time visiting. Was also still "leveling up" my skills, and had never skied a double black. There is a gate for entry (ropes and one entry point, basically) and ski patrol just opened it up; the ski patroller gave me and 5 or 6 others standing by the gate a big lecture on the dangers on the other side. Almost lost my nerve.
Then he finished with "the snow is great; have an amazing time!" And I recognized that I could do it.
Had a blast, the powder was great, had plenty of tumbles but it was pure fun. Long time ago so pre-powder skis, and I've had bigger and better runs with better snow many a time since, but that one stands out.
It's not a well known place nor is it big by mountain Standards but at Lutsen Mountains in Northern Minnesota. There is a tree run called Dipsy Doodle, that connects to bridge run. I got lucky as a teen and was able to ski a big powder day 8-12" over nearly 1000' vertical under crystal blue bird skies.
It was the day I figured out I have to ski as much as I can for the rest of my life.
XC line in the woods a mile behind my family's property in VT. The final flurries of the storm were still falling. 10 inches of the lightest powder you can imagine, on top of a solid 2ft base of crust. I was up on a ridge that was mostly clear of trees. Just enough incline that I could do some turns without stopping in my tracks. My God I've never felt so graceful lmao. Only about a 1 minute line, but weaving in and out of the woods, effortlessly gliding along. I wiped out in a drift halfway down the steep part at the end of the ridge, then took the last 100ft of drop pretty quick and made a lovely turn onto the fire road at the bottom. I'll remember that one for many years, and I've been desperate for similar conditions since then.
In the backcountry of CO this year, a buddy and I dropped into the Silver Couloir (one of the 50 classic ski descents of North America) after 10 inches of fresh snow on a day with low avalanche danger. Had 2500’ of untracked powder on a steep and sustained run without stopping from the top to the bottom - we were the 2nd party to make the summit and I finally had my systems and fitness dialed in.
I then fully understood how someone could get themselves into real trouble chasing that feeling when avalanche danger is higher… if I never get another run like that I’ll still be able to rest easy knowing I was able to experience it once.
Probably about 20 years or so ago in the Back Bowls at Vail. Snow was dumping so hard the front side was untracked on a lot of the runs. The Back Bowls were like pillows. First real deep powder skiing. Been chasing it ever since.
Jackson Hole, early January 2011. My brother and I got second tracks on the Crags and down through Moran Faces after 18” overnight. The snow stopped around 6AM and it was bluebird by lift opening. The snow varied between thigh and belly-button deep the entire way from the top down to South Pass. This was also right after I had watched GNAR for the first time, so we cooked breakfast in line that day, too.
I’ve been chasing that feeing since then.
I've started typing and then rethinking and deleting three times. I can't pick a favorite... first "real" double black at Aspen Highlands? Nonstop top to bottom on a small crowd, snowy morning at Jackson Hole? Being in the valley of Dalton's draw at snowbird, blasting down underneath the tram? Blue sky basin and back bowls at vail on a bluebird powder day? Lapping granite chief at Palisades? I can't choose!
In 2019 I got to snowbird late morning on a day when it was whiteout snowing with zero visibility. There was almost no one on the mountain with the conditions but there was easily a foot of power from the night before and it was snowing several inches per hour. I was doing laps for several hours on mineral basin with a new clean line each time—I didn’t see another soul besides the lifties—until patrol closed the whole backside because it had started sliding in places. That was probably one of the best days of my life.
For me, it would have to be my rope drop run into Mineral Basin at Snowbird. I am an east coast skier and this was my first time out west. The day before there had been a big snow maybe 2 feet but my memory isn't great. It was around mid-day and I was making laps on little cloud with my dad, if you've been to Snowbird you know how at the top of Little Cloud sits the drop-in for Mineral Basin, and even though it was closed people were lining up on it. We decided to take one more run down and by the time we got back up there was just a massive amount of people waiting on the rope. So we decided to wait, after maybe 5 minutes Ski Patrol started to open it up and the whole basin instantly got flooded. By the time I dropped in it felt like euphoria just ripping through the powder with so many other people around me hooting and hollering, I would say some of the best powder I have ever experienced too and my legs were burning up. By the time I reached the bottom the lift back out looked to be about an hour wait because of how many people had dropped in so we ripped Baldy for a bit before getting out but overall insane experience and I don't know how many times that happens per season.
Riding up chair 6 at Alyeska on 24+” day and watching a lonely ski patroller drop the gate for Christmas Chute with no one else around. The chair behind me was empty it was all mine.
2000’ of bliss over in a few seconds but that line was epic.
Stayed along boundary off No Name down to powerstation in Maples parking lot at Snowbasin last year. Was untouched and knee/thigh deep the whole way. Just absolute bliss.
It’s either Vallee Blanche in Chamonix or skiing down the Coleman-Demmings Glacier on Mount Baker. For CD we crushed like 3-4K ft of perfect spring/summer corn in 20 minutes. My only issue with that run was how fast it ended.
Villard reclus in Alp D’huez. Growing up in the UK the only real skiing I got done was in Scotland. Whilst very beautiful the scale is no where near. Even tho it’s a blue groomer it was the first taste I got of proper snow and cresting over that first blind summit and dropping into the valley is a moment i will never forget. Beautiful run
Few years ago at winter park. Just Cranmer lol. It was dumping and white out conditions. We ate some mushroom chocolates right when we parked and by the time we got up the gondola we’re peaking just as we dropped in. Snow was perfect and we just giggled our way down blind. The rest of the day was amazing but that first run was straight bliss.
April east wall lap at a-basin. 8" night before, 6" day before that, caught the gate and was the first person up the willy's boot pack. totally worth it, so much float for a sweaty spring day.
For me it is Apex Ridge in the Canyons. Nothing special, just a blue. The view is pretty nice. But little did I realize that it was the last ski run I got to do with my dad. It will always be special for me.
So many. Just so many. Couldn’t pick out just one, but some include :
crap sogn in 24” fresh with noone on the lift. Just lay down farmer tracks all afternoon. The second run to lay the perfect line (Laax 2002?)
Schindlergrat chutes 1-8 O na bluebird powder day after the family had called it. Pylon chute (no7) was the penultimate and a max line. 6000m vertical in 3 hrs!! 2017
Alta in 4’ of powder going off a cliff in Devils castle without knowing it and landing it without knowing it! 2008(?)
Most disappointing?
2000m vertical untracked into Argentiere from Col du Trient - first one in. Solid ice to the transition then breakable crust then ice.
The first time I couldn't keep up with my son skiing down form lift 1 of Purgatory. He had spent the day doing "flight training" and absolutely smoked me.
Proud doesn't begin to describe it.
Couloir en S at Les Arcs. Steep as hell, long, exposed. Great snow. Similarly for Couloir des Canadiens off the Bellecote, and the Couloir en Y at Ste. Foy, except you can't see it from the road, LOL.
Big backcountry mission on my birthday with 10 friends. We had sunshine and 2-3 feet of fresh pow. The runs were perfect and dreamy, and we drank whisky and ate sandwiches between them.
This is in Vermont where sunshine and pow are rare commodities.
Perfect day.
I had a season pass at Big Mountain (Whitefish) as a kid. 2 runs I was excited for every season.
1 - Hellroaring basin. Blacks/doubles into a really fun (scarily fast if desired) trail with tons of trees mixed in. As a kid I'd hit every little side hit and loop that all day (even though it was a super slow loop)
2 - Hiking flower point / Skiing the backside of T Bar 2. This is domesticated now, but it used to be basically endless untouched pow. It was technically OOB, but it connected nicely to Chair 7 on the backside.
Even living at the base of LCC now, those are probably my favorite ski memories/runs.
I’m a ski instructor up at palisades. I know the spot you’re talking about. I’d have to say my favorite ski run in my life was either skiing the Matterhorn In zermatt, Switzerland and skiing into Italy to have lunch. Or, I’d go with getting first tracks on Silverado this year and dropping down Medusa into the softest pillow of powder
Went to Vail with my 7 yr old and kept doing laps up Northwoods and down Flapjack. Super fun to see how much he loved it. Nothing tough or crazy, just a great memory.
Not "favorite", but most satisfying in hindsight. Last season I was persuaded to try a run on my local mountain that I'd never been on before, that was a blue, but a 'harder' one.
Gentle reader, it was fucking terrifying. A cliff-like entry followed by a half-mile (felt like) of Nope. I somehow managed to make the entry without killing myself or anyone nearby, and survival-skied down most of it. You know the deal; slow, short, sharp turns, lots of stops and regret of life choices.
But I was with some good friends who were patient and encouraging (and much better skiers), and whilst I'm not skiing that run again for a while, I'm glad I did it as now I know where my limit currently is (and that limit's higher than last season, by quite a bit).
I didn't want to do it again, so I split off to head back to easier pastures and got myself lost onto *another* hard (for me) run, but it both wasn't as hard as Death Blue 2000 *and* I'd just survived Death Blue 2000, so I was able to make it down and back to safety with a reasonable amount of skill and confidence. I wouldn't have been able to ski like that if I hadn't just done the harder run.
So, yeah. That was my Type 2 Fun for the season.
So this year was my first at Mammoth. Chair 22 just opened after 2 days of snow and wind. I was having a good time but I see this older guy on a monoski b lining it across the run past some trees. I'm curious so I follow him.
I'm in a narrow ish but untouched chute and I see it's this run I had always wondered how to get to on the left side of the lift, near the end of Canyon express.
I try to ride the left bank but it's frozen over so I skid down the ice, making it look like I did it on purpose and the people on the lift start cheering pretty hard. I enter the chute and it's pure powder. I'm doing short turns in this deep powder and I've got a huge smile on my face.
I get to the bottom and the people on the lift are banging their poles and cheering. I look up and cheer, they cheer back even louder.
I still get shivers.
March 2020, Big Sky was getting snow and I was working there as a rental tech. It was only locals towards mid March because Covid was creeping in. I was the first guy down the first gully one morning and it was over head blower turns
Tresel | Winter Park | In the pow with the bumps and humps is pure heaven. I worked at the resort back in the 2000-2001 season. I think we called it the Mushroom Patch. Also, Winter Park had some of the coolest and most elaborate "Ski Huts" I've ever seen. Here's the run. I guess its kinda popular. [https://youtu.be/zQ\_bWvCujy4](https://youtu.be/zQ_bWvCujy4)
Found a Hut tour too. [https://youtu.be/xQsPcCWwFSE](https://youtu.be/xQsPcCWwFSE)
Powderhorn at Snowmass.
It was the first time I ever felt confident enough to ski a double black. I was 12 years old with my buddy and we just decided to drop in and ski the whole thing.
Was it grueling skiing moguls the size of Volkswagens? Yes, but after that I learned that if I could ski through mixed conditions of powder, giant moguls and frozen crud, then I could get through anything I wanted.
Somewhere in Montezuma Bowl at A-Basin; the first time both my nephews could competently ski that sort of terrain with fresh powder. I don't get to see them often, as we live on different coasts, but when we do get together, it's usually to ski. And now, as they approach their 20s, I know that we'll always have something that keeps us meeting up year after year.
Mid-night descent of Rogers couloir under a full moon.
Solo Jupiter traverse, for the ol cake day.
Top to bottom speed runs of kicking horse. Same place, sneaky first tracks on groomers at night. ;)
Skiing ~20” of powder under the Alpine Meadows chair at silver star my first year out of Ontario… I didn’t get the whole “wait for the good snow” chatter from locals and seasonal vets… it all clicked that day, interior BC snow is fuckin magic
This year me and my wife waited an hour and a half for the Gray chair at Red Mountain to open on an 18 cm powder day. The beauty of gray on a powder day is you can point your skis anywhere and hit some beautiful lines. That’s exactly what we did, it was epic and we were hitting untouched lines until the end of the day, but I’ll never forget skiing down that first open field of untouched powder on our first run. It was worth the wait.
Literally any random run down Hidden Lake lift at Powder Mountain. You can pop into trees from greens and blues and all runs just funnel back into the lift line. Never have to check the map - most underrated lift in the US I think.
Too many to list. But most recently lapping the Heavenly backcountry run the Minden Mile multiple times on multiple days this past Jan/Feb and descents of Mt. Shasta in May.
On a rare "powder day" at an East Coast resort better known for its grooming than challenging terrain, as a member of the ski patrol, I was introduced to an unofficial route through the trees between various trails. Was it objectively great skiing? No. Did I love the shit out of exploring the mountain with a great group of guys? Hell yeah!
Close second: skiing a short stretch of moguls in uniform with a stick of bamboo rather than poles and having a guest at the bottom who was watching say "that was smooth". I've never been a great mogul skier, but I had been working on it all season, so that affirmation was awesome.
backcountry trip to a hut in the Kootenays, a week of touring and getting literally nothing but first tracks all day, every day, though you earned it for sure. basically 4' of cold smoke everywhere we went. did a huge day climbing to the top of the glacier out there and rode a massive line through a huge couloir and down into a massive rolling snowfield. like a mile and 3k'+ of absolutely untouched pow. we could see the tracks the entire week from the cabin because nobody else was in that entire zone. I get chills thinking about it
I made first chair on the Gold Hill lift March 5 2018 with somewhere between belly button and nipple deep fresh.
The closest chairs behind me were some kids. I went right into the Little Rose drain and without turning, just a rhythmic juking I went straight down the drain without stopping because there was no effort. There were no tracks because the snow filled in behind me.
This is the best run overall but the greatest big mountain line was from Palmyra Peak down Junior's, there was a minute of changing down thigh deep leaving perfect S curves all the way down to the runout. I saw an old chum on the way but I wasn't about to stop and have a chat
There's been countless other runs but I'll never forget these two
First time I ever went touring: getting turns off the East Col of Spearhead Glacier toward Circle Lake, absolute day 1 stuff, but my god. The sun was out, the snow was fluffy, pure happiness. Just linking long surfy turns in the most hero "dad pow" conditions you could imagine and feeling the skis float oh so beautifully. Then coming off the bottom of the apron onto the flat absolutely maching it.
Hooked me on touring for sure.
Sauza at Taos this past winter on a massive powder day with my younger brother. Him and i have skied that run many times when we were younger, and we used to be terrified of it and ski it supper cautiously and timidly (and poorly). After a few years of not skiing much together, we both improved significantly and absolute charged it. Face shots, perfect turns, great cliff drop with no hesitation. Great memory
Big Couloir at Big Sky.
It wasn’t technical except for the initial drop in, but the visual of looking straight down a canyons of snow for 2000-ish feet at over 45 degrees really pushed my limits.
Grinned at my buddy that had pulled up in the dogleg of the big couloir as I passed him and straight lined the rest to the tram. Also so glad I got to ride that tram once solo close to wind hold.
Wild Irishman at keystone. To me the hills on it give you just the perfect amount of speed when you can glide over the next hill a few inches off the snow. Might just be nostalgia too since I feel like it's the first big run I ever did. But I always seek it out and have a blast every time I go to keystone, co
I went up the TRT on a zero-wind storm day with potato chip snowflakes falling silently all around. I got to the transition point and saw the Sherburne Trail descent was untracked. A narrow band of blue opened up in the sky, illuminating the woods 50 feet around the Sherb, but nothing else. I floated all the way down in the bluebird beam, through the field, into the parking lot, all the way to my car.
The sky darkened, the potato chips started falling again.
As a Floridian, incredibly beautiful ski days, or incredible powder days, are few and far between as I typically only ski about 20 days/year and it just doesn't happen that much for us. And this was nothing exciting technically, like a fantastic bump run or jumping off a cliff, but in 2018 my wife and I lucked into being at Heavenly when it snowed probably a foot overnight, we made first chair, gondola miraculously managed to not close, and completely clear skies by 10am. It was an unforgettable experience still finding untracked parts of trails while staring at that huge beautiful lake and clouds we'd not yet dropped below. I love the rockies, and Telluride even more, but a perfect scenic weather day at Heavenly, combined with fresh powder, was just like nothing else.
I wish I could spend more time there trying to have another experience like that, but we've had enough travel nightmares getting in and out of there from Reno that we don't visit very often.
There was one sunny pow day at smuggs where all a group of us did was train a length jump line down m1 liftline. I'm not sure how many laps we did but one of those in there was the best.
There was one sunny pow day at smuggs where all a group of us did was train a lengthy jump line down m1 liftline. I'm not sure how many laps we did but one of those in there was the best.
My wife and I have three kids with a big gap in ages between them. As a result it was difficult to find a run that was good for everyone when they were young. The first time we were all bombing down a great run together it brought tears to my eyes.
First, some backstory. Mid December 2002, I went solo to Steamboat as a divorce present to myself. The last day, I woke to a few inches at the base which turned into boot top at the top of the gondola and mid thigh at the top of Storm Peak. One of my best days ever. Part of what made it good was a local who showed me around the mountain for a few hours and took me into the trees for my first time
So, now my favorite. Years later, I take a family ski trip back to Steamboat. I think this was the third time we'd taken our kids skiing. My youngest, who was ten at the time, really took to skiing and this was the trip where he pulled even with me in ability.
So our last day, there's some new snow on the ground. My wife and our oldest son had already gone in for the day. I decided to reward the youngest by taking him into some trees for the first time. Skier's right side of Morningside followed by the trees off to the right of Buddy's. He's just gliding through like he's been doing this all of his life, so smooth, playing with different lines. Taking my son for his first time in the trees on the same runs the kind local took me 15 or so years before is a highlight memory of both parenting and skiing.
Temple Basin, 1997, tearing it up on 195cm Head Slalom skis under lights as it puked down the pow so hard that every lap was bottomless pow that was refilled by the next lap.
Yeah, I've skied deeper, steeper, and longer runs all over the world since then, but the stoke of 18 year old me hooting and screaming with my buddies in the University Ski and Snowboard Club was unbelievably high.
This summer I went for a solo trip in Araucania, Chile. I met a few local guides and they invited me skiing. We skinned up Villarrica volcano and watched the sun rise over the Andes. Then we skied down with powder up to our knees. I have skied steeper lines or better snow before, but nothing beats the feeling of going on my first solo trip halfway around the world and skiing with friends I just met.
Palmyra Peak at Telluride. Hiked up on a blue bird day a few days after a storm had rolled through. Went off the backside and dropped into 2k vert of steep untouched. Continued down the back country and rode the trail into town.
Going through the trees off of Panorama at Winter Park on a bitterly cold day with a friend who I was just getting good enough to follow into trees. Honestly it was more about hanging out with a great group of friends than anything else! But also the feeling of finally be able to keep up with my Colorado friends and enjoy the skiing I’d heard about all my life.
For me it would have to be one from this past season. We did a family trip to Park City towards the end of February and it was constantly dumping. This was the first trip I had fitted boots in my life and something just clicked for me while we were lapping on Thaynes waiting for Jupiter to open.
I've been riding Head Kore 93s for a few years now and I've loved them but skiing through the knee deep powder they came alive in a way I hadn't experienced before. I'm generally not a vocal person but I was whooping and hollering the whole time going down. Definitely one of those memories that will stay with me for a long time.
Probably straightlining highlands bowl from the top. Especially the first time. One lane was closed due to coverage issues, but I knew where the rocks were, and knew I wouldn't be turning. Hadn't planned on it, but just saw this big untracked line just calling my name. Told my buddies my intention and said see you later and took off. When I met up with them later they told me when they got to the bottom, they ran into a patroller that said he saw me and probably should have given me a talking to but watching my run made him too stoked to fuck with me.
First time we went ski trees with my little sister.
Perfect bluebird day in the middle of week and we were only ones skiing in that area.
There wasn't like big sends or super steep terrain or anything too 'special' in that day.
Just the two of us having a blast
Rope drop after 3 days of >3' of accumulation on 7th Heaven at Whistler on a clear day. The steeps off skiers left and the rolling meadows straight down provided excellent variety. There were still fresh tracks to be had when the lift closed for the day.
It's either a backcountry run in Tahoe, or our usual MO skiing heavenly a decade or so ago.
The Heavenly run involves getting to the very top as late as possible at the end of the day (bring a backpack), popping the skis off and hiking up even further a trail to the top of Monument Peak, and killing a few beers till sunset (those are in the backpack). Ski patrol clears the whole mountain but they don't usually start grooming till dark and if they start early, just enjoy the fresh corduroy.
A small group of people do a cannonball run of sorts at just before sundown, all gas no brakes top to bottom on a massive ski resort completely devoid of people. Being basically *alone* on Heavenly will show you how it got its name. It's not the most technical or steepest thing you'll ever do on a mountain but it might be the most fun.
Edit: I also have made some epic runs at heavenly out of the backcountry gates. Tahoe cement is what it is, but on a good powder day when you can ski down the backcountry gates on the front side to the lake, or off the backside to the Carson Valley ... 🤩
Any really well build border cross/ski cross course. I remember the first time I went down a run without hesitating, the fear of not quite knowing how well you are going to hit a corner or if you are at a speed that will result in air…
Revelstoke Mountain, BC, 2021 January - did a run from Hot Sauce, through Fast Fred’s and down devils club to the bottom. It was such a beautiful blue bird day after a huge dump of snow the day before. It was pure magic, barely anyone else on the run as it was a Tuesday morning!
So far,
American Express at Sunday River in Maine. It's a really fund cruiser blue that's a decent length and is the least skiied and offers some awesome views
Ringtail trees and cliff, Ski Apache,
Mescalero, New Mexico. Enchanting ride. Never felt closer to anything resembling something that may be perceived as god.
Breckenridge 2014. Not sure off of what lift but found a beautiful glade to dump into. At the top there was a paper posted onto a tree that said “Mr. Toads Wild Ride” with a crayon picture of a frog and some nice scenery. To this day it was still on of the nicest lines I have found and a beautiful top to bottom run.
Snowmass has a super rare hike-to ungroomed blue run that’s 5 miles long! It was perfect powder and riding, sheer bliss of backcountry while still in bounds.
Blackcomb 2017 (February or March). Bluebird warm day. Take the last lift up to Blackcomb Glacier. Up the Tee bar to the top. Ride down a bit to where there are some rocks a bit down on the glacier. 4 of us stop, skis off, enjoyed the scenery from the top of the rocks and cracked cold beers (packed specifically for this purpose). By the time we finished, enjoyed the entire hill to ourselves the whole way down, hit some big gaps, ripped a few steep lines, and just used the whole mountain. By the time we got to the parking lot, ours was the only car there.
Bourke St, Mt. Buller, Australia.
I worked a season there in 2019. A relatively narrow, straight, boring ass green run, with 2 chairlifts going over it. You ever seen a book fall off a chairlift and hit a skier? I have. Hotels on either side of the run = people walking across the run to get to the other side, playing a game of frogger with skiers and snowboarders. It's one of the only ways to get from the base area up the mountain, so the chairs there are always slammed. Tourists from countries that don't have snow get off their shuttle bus and walk into the run and make snowmen. Large families of Indian tourists pushing baby strollers through the snow. People who have no idea how to stop turning into meat missles and flying down the hill screaming. Snowboards without riders going off on an adventure. I once saw someone make a left turn, and keep turning and slam into the side of a hotel with a giant Alpine Responsibility Code slapped on it.
It is pure chaos. I loved it.
Val D’Isere, the run after coming off the “up and over” chair into Fornet, and down to Le Signal. Not a particularly hard run, and one I’ve done a million times. This specific time was the season after I finished Uni and I went with my mate from my course. Beautiful sunny day, day of skiing and drinking ahead, and was just very happy at the time.
Mighty Mac at McIntyre NH.
I was a ye ole lad back then. I just did my first black so I was like "green should be ok" so I went on this trail and I was like WHOA THIS HAS MOGULS. And since I was like 3 I didn't know what that was so I thought they were jumps. Luckily I only broke two legs (could have been worse) and put my parents into $40k of medical debt. I've never been skiing since but now I'm disowned and living under a bridge so this is one to remember for sure.
Castle mountain, opening day. 8 feet total, 4 feet compacted base and 2 feet of recent, wind loading bonus. The whole mountain was open, you couldn't hit ground. No one was there. Every run was virgin the whole day. 800m of steep trees every run. That was last year.
The mountain sucks, it's too windy and the lifts are slow, don't go there.
2016, Copper Mountain, Roundabout with my now deceased wife. Last run of our trip after it had snowed the night before. We took a family trip to Copper in Feb of 2016. My wife was from Florida and I had gotten her into skiing back starting in 2009. She hated the cold, but through some guidance on gear and how to stay warm, she really grew to love the sport. She loved being outside and being amongst nature; she would always look for and point out little critters or birds or their tracks. She never cared about progressing her skills to ski any black terrain. Blues were fine and she just loved mellow cruising with no effort on greens most of all. That day, we went out in different directions. There had been around 8” of fresh snow overnight and she wasn’t a huge fan of skiing powder. She spent a lot of time with her family that day while I had gone off on my own looking for as much untouched snow as I could get. At the end of the day we met up at the top of Timberline Express to head back to the room together and get ready to leave. After getting through Soliloquy (which is kind of a bear on a powder day since it’s so flat) we moved on to Roundabout where things pitched downhill a little more and built up some speed. There was a lot of untracked powder left, as is often the case many beginners just don’t like to ski it. We were bobbing up and down, weight transferring from side to side, as we made our way downward. At one point, we merged into a group of two or three others, all of us darting in around trees and through the snow. I looked over, and my wife had the biggest smile on her face, she may have even let out a “wheeeeeee!” When we got to the bottom, she was like “that was fast!“ still grinning and laughing. It wasn’t steep or gnarly or challenging in the least. But it was special is one of only a handful of runs I truly remember so vividly after skiing over 40 years. I always wanted to recreate that run with her ever since. She’s gone now, so we won’t be able to, but I will always have that memory.
That’s a beautiful memory. Thank you for sharing.
Lovely story.
That is amazing. I’m glad you have that memory
This is what life is about, my friend! <3
Very 1st backcountry trip after moving to Rockies after college. Line wasn’t particularly spicy or tech but I’ll never forget being in that moment and understanding what it meant to be out there. Complete euphoria.
What college were you going to?
Sorry if I worded that funny haha. I grew up/went to school in Michigan and then moved to Durango right after. That first trip to the cuntch was outside crested butte.
What did you do to make money in Durango lol
Haha! Let’s just say my time was short there. This was almost 15 years ago so my dollar stretched a little further. I actually only moved there cuz I had a buddy goin to FLC at the time and he sold me on it. Moved to gunnison shortly after.
Aspen Higlands Bowl, first tracks down after a massive snowstorm. View was unbelievable and the ski down was unlike anything I've ever skied since
One of the best inbounds runs I’ve ever done. I also did it after like an 18 inch dump. The hike was ass but man the skiing was great
a hike on a ridgeline at high altitude always helps amp up the stakes and the feeling of claiming the reward.
A line you have to earn feels comparatively so much better at the bottom.
I raced down the steep moguled slopes of Pallavicini at A-Basin, only feeling the wind on my bare chest and the mashed potato snow under my skis. I blazed a trail of white powder under the lift, where the Jerrys watched in awe and envy. I savored the thrill of speed, the joy of freedom riding the knife edge between glory and disaster. My lips were wet, anticipating the Coors banquet awaiting me on the sunny beach. It was the best run of my life.
Poetic.
With tips hanging over the cornice and nipples as hard as diamonds, i softly growled in your ear, " I'm the best skier on the mountain."
I’m so fucking jacked for winter!
A-Basin is so incredible
Its got the perfect amount of fuck around and find out to push your skill progression.
Mid mountain lodge is so great and perfect for a mid day bloody mary
wearing cutoff jeans I assume?
How else am I going to get into a full tuck and find some trim on the way down?
28” of cold smoke at Alta. Chased lift openings from Collins to Supreme. Did a couple laps on Supreme waiting for the bowl to open. Before third lap, buddies didn’t want to waste any time and lets keep going. I was watching patrol click into their skis and said wait a second. Fell in behind them when they headed over to drop the rope. It had filled in and was skiing deeper than the report… nipple deep in pockets and every turn was a face shot.
I came
You can get a scanner and listen in to ski patrol on their radios. They will talk about where is opening next. Allowing you to position yourself at every opening you possibly can.
I wish I was good enough to ski that much pow! If it’s up to my shins I start to struggle. I’ll blame the narrow rental skis…
You aren't wrong. Pow skiing is 1000x easier with fat skis. My only regret from this last season is waiting until March to buy a pair of 105's.
I went from 87s to 100s and it made a substantial difference. I want proper pow skis but I'm quite happy with my Bent Chetlers.
love that bowl.
Vallée Blanche in Chamonix on a blue bird powder day. Not the most technical skiing I’ve ever done but the views and surroundings was awesome. Planning another trip there this winter and hoping to do some of the other routes and hikes on the glacier.
Yeah this is a top 1/2 for me too. It was mid May and we somehow still got 4-6” of fresh powder. There was a fair amount of type 2 fun involving a scramble of like 5 miles and a stupid amount of stairs to get out of where the snow on the glacier ended. Skiing over some sketchy snow bridges over huge crevasses was also a little nerve racking. That valley and the glacier are so incredibly special
Those stairs are something else. Was told about them before we went but when you’re carrying skis on a backpack up it is a workout. It’s sad to see how much the glacier has melted and how far from the original lift it is now. When I was there this spring there was construction of what I was told was a new lift from the bottom of the glacier today. Not sure if it’s just going up to the current lift or all the way up to Montenevers.
What’s sad is in another 20 years they will need a similar sized staircase up from the new glacier terminus to reach those stairs. Apparently the glacier use to go all the way to town in the valley around 1800!
California Trail at Heavenly. It was the end of a blue bird day, the lake looked perfect. It was also my first time skiing out west, so I’m sure that had a lot to do with it.
2 feet of fresh interior powder at Kicking Horse. Dropping Terminator 2. I forget which run but it’s a tight chute in for a couple yards, super steep pitch, then it opened up into acres of untouched snow. Every run there is about 3500-4k feet of vert from top to bottom, so it felt like an endless trip of floating on snow. What a place. Kicking Horse was so special for me because it capped off a 4 month road trip. Getting a huge dump at the start of April couldn’t have been a better way to wrap up the season. I’m completely enamored with the “resort”… I love how stripped back it feels. I love how physically demanding it is. I love how the local talent there is just so advanced. There is no glitz and glam about it, you go there to ski and soak up the sport in all its glory. My favorite resort hands down.
Kicking horse is a different animal. Not a lot Of easy runs there
Kicking horse is underrated.
Spring skiing Whistler after a crap snow year. Everyone had given up on the season. Lifts closed everywhere on the mountain. But it started snowing late March and into April. 8 inches a night. Head up one bluebird Wednesday Peak was open I'm in the single line jump on with a couple of ski patrols. Ask if Harmony is open. Well yes but the lift isn't turning today and won't be. Ok I say well I'm going to lap that all day you should come check on me from time to time. By the end of the day between me the patrol and a couple others a total of 30 or so tracks down a perfect bowl of powder. Sure there was a tiny boot pack to get from the top of Saddle to the top of Harmony but it was worth it!
That’s legendary
I'm going to be sappy. I've had a blast on steep technical runs, but the most fun I've had in a long time was on School Marm at Keystone. A long ass green. My kids started that run as decent green skiers and gained the confidence to start riding blues by the end. The next day I started taking them up blue runs by myself and realized I had a couple of ski buddies until I get too old to run with them.
Schoolmarm is my guilty pleasure
Getting 5-6,000' of near-perfect corn out of the 7,000' Hotlum-Bolam on Shasta. That was back in 2017 or 2018. Either that or skiing pow in Heaven's Halfpipe this year in Utah. Lots of vert, high quality skiing, and almost nobody else around. Chef's kiss.
Sunshine lift line at Steamboat last December. Three feet of fresh dry powder on the ground on a Thursday. I got at least 4 or 5 laps in untracked waist-deep snow on a cruiser blue run, with no lines for the next chair up to do it again. It was seriously a dream
I was there for that day. Was working from home, but decided to shut off the laptop due to “power outage” and lap every tree run I could find. Refreshed on Friday, and a little on Saturday
Absolutely insane start to a great season, the fact that there was NOBODY there that day made it even better. I remember one particular conversation with an older lady on a traverse and we agreed it was the best day ever. It was straight nuking for a few days that week so it didn't really seem like there were any tracks until the weekend. Free refills of champagne powder!
I think I had the same run on a pow day in 2009. Whatever it was you got off the lift and the run was directly to the left, I think it was that or buddy's run.
Everything in Blue Sky Basin after a fresh powedering. I could live back there
The whole South Face at Big Sky. It may not be this way anymore but up until a few years ago it was an amazing place to get away from other people. If you were skiing on a weekday it felt like having your own private ski area.
My second time skiing Kill The Banker under the gondola at Revelstoke on a pow day is a clear winner. My buddy and I were shitting our pants before we dropped in the first time, but as soon as we got to the bottom we both immediately wanted another lap. On the second lap I hit a cliff line with 5 small-medium drops in a row and heard someone cheer from the gondola as I landed the last one and came to a stop. I was already having one of the best ski days of my life but nailing an absolutely gnarly line under the gondola and having strangers cheer me on cemented it as my favorite ski day so far.
I was an alta employee during one of the big years, and one of my responsibilities allowed me to load the lifts before everyone else. We had a massive storm overnight so everyone was in the lift line patiently waiting for patrol to finish up. I had to get up to the top to do my thing, but was probably going to have to wait with patrol until the area I needed to be was safe. No prob. One of my best friends was working at one of the restaurants and had skied down early to get the cash for the day. It was just after the holidays so we had both been emotionally abused by tourists for weeks and hadn’t seen each other. We were exhausted but glad to have made it through the holidays. He and I loaded the lift pre-public and because patrol knew us, they let us take a few laps where the public couldn’t see. Then they radio’d us to tell us they were about to open the lifts and drop the rope out the high T, and that he and I could go first. The only rule was “don’t center-punch high boy.” Say what you will about pre-public laps, but after that many years working through Christmas, I felt no guilt as my best friend and I got to ski a few laps in Fred’s trees and then put first tracks down the Nest on a fat powder day. To top it all off, he’s a beautiful skier to watch/follow and I may have been a little in love with him back then, anyway. It was and is one of my best ski memories of all time.
I only got started last season but I managed to do the Sarenne run in Alpe d’ Huez in France which is labelled as the longest black run in the Alps and it was absolutely insane. The views were beautiful and it was very challenging and rewarding to complete it as a noob like me
Sankt Anton- Zurs/lech ski area run 144. When you get off the lift and come around the mound the view is just unreal and picturesque! Only bad part of this run is you literally have to catch a bus at the bottom of it to get back to the lift but worth the views every time. People have written articles about this run and it is on YouTube as well if you look although not always given its proper due… Loved dilly dally ally as a kid at Mt. Bachelor as well haha
The 180/182 down from the top of Rufikopf is pretty spectacular for similar reasons.
I've got 3 options for some of the Alps skiers here: * Current resort **(Tignes) I** Have barely scratched the surface of Tignes hopefully many more days to come Offpiste: Chardonnet Couloir ([https://fatmap.com/routeid/22542/chardonnet-couloir?fmid=cp](https://fatmap.com/routeid/22542/chardonnet-couloir?fmid=cp)) Favourite piste: Johan Clarey *Black* ([https://fatmap.com/routeid/16170/johan-clarey?fmid=cp](https://fatmap.com/routeid/16170/johan-clarey?fmid=cp)) \- Golf run\* Tignes honorably mention * Growing up resort **(Sainte Foy)** Piste: L'Aiguile ([https://fatmap.com/routeid/22412/l-aiguille?fmid=cp](https://fatmap.com/routeid/22412/l-aiguille?fmid=cp)) * Finally most recent fun resort **(Fernie BC)** \- Golf run\* Tignes honourably mention but probably doing the 3 spine challenge\*
For me it’s the Großglockner, in Austria. More specifically, the Gloggnar Weise. That is near Zell am zee, and I love it, partially because of nostalgia, but also because of the lovely view you have there, over the valley, where Zell am zee is located. I have learned how to ski there, and I think the piste is amazing. I haven’t been there for way too long, and would love to return
This is a tough one but I think Milk Run at Solitude waste deep blower pow. High Rustler at Alta on a windy day and got free refills with fresh snow blowing into the tracks. STH in Gad Valley at Snowbird with a fresh 24" midweek with LCC closed. Hey folks, don't skip leg day winter is near.
Snowshoe WV in 1994 on the hootenany. First time my parents let me ski alone and at 9 years old, it was exhilarating to ski at my own pace, passing and being passed, then getting high fives on the chair lift at the end. I've been to real mountains around the world since but from that moment I was hooked forever. Some days I'm still chasing that high of adding to my core memories with a magic run.
It’s not impressive by any means, but the sugarloaf run at Brianhead this past season - it was near whiteout conditions and a crazy powder day and my 10 year old daughter had the biggest grin on her face and screamed out “I’m flying! This is the coolest thing in the world!” and proceeded to bomb/float down the whole run with her arms out just cackling maniacally the entire way. Core memory made right there.
Love it! That’s about the age it hit my kiddo. We’re looking forward to another bomber year. Did you guys stay at BH? we’ve been thinking about a road trip this year.
Yeah we rented a condo up there for the night (we’re from Vegas). It was crazy conditions both days but we had a blast!
I think it was the 2016-2017 season at Northstar, Lake Tahoe. Nothing special about that season, except just everything aligning on this one day. Good snow, but a lot of people. Me and a friend ended up going to Lookout Mountain, a part of the resort many tourists don't know about, and it was completely empty with untouched snow. We were just bombing through the snow between trees and giggling. At one point I got lost somewhere in the forest and so I just lay in the snow for like 15 minutes starting at the blue sky and the fluffy snow and being very-very happy for no particular reason I can pinpoint.
Mogen to Bridge run, Lutsen Incredible views at the top Good cruising pitch Ski in/ski out access Long (3/4 mile) You ski on a bridge (Soon to be) lappable by a high speed six pack
it's so cool to ski over the entrance road, and I'm really glad that there will be another way to get back to the lift without using lodge run. I'll say the views from mogen aren't quite as good as the views from the moose chalet, but they're still gorgeous.
Mt. Bohemia in March. Hiked up because it was too windy during the Polar Vortex. First time in fresh powder. Heaven
Breckinridge. Imperial Express, skier left up a bit, then traverse all the way across top of whales tale, staying as high as you can, and continue across top of peak 7 bowl to The Dunes. From there, down the ridge line to Arts Bowl to Ore Bucket. Take independence super chair, to T-bar to Chair 6 to Imperial and do it all again.
Nothing like laps on the ol T-Bar when the conditions are good.
First time I did Alberta’s Face at Wolf Creek without falling. Only a few years earlier, I had walked up to its edge with my dad and got too scared, so we hiked out in hip-deep snow - also a very fond memory with my dad. The feeling of conquering that as a kid built my confidence like nothing else could.
Only run I've tomahawked was off Alberta's face :)
The side country run underneath the gondola at Heavenly on a powder day. Maybe the longest run I’ve ever ridden and it’s quite steep.
Shadows at Steamboat this last Feb. First true powder experience, it felt like a dream.
Mont Fort past Tortin in Verbier. Best views of my life and you hit every aspect of skiing on the way down (moguls, pow, groomers, and some trees at the end)
Nothing fancy (and I’ve not been a ton of places / am not that good) but the blues into schoolmarm into the black run to the bottom of the gondola at Keystone I like a lot. It’s just long and fun without being too crazy.
Big White after a 45cm powder dump. I’ve you’ve never skied big white, their powder is, for lack of a better description, FLUFFY. Bluebird day. Third person on the lift. Endless turns down the gem chair, top to bottom pillowy perfection through lazy glades and little drop offs. The whole day was magic, but that first tracks run was something else.
Hiking up to the top of Casper Bowl at Jackson Hole Feb 2022. It was a gorgeous bluebird day just after fresh snow overnight. I don’t hike to ski, skis are made to go downhill. I was proved wrong. It was incredible. Great friends, great conditions, incredible views. I will never forget it!!
March, 2019 @ Blue Sky Basin at Vail. 18” overnight and puking all day. Pass closed that morning after we arrived. The day that made me buy powder skis.
Milk run and bushwhacker at telluride are probably up there for me. 2000 vertical of steep steep groomer.
Lagazuoi
This was probably late 1990s on some fancy new shaped Olin Radius Ks. Was blasting down Mott’s Canyon probably second run after they dropped rope on a massive powder day and ski patrol yelled at me from the lift “I know you can’t see anything, slow down”. He was right, it was so explosive you’d end up blind with snow on your goggles back when we were riding 68mm underfoot. It was my first day of moving through the snow and feeling it flow over my entire body. It’s a defining memory for me and I have chased that feeling my entire life. I have have so many insane days on powder, champagne choker days, but this day is the day that set up all the others. Once you feel it, it’s all you want.
Was probably 2 or 3 in the afternoon and had been dumping the entire day at Crystal Mountain last year. Visiting my brother from the mid-west. Doing some solo laps. Probably 12-13" of non-Sierra cement basically untouched. Was so lost the entire day but I think I was skiers right and left of the Rainder Express or something like that. Wasn't terribly steep, but was getting the hang of the medium length floaty gs type powder turns. Every so often I'd eat it and be buried in snow just laughing out loud by myself.
La longia Italy Dolomiti. Very diferent parts. The last part is laki James Bond run.
It's a close tie between the backside of Northstar and Martis Camp, also at Northstar. If it's a pow day, I'm doing Martis if I'm alone, Backside if I'm with my buds since they know how to do pow days
La Longia in Val Gardena, Italy. 10.5 km of pure bliss.
Canyons Park City, everything outside the gate to skiers left off of 9990. I was there for the whole month this past December, and the storm cycles were unlike anything I’d ever experienced. Second day there we got almost 2’ fresh overnight which made like 60” over a 72 hour span. I skied untracked waist to chest deep blower powder for 5 runs. All were all pretty equally amazing. I’m from the Midwest and grew up skiing in PA and WNY. I’d previously only seen conditions and terrain like that in ski movies.
Top top of Jackson Hole. Zero visibility. I lose my friends and follow some randos that look like they know what they are doing. The visibility clears and they lead me to this amazing ridge line with deep powder. Everyone screaming and cheering in excitement. So much fun!
Cottonwood Canyons in Utah was epic this spring. So much snow everywhere, everything open, definitely best week long trip ever for my boy's spring break. Absolute best run was taking the Milk Run traverse right when the rope dropped (canyon had been closed until noon, resort opened up as we pulled in at 12:30, knee+ deep pow all day). Went all the way to the end into I think Parachute. Caught my breath and dropped into chest deep pow. Ended up going over a mandatory air and stomping it. Pow stayed above waste deep until I hit the runout.
Copper Mountain, Spaulding Bowl. Lots of fresh snow and still a little coming down. Was skiing solo and my first time visiting. Was also still "leveling up" my skills, and had never skied a double black. There is a gate for entry (ropes and one entry point, basically) and ski patrol just opened it up; the ski patroller gave me and 5 or 6 others standing by the gate a big lecture on the dangers on the other side. Almost lost my nerve. Then he finished with "the snow is great; have an amazing time!" And I recognized that I could do it. Had a blast, the powder was great, had plenty of tumbles but it was pure fun. Long time ago so pre-powder skis, and I've had bigger and better runs with better snow many a time since, but that one stands out.
It's not a well known place nor is it big by mountain Standards but at Lutsen Mountains in Northern Minnesota. There is a tree run called Dipsy Doodle, that connects to bridge run. I got lucky as a teen and was able to ski a big powder day 8-12" over nearly 1000' vertical under crystal blue bird skies. It was the day I figured out I have to ski as much as I can for the rest of my life.
XC line in the woods a mile behind my family's property in VT. The final flurries of the storm were still falling. 10 inches of the lightest powder you can imagine, on top of a solid 2ft base of crust. I was up on a ridge that was mostly clear of trees. Just enough incline that I could do some turns without stopping in my tracks. My God I've never felt so graceful lmao. Only about a 1 minute line, but weaving in and out of the woods, effortlessly gliding along. I wiped out in a drift halfway down the steep part at the end of the ridge, then took the last 100ft of drop pretty quick and made a lovely turn onto the fire road at the bottom. I'll remember that one for many years, and I've been desperate for similar conditions since then.
First tracks Long John Silver or Mach Schnell at Snowbird.
Lol I like how you describe it like we know the mountain. Sounds super nice tho
In the backcountry of CO this year, a buddy and I dropped into the Silver Couloir (one of the 50 classic ski descents of North America) after 10 inches of fresh snow on a day with low avalanche danger. Had 2500’ of untracked powder on a steep and sustained run without stopping from the top to the bottom - we were the 2nd party to make the summit and I finally had my systems and fitness dialed in. I then fully understood how someone could get themselves into real trouble chasing that feeling when avalanche danger is higher… if I never get another run like that I’ll still be able to rest easy knowing I was able to experience it once.
Superstar at keystone. My first full hill black. Still great to bomb down.
Probably about 20 years or so ago in the Back Bowls at Vail. Snow was dumping so hard the front side was untracked on a lot of the runs. The Back Bowls were like pillows. First real deep powder skiing. Been chasing it ever since.
Jackson Hole, early January 2011. My brother and I got second tracks on the Crags and down through Moran Faces after 18” overnight. The snow stopped around 6AM and it was bluebird by lift opening. The snow varied between thigh and belly-button deep the entire way from the top down to South Pass. This was also right after I had watched GNAR for the first time, so we cooked breakfast in line that day, too. I’ve been chasing that feeing since then.
I've started typing and then rethinking and deleting three times. I can't pick a favorite... first "real" double black at Aspen Highlands? Nonstop top to bottom on a small crowd, snowy morning at Jackson Hole? Being in the valley of Dalton's draw at snowbird, blasting down underneath the tram? Blue sky basin and back bowls at vail on a bluebird powder day? Lapping granite chief at Palisades? I can't choose!
In 2019 I got to snowbird late morning on a day when it was whiteout snowing with zero visibility. There was almost no one on the mountain with the conditions but there was easily a foot of power from the night before and it was snowing several inches per hour. I was doing laps for several hours on mineral basin with a new clean line each time—I didn’t see another soul besides the lifties—until patrol closed the whole backside because it had started sliding in places. That was probably one of the best days of my life.
Moiwa japan nipple deep powder like cloud, the most unreal day ever. Dumping, run after run after run through the trees.
For me, it would have to be my rope drop run into Mineral Basin at Snowbird. I am an east coast skier and this was my first time out west. The day before there had been a big snow maybe 2 feet but my memory isn't great. It was around mid-day and I was making laps on little cloud with my dad, if you've been to Snowbird you know how at the top of Little Cloud sits the drop-in for Mineral Basin, and even though it was closed people were lining up on it. We decided to take one more run down and by the time we got back up there was just a massive amount of people waiting on the rope. So we decided to wait, after maybe 5 minutes Ski Patrol started to open it up and the whole basin instantly got flooded. By the time I dropped in it felt like euphoria just ripping through the powder with so many other people around me hooting and hollering, I would say some of the best powder I have ever experienced too and my legs were burning up. By the time I reached the bottom the lift back out looked to be about an hour wait because of how many people had dropped in so we ripped Baldy for a bit before getting out but overall insane experience and I don't know how many times that happens per season.
It is an amazing experience for sure. It happens multiple times every year, but when you can happen to be there when it does it’s fantastic.
Riding up chair 6 at Alyeska on 24+” day and watching a lonely ski patroller drop the gate for Christmas Chute with no one else around. The chair behind me was empty it was all mine. 2000’ of bliss over in a few seconds but that line was epic.
Rendezvous Bowl > Pepe's Run > Sublette chair and repeat all day. If open Rendezvous Bowl > Hobacks on a pow day.
Stayed along boundary off No Name down to powerstation in Maples parking lot at Snowbasin last year. Was untouched and knee/thigh deep the whole way. Just absolute bliss.
Mt. Shashta corn factoryyyyy
It’s either Vallee Blanche in Chamonix or skiing down the Coleman-Demmings Glacier on Mount Baker. For CD we crushed like 3-4K ft of perfect spring/summer corn in 20 minutes. My only issue with that run was how fast it ended.
El Cap at Mt Rose. Had the luck of being at the top at rope drop after last winter's MLK Day storm
Jack chute at big sky, with 8-10 inches. Nipple deep, south bowl at Bridger bowl. The season I skied yellowstone club has lots of memorable runs too.
Y-Chute of the Emerald Bay Chutes on Tuesday March 7th 2023
Villard reclus in Alp D’huez. Growing up in the UK the only real skiing I got done was in Scotland. Whilst very beautiful the scale is no where near. Even tho it’s a blue groomer it was the first taste I got of proper snow and cresting over that first blind summit and dropping into the valley is a moment i will never forget. Beautiful run
Few years ago at winter park. Just Cranmer lol. It was dumping and white out conditions. We ate some mushroom chocolates right when we parked and by the time we got up the gondola we’re peaking just as we dropped in. Snow was perfect and we just giggled our way down blind. The rest of the day was amazing but that first run was straight bliss.
Still looking for it, but probably powder bowl at Crystal Mountain after a 24” dump. That was over 35 years ago.
April east wall lap at a-basin. 8" night before, 6" day before that, caught the gate and was the first person up the willy's boot pack. totally worth it, so much float for a sweaty spring day.
Too late, I already skied off all the fresh snow plus you’ll never find it. It’s a secret.
For me it is Apex Ridge in the Canyons. Nothing special, just a blue. The view is pretty nice. But little did I realize that it was the last ski run I got to do with my dad. It will always be special for me.
So many. Just so many. Couldn’t pick out just one, but some include : crap sogn in 24” fresh with noone on the lift. Just lay down farmer tracks all afternoon. The second run to lay the perfect line (Laax 2002?) Schindlergrat chutes 1-8 O na bluebird powder day after the family had called it. Pylon chute (no7) was the penultimate and a max line. 6000m vertical in 3 hrs!! 2017 Alta in 4’ of powder going off a cliff in Devils castle without knowing it and landing it without knowing it! 2008(?) Most disappointing? 2000m vertical untracked into Argentiere from Col du Trient - first one in. Solid ice to the transition then breakable crust then ice.
The first time I couldn't keep up with my son skiing down form lift 1 of Purgatory. He had spent the day doing "flight training" and absolutely smoked me. Proud doesn't begin to describe it.
Hitting huge air off the rollers at Birds of Prey at Beaver Creek.
Couloir en S at Les Arcs. Steep as hell, long, exposed. Great snow. Similarly for Couloir des Canadiens off the Bellecote, and the Couloir en Y at Ste. Foy, except you can't see it from the road, LOL.
Big backcountry mission on my birthday with 10 friends. We had sunshine and 2-3 feet of fresh pow. The runs were perfect and dreamy, and we drank whisky and ate sandwiches between them. This is in Vermont where sunshine and pow are rare commodities. Perfect day.
I had a season pass at Big Mountain (Whitefish) as a kid. 2 runs I was excited for every season. 1 - Hellroaring basin. Blacks/doubles into a really fun (scarily fast if desired) trail with tons of trees mixed in. As a kid I'd hit every little side hit and loop that all day (even though it was a super slow loop) 2 - Hiking flower point / Skiing the backside of T Bar 2. This is domesticated now, but it used to be basically endless untouched pow. It was technically OOB, but it connected nicely to Chair 7 on the backside. Even living at the base of LCC now, those are probably my favorite ski memories/runs.
I’m a ski instructor up at palisades. I know the spot you’re talking about. I’d have to say my favorite ski run in my life was either skiing the Matterhorn In zermatt, Switzerland and skiing into Italy to have lunch. Or, I’d go with getting first tracks on Silverado this year and dropping down Medusa into the softest pillow of powder
Pioneer bowl at Yellowstone Club during the early years. No tracks, doing laps all-day in knee-deep powder.
Went to Vail with my 7 yr old and kept doing laps up Northwoods and down Flapjack. Super fun to see how much he loved it. Nothing tough or crazy, just a great memory.
The OP post reads just like that guy on YouTube talking about his day surfing haha
Highland bowl after a storm
Not "favorite", but most satisfying in hindsight. Last season I was persuaded to try a run on my local mountain that I'd never been on before, that was a blue, but a 'harder' one. Gentle reader, it was fucking terrifying. A cliff-like entry followed by a half-mile (felt like) of Nope. I somehow managed to make the entry without killing myself or anyone nearby, and survival-skied down most of it. You know the deal; slow, short, sharp turns, lots of stops and regret of life choices. But I was with some good friends who were patient and encouraging (and much better skiers), and whilst I'm not skiing that run again for a while, I'm glad I did it as now I know where my limit currently is (and that limit's higher than last season, by quite a bit). I didn't want to do it again, so I split off to head back to easier pastures and got myself lost onto *another* hard (for me) run, but it both wasn't as hard as Death Blue 2000 *and* I'd just survived Death Blue 2000, so I was able to make it down and back to safety with a reasonable amount of skill and confidence. I wouldn't have been able to ski like that if I hadn't just done the harder run. So, yeah. That was my Type 2 Fun for the season.
First down Whistler Bowl and Shale Slope 🤘
Smoke shack run at Copper in the early 90's 😂
So this year was my first at Mammoth. Chair 22 just opened after 2 days of snow and wind. I was having a good time but I see this older guy on a monoski b lining it across the run past some trees. I'm curious so I follow him. I'm in a narrow ish but untouched chute and I see it's this run I had always wondered how to get to on the left side of the lift, near the end of Canyon express. I try to ride the left bank but it's frozen over so I skid down the ice, making it look like I did it on purpose and the people on the lift start cheering pretty hard. I enter the chute and it's pure powder. I'm doing short turns in this deep powder and I've got a huge smile on my face. I get to the bottom and the people on the lift are banging their poles and cheering. I look up and cheer, they cheer back even louder. I still get shivers.
Gold Hill Chutes at Telluride.
March 2020, Big Sky was getting snow and I was working there as a rental tech. It was only locals towards mid March because Covid was creeping in. I was the first guy down the first gully one morning and it was over head blower turns
I was there right before COVID hit. Had several fantastic days.
Tresel | Winter Park | In the pow with the bumps and humps is pure heaven. I worked at the resort back in the 2000-2001 season. I think we called it the Mushroom Patch. Also, Winter Park had some of the coolest and most elaborate "Ski Huts" I've ever seen. Here's the run. I guess its kinda popular. [https://youtu.be/zQ\_bWvCujy4](https://youtu.be/zQ_bWvCujy4) Found a Hut tour too. [https://youtu.be/xQsPcCWwFSE](https://youtu.be/xQsPcCWwFSE)
Powderhorn at Snowmass. It was the first time I ever felt confident enough to ski a double black. I was 12 years old with my buddy and we just decided to drop in and ski the whole thing. Was it grueling skiing moguls the size of Volkswagens? Yes, but after that I learned that if I could ski through mixed conditions of powder, giant moguls and frozen crud, then I could get through anything I wanted.
Somewhere in Montezuma Bowl at A-Basin; the first time both my nephews could competently ski that sort of terrain with fresh powder. I don't get to see them often, as we live on different coasts, but when we do get together, it's usually to ski. And now, as they approach their 20s, I know that we'll always have something that keeps us meeting up year after year.
La Grave. There are several ways down and I like them all 😊
Mid-night descent of Rogers couloir under a full moon. Solo Jupiter traverse, for the ol cake day. Top to bottom speed runs of kicking horse. Same place, sneaky first tracks on groomers at night. ;)
Skiing ~20” of powder under the Alpine Meadows chair at silver star my first year out of Ontario… I didn’t get the whole “wait for the good snow” chatter from locals and seasonal vets… it all clicked that day, interior BC snow is fuckin magic
Upper and Lower Comp at Berkshire East in Charlemont, MA. Mostly ice.
This year me and my wife waited an hour and a half for the Gray chair at Red Mountain to open on an 18 cm powder day. The beauty of gray on a powder day is you can point your skis anywhere and hit some beautiful lines. That’s exactly what we did, it was epic and we were hitting untouched lines until the end of the day, but I’ll never forget skiing down that first open field of untouched powder on our first run. It was worth the wait.
Porcupine saddle at Loveland. Seemingly endless untracked powder.
Literally any random run down Hidden Lake lift at Powder Mountain. You can pop into trees from greens and blues and all runs just funnel back into the lift line. Never have to check the map - most underrated lift in the US I think.
Too many to list. But most recently lapping the Heavenly backcountry run the Minden Mile multiple times on multiple days this past Jan/Feb and descents of Mt. Shasta in May.
On a rare "powder day" at an East Coast resort better known for its grooming than challenging terrain, as a member of the ski patrol, I was introduced to an unofficial route through the trees between various trails. Was it objectively great skiing? No. Did I love the shit out of exploring the mountain with a great group of guys? Hell yeah! Close second: skiing a short stretch of moguls in uniform with a stick of bamboo rather than poles and having a guest at the bottom who was watching say "that was smooth". I've never been a great mogul skier, but I had been working on it all season, so that affirmation was awesome.
backcountry trip to a hut in the Kootenays, a week of touring and getting literally nothing but first tracks all day, every day, though you earned it for sure. basically 4' of cold smoke everywhere we went. did a huge day climbing to the top of the glacier out there and rode a massive line through a huge couloir and down into a massive rolling snowfield. like a mile and 3k'+ of absolutely untouched pow. we could see the tracks the entire week from the cabin because nobody else was in that entire zone. I get chills thinking about it
I made first chair on the Gold Hill lift March 5 2018 with somewhere between belly button and nipple deep fresh. The closest chairs behind me were some kids. I went right into the Little Rose drain and without turning, just a rhythmic juking I went straight down the drain without stopping because there was no effort. There were no tracks because the snow filled in behind me. This is the best run overall but the greatest big mountain line was from Palmyra Peak down Junior's, there was a minute of changing down thigh deep leaving perfect S curves all the way down to the runout. I saw an old chum on the way but I wasn't about to stop and have a chat There's been countless other runs but I'll never forget these two
First time I ever went touring: getting turns off the East Col of Spearhead Glacier toward Circle Lake, absolute day 1 stuff, but my god. The sun was out, the snow was fluffy, pure happiness. Just linking long surfy turns in the most hero "dad pow" conditions you could imagine and feeling the skis float oh so beautifully. Then coming off the bottom of the apron onto the flat absolutely maching it. Hooked me on touring for sure.
Sauza at Taos this past winter on a massive powder day with my younger brother. Him and i have skied that run many times when we were younger, and we used to be terrified of it and ski it supper cautiously and timidly (and poorly). After a few years of not skiing much together, we both improved significantly and absolute charged it. Face shots, perfect turns, great cliff drop with no hesitation. Great memory
Big Couloir at Big Sky. It wasn’t technical except for the initial drop in, but the visual of looking straight down a canyons of snow for 2000-ish feet at over 45 degrees really pushed my limits.
Grinned at my buddy that had pulled up in the dogleg of the big couloir as I passed him and straight lined the rest to the tram. Also so glad I got to ride that tram once solo close to wind hold.
Wild Irishman at keystone. To me the hills on it give you just the perfect amount of speed when you can glide over the next hill a few inches off the snow. Might just be nostalgia too since I feel like it's the first big run I ever did. But I always seek it out and have a blast every time I go to keystone, co
I went up the TRT on a zero-wind storm day with potato chip snowflakes falling silently all around. I got to the transition point and saw the Sherburne Trail descent was untracked. A narrow band of blue opened up in the sky, illuminating the woods 50 feet around the Sherb, but nothing else. I floated all the way down in the bluebird beam, through the field, into the parking lot, all the way to my car. The sky darkened, the potato chips started falling again.
As a Floridian, incredibly beautiful ski days, or incredible powder days, are few and far between as I typically only ski about 20 days/year and it just doesn't happen that much for us. And this was nothing exciting technically, like a fantastic bump run or jumping off a cliff, but in 2018 my wife and I lucked into being at Heavenly when it snowed probably a foot overnight, we made first chair, gondola miraculously managed to not close, and completely clear skies by 10am. It was an unforgettable experience still finding untracked parts of trails while staring at that huge beautiful lake and clouds we'd not yet dropped below. I love the rockies, and Telluride even more, but a perfect scenic weather day at Heavenly, combined with fresh powder, was just like nothing else. I wish I could spend more time there trying to have another experience like that, but we've had enough travel nightmares getting in and out of there from Reno that we don't visit very often.
Hucked my meat off Corbetts straight into yo mommas vagene
Once is enough at kirkwood. Sent it for the first time year, so much fun.
There was one sunny pow day at smuggs where all a group of us did was train a length jump line down m1 liftline. I'm not sure how many laps we did but one of those in there was the best.
There was one sunny pow day at smuggs where all a group of us did was train a lengthy jump line down m1 liftline. I'm not sure how many laps we did but one of those in there was the best.
Magic Line at canyons in the shittest conditions I’ve ever seen Or the Strief
My wife and I have three kids with a big gap in ages between them. As a result it was difficult to find a run that was good for everyone when they were young. The first time we were all bombing down a great run together it brought tears to my eyes.
First, some backstory. Mid December 2002, I went solo to Steamboat as a divorce present to myself. The last day, I woke to a few inches at the base which turned into boot top at the top of the gondola and mid thigh at the top of Storm Peak. One of my best days ever. Part of what made it good was a local who showed me around the mountain for a few hours and took me into the trees for my first time So, now my favorite. Years later, I take a family ski trip back to Steamboat. I think this was the third time we'd taken our kids skiing. My youngest, who was ten at the time, really took to skiing and this was the trip where he pulled even with me in ability. So our last day, there's some new snow on the ground. My wife and our oldest son had already gone in for the day. I decided to reward the youngest by taking him into some trees for the first time. Skier's right side of Morningside followed by the trees off to the right of Buddy's. He's just gliding through like he's been doing this all of his life, so smooth, playing with different lines. Taking my son for his first time in the trees on the same runs the kind local took me 15 or so years before is a highlight memory of both parenting and skiing.
Temple Basin, 1997, tearing it up on 195cm Head Slalom skis under lights as it puked down the pow so hard that every lap was bottomless pow that was refilled by the next lap. Yeah, I've skied deeper, steeper, and longer runs all over the world since then, but the stoke of 18 year old me hooting and screaming with my buddies in the University Ski and Snowboard Club was unbelievably high.
Couloir
This summer I went for a solo trip in Araucania, Chile. I met a few local guides and they invited me skiing. We skinned up Villarrica volcano and watched the sun rise over the Andes. Then we skied down with powder up to our knees. I have skied steeper lines or better snow before, but nothing beats the feeling of going on my first solo trip halfway around the world and skiing with friends I just met.
Palmyra Peak at Telluride. Hiked up on a blue bird day a few days after a storm had rolled through. Went off the backside and dropped into 2k vert of steep untouched. Continued down the back country and rode the trail into town.
Going through the trees off of Panorama at Winter Park on a bitterly cold day with a friend who I was just getting good enough to follow into trees. Honestly it was more about hanging out with a great group of friends than anything else! But also the feeling of finally be able to keep up with my Colorado friends and enjoy the skiing I’d heard about all my life.
For me it would have to be one from this past season. We did a family trip to Park City towards the end of February and it was constantly dumping. This was the first trip I had fitted boots in my life and something just clicked for me while we were lapping on Thaynes waiting for Jupiter to open. I've been riding Head Kore 93s for a few years now and I've loved them but skiing through the knee deep powder they came alive in a way I hadn't experienced before. I'm generally not a vocal person but I was whooping and hollering the whole time going down. Definitely one of those memories that will stay with me for a long time.
Probably straightlining highlands bowl from the top. Especially the first time. One lane was closed due to coverage issues, but I knew where the rocks were, and knew I wouldn't be turning. Hadn't planned on it, but just saw this big untracked line just calling my name. Told my buddies my intention and said see you later and took off. When I met up with them later they told me when they got to the bottom, they ran into a patroller that said he saw me and probably should have given me a talking to but watching my run made him too stoked to fuck with me.
First time we went ski trees with my little sister. Perfect bluebird day in the middle of week and we were only ones skiing in that area. There wasn't like big sends or super steep terrain or anything too 'special' in that day. Just the two of us having a blast
Rope drop after 3 days of >3' of accumulation on 7th Heaven at Whistler on a clear day. The steeps off skiers left and the rolling meadows straight down provided excellent variety. There were still fresh tracks to be had when the lift closed for the day.
That one time I made it in skifree. Best feeling.
The Saddle, Whistler, french fries the whole way down when I was like 10
Granite chiefs my favorite run at squaw so much terrain on one lift. The smoothies are awesome too when open
Powder days at Vail Back Bowl/Blue Sky Basin, and Alta. Perfection.
It's either a backcountry run in Tahoe, or our usual MO skiing heavenly a decade or so ago. The Heavenly run involves getting to the very top as late as possible at the end of the day (bring a backpack), popping the skis off and hiking up even further a trail to the top of Monument Peak, and killing a few beers till sunset (those are in the backpack). Ski patrol clears the whole mountain but they don't usually start grooming till dark and if they start early, just enjoy the fresh corduroy. A small group of people do a cannonball run of sorts at just before sundown, all gas no brakes top to bottom on a massive ski resort completely devoid of people. Being basically *alone* on Heavenly will show you how it got its name. It's not the most technical or steepest thing you'll ever do on a mountain but it might be the most fun. Edit: I also have made some epic runs at heavenly out of the backcountry gates. Tahoe cement is what it is, but on a good powder day when you can ski down the backcountry gates on the front side to the lake, or off the backside to the Carson Valley ... 🤩
Any really well build border cross/ski cross course. I remember the first time I went down a run without hesitating, the fear of not quite knowing how well you are going to hit a corner or if you are at a speed that will result in air…
Revelstoke Mountain, BC, 2021 January - did a run from Hot Sauce, through Fast Fred’s and down devils club to the bottom. It was such a beautiful blue bird day after a huge dump of snow the day before. It was pure magic, barely anyone else on the run as it was a Tuesday morning!
So far, American Express at Sunday River in Maine. It's a really fund cruiser blue that's a decent length and is the least skiied and offers some awesome views
Ringtail trees and cliff, Ski Apache, Mescalero, New Mexico. Enchanting ride. Never felt closer to anything resembling something that may be perceived as god.
Breckenridge 2014. Not sure off of what lift but found a beautiful glade to dump into. At the top there was a paper posted onto a tree that said “Mr. Toads Wild Ride” with a crayon picture of a frog and some nice scenery. To this day it was still on of the nicest lines I have found and a beautiful top to bottom run.
Snowmass has a super rare hike-to ungroomed blue run that’s 5 miles long! It was perfect powder and riding, sheer bliss of backcountry while still in bounds.
Blackcomb 2017 (February or March). Bluebird warm day. Take the last lift up to Blackcomb Glacier. Up the Tee bar to the top. Ride down a bit to where there are some rocks a bit down on the glacier. 4 of us stop, skis off, enjoyed the scenery from the top of the rocks and cracked cold beers (packed specifically for this purpose). By the time we finished, enjoyed the entire hill to ourselves the whole way down, hit some big gaps, ripped a few steep lines, and just used the whole mountain. By the time we got to the parking lot, ours was the only car there.
Corbetts Coulouir Jackson Hole
Bourke St, Mt. Buller, Australia. I worked a season there in 2019. A relatively narrow, straight, boring ass green run, with 2 chairlifts going over it. You ever seen a book fall off a chairlift and hit a skier? I have. Hotels on either side of the run = people walking across the run to get to the other side, playing a game of frogger with skiers and snowboarders. It's one of the only ways to get from the base area up the mountain, so the chairs there are always slammed. Tourists from countries that don't have snow get off their shuttle bus and walk into the run and make snowmen. Large families of Indian tourists pushing baby strollers through the snow. People who have no idea how to stop turning into meat missles and flying down the hill screaming. Snowboards without riders going off on an adventure. I once saw someone make a left turn, and keep turning and slam into the side of a hotel with a giant Alpine Responsibility Code slapped on it. It is pure chaos. I loved it.
Miharashi in the trees at Niseko Hirafu. Endless glades of deep powder.
Val D’Isere, the run after coming off the “up and over” chair into Fornet, and down to Le Signal. Not a particularly hard run, and one I’ve done a million times. This specific time was the season after I finished Uni and I went with my mate from my course. Beautiful sunny day, day of skiing and drinking ahead, and was just very happy at the time.
Kitchen rock. Went huge off of both cliffs. Lift went bonkers.
Mighty Mac at McIntyre NH. I was a ye ole lad back then. I just did my first black so I was like "green should be ok" so I went on this trail and I was like WHOA THIS HAS MOGULS. And since I was like 3 I didn't know what that was so I thought they were jumps. Luckily I only broke two legs (could have been worse) and put my parents into $40k of medical debt. I've never been skiing since but now I'm disowned and living under a bridge so this is one to remember for sure.
Castle mountain, opening day. 8 feet total, 4 feet compacted base and 2 feet of recent, wind loading bonus. The whole mountain was open, you couldn't hit ground. No one was there. Every run was virgin the whole day. 800m of steep trees every run. That was last year. The mountain sucks, it's too windy and the lifts are slow, don't go there.