# Scariest peak



## kingslug (Apr 29, 2021)

I was watching a video of Big Sky which I went to 9 years ago and I remembered getting off the tram and going holy shit!..it was the scariest peak I had ever been on. JH is tame..I mean they have a waffle hut...even the top of Baldy at Snowbird/Alta is a cool place to chill out before you drop in...but this thing had nothing but steep drops on all sides. We skied the dictator chutes which were pretty damn steep. Never got to hit the Big one as it got socked in and the line became an hour wait after we got down. Only thing I can think of even close in the East the top of Tuckermans. 
Thoughts?


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## deadheadskier (Apr 29, 2021)

That I've been in associated with ski areas

Out West it was probably the top of Highland Bowl.  

In the East, probably the top of the Chin at Stowe.


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## kingslug (Apr 29, 2021)

Hoping to Hike Stowe this season. Tried last summer but it was a mud fest so I didn't get as far as I wanted.


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## SkiingInABlueDream (Apr 29, 2021)

Never been but from what I've heard, the Aguille du Midi.

/thread
J/k


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## cdskier (Apr 29, 2021)

kingslug said:


> Hoping to Hike Stowe this season. Tried last summer but it was a mud fest so I didn't get as far as I wanted.


I've cheated and hiked from the top of the toll road to the summit of Stowe. Still a fun hike and I love hiking along the rocks up there. I'd like to make the hike from the base to the summit one day though. I've done a bunch of other mountains in VT (Camel's Hump, Mt Abe, General Stark, Mt Ellen, Lincoln Peak) and would like to add Mansfield officially to that list.


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## kbroderick (Apr 29, 2021)

kingslug said:


> I was watching a video of Big Sky which I went to 9 years ago and I remembered getting off the tram and going holy shit!..it was the scariest peak I had ever been on. JH is tame..I mean they have a waffle hut...even the top of Baldy at Snowbird/Alta is a cool place to chill out before you drop in...but this thing had nothing but steep drops on all sides. We skied the dictator chutes which were pretty damn steep. Never got to hit the Big one as it got socked in and the line became an hour wait after we got down. Only thing I can think of even close in the East the top of Tuckermans.
> Thoughts?


At least they have trail signs at Big Sky.

Given the lack of signage, Baldy at AltaBird and the Ridge at Bridger are a lot scarier from a "um, where was that cliff-free line, again?" perspective (granted, both are hiking-required); Bridger also feels a bit exposed, even if most of it isn't a super-steep drop right at the top.


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## ss20 (Apr 29, 2021)

For the northeast the top of Pico is pretty intimidating to look at.  Also I stayed in the Morse base village at Smuggs many years ago and looking up at Freefall, FIS, Blackhole, and Liftline is terrifying lol.


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## WWF-VT (Apr 29, 2021)

cdskier said:


> I've cheated and hiked from the top of the toll road to the summit of Stowe. Still a fun hike and I love hiking along the rocks up there. I'd like to make the hike from the base to the summit one day though. I've done a bunch of other mountains in VT (Camel's Hump, Mt Abe, General Stark, Mt Ellen, Lincoln Peak) and would like to add Mansfield officially to that list.




I have hiked Mt Mansfield a couple of times from Underhill State Park.  Laura Cowles trail up and Sunset Ridge trail down.


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## dblskifanatic (Apr 29, 2021)

Delirium Dive at Sunshine Village - I actually wanted to ski that area even took the avalanche training that was required (got into my head) also required to use their avalanche gear,  In the end I skipped it but that ranks up there.  Two days earlier a father and two sons triggered an avalanche.  The son traversed higher up above his father the slide made him tumble 1500 ft  and did not survive.

That gets into your head!


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## xlr8r (Apr 29, 2021)

In the East, Jay Peak I think is the scariest hands down.  The only other one that gives a small sense of vertigo is Cannon, because I know the backside is a cliff face.  You cannot really see it skiing, but I know its there.  Also its really steep to you right when skiing on Extension.

Out west the scariest I have been to is Whistler peak, that chairlift freaks some people out.


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## machski (Apr 29, 2021)

Big sky is quite disconcerting coming off the Tram, but I remember getting the same feeling unloading the Challenger chair their too (for some reason the headwaters chair isn't the same fear inducing, probably because you are perpendicular to the ridgeline rather than inline with it).  If you haven't skied Big Couloir, do so and let me know what is scarier:  I always get more stomach butterflies on the slip down from the top to the entrance than the Couloir itself as that slip line is a sheer 2000' cliff or so skiers left.  Nothing like that in the East.


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## LonghornSkier (Apr 29, 2021)

At Snowbird, there's a sketchy spot out by P-Tex point on the Cirque Traverse where you have to drop off a small little cliff (maybe 2-3 feet) and then hug the uphill as you're above a cliff and any kind of fall would be very, very bad. That made me pucker a bit.


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## kingslug (Apr 29, 2021)

P-Tex..I think i did that one once with some people that worked there..looking at it I was like..if I miss this by as much as 6 inches I'm screwed. Something I would never do by myself..but they all just jumped into it. Just love following locals...


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## kingslug (Apr 29, 2021)

if you've never been to Big Sky..here's a vid of the tram...nothing easy off this thing.


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## Zand (Apr 29, 2021)

With the low visibility when I was at Snowbird, I went honking into the traverse one time and very nearly launched into Great Scott. 

Otherwise, the scariest peak is definitely Nashoba Valley.


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## p_levert (Apr 29, 2021)

My two comments:

1.  The more you talk about it, the scarier it gets.

2.  The western ski areas have a lot more steep stuff than the NE.  So if you're used to skiing in the East, that first trip can be intimidating.  But after a while, your frame of reference changes and lot of "scary steep" becomes just steep.  All things being equal, a steep slope in the West is easier because the snow conditions are better.


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## kingslug (Apr 29, 2021)

Snow conditions are most times better..but when they are not....its a bit different. Worst thing you can do is stand there and stare at it..hoping it gets less steep..the opposite happens. People who don't ski think we are nuts for jumping into stuff like this.


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## LonghornSkier (Apr 29, 2021)

p_levert said:


> 1. The more you talk about it, the scarier it gets.
> 
> 2. The western ski areas have a lot more steep stuff than the NE. So if you're used to skiing in the East, that first trip can be intimidating. But after a while, your frame of reference changes and lot of "scary steep" becomes just steep.


I really don’t get scared about steep slopes, no matter how steep. It’s more the exposure piece that gets me. I don’t want one caught edge to send me over a cliff... That said, to your point, usually if you “just do it” it’s never as bad as you think.


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## kingslug (Apr 29, 2021)

Zand said:


> With the low visibility when I was at Snowbird, I went honking into the traverse one time and very nearly launched into Great Scott.
> 
> Otherwise, the scariest peak is definitely Nashoba Valley.


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## dblskifanatic (Apr 29, 2021)

Zand said:


> With the low visibility when I was at Snowbird, I went honking into the traverse one time and very nearly launched into Great Scott.
> 
> Otherwise, the scariest peak is definitely Nashoba Valley.


 Yes Nashoba - the black trails there are evil!


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## Dickc (Apr 29, 2021)

dblskifanatic said:


> Yes Nashoba - the black trails there are evil!


Then you had better stay away from the mighty Yawgoo!


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## dblskifanatic (Apr 29, 2021)

Dickc said:


> Then you had better stay away from the mighty Yawgoo!


Always worried about that place!  hahah!


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## jimk (Apr 29, 2021)

Fun thread.   We need somebody from the Alps to weigh-in.  Lots of crazy stuff there.  I'm a resort skier so usually skiing on normal/tame terrain for the most part.  A couple places that creeped me out a little bit were Highland Bowl (I drop in early, have never hiked all the way) and Delirium Dive.  After skiing those and stopping to look back up you do get a feeling that this place could slide/avalanche on you.

This is the view of Delirium Dive from the Goats Eye trail pod at Sunshine.  The part that I and most people ski is the white bowl below and just left of the patch of blue sky.  My son skied the rockier part directly below the blue sky on one of his laps here.
As has been said, the snow in these infrequently skied steeps is usually (at least in midwinter) very good, deep and not moguled.  The hardest part for me at Delirium Dive was walking down a short icy set of stairs entering the easiest drop-in point.  There was a very icy/rocky ledge at the bottom of the stairs that you had to use to put your skis on.  If you lost control of a ski it could fall over the edge on either side and be much trouble to collect.

This is the view of the Goats Eye terrain from top of Delirium Dive.  I was there in 2018 in late March and snow was great.


If I'm not mistaken, the hike to Delirium starts at the top of the chairlift shown in this view from their mid-mtn lodge (really nice place to stay).


Bonus shot of scenery at Sunshine:


Here's a trip report with more info/photos:








						Northern Rockies/Alberta - Northern Rockies Roadtrip: Part 2, Revelstoke and Banff
					

[Part 1 can be found here.]  At least three times during our March 2018 trip through the Northern Rockies we made 3- to 7-hr drives after putting in a day of skiing, including a memorable drive in a remote part of western Montana traveling from Jackson, WY, toward Canada. We exited I-90...




					www.skitalk.com


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## FBGM (Apr 29, 2021)

Superior low tide and viz days can pucker. Remember years back skiing suicide chute off Superior and having to dig me a flat bench to put skis on while a 10’ cornice towered over me.

Sunshine is fun above. Skied all that stuff. I don’t think it was much different then some in bounds stuff at Other resorts.

The stuff the scares me are the no fall zones. Not the steeps or a peak, but the places you ski (or hike/skin) where if you fall, you are not coming back alive or if you are you’re lucky.


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## jimmywilson69 (Apr 29, 2021)

where are those carzy ass steps on that first picture of DD?


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## jimk (Apr 29, 2021)

jimmywilson69 said:


> where are those carzy ass steps on that first picture of DD?


They are at the top of the ridge near the highest part, slightly left of patch of blue sky.  Cant see them in first photo, too small and far away.  I am told that before the stairs, you had to use a rope to let yourself into that entrance, with same tight ledge to get your skis back on.


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## jimk (Apr 29, 2021)

Here's yours truly showing some friends a safe entrance to Great Scott at Snowbird last month.  You had to ski on the traverse through the trees with a little bit of exposure to left. 
I've been skiing Snowbird quite a bit the last six years.  The amount and aspect of snow they receive dictates a lot of the difficulty of different runs.  In big snow years I've heard locals joke that Jaws should be called Gums as things get much easier.
The other thing is familiarity.  Sketchy stuff is always more scary to me if I've never done it before.


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## kingslug (Apr 29, 2021)

I've skied the Alps for many years but never got into the crazy stuff..you need a guide for that. I did watch this at Chaminox and at the time..said no way!
At least here you can access crazy stuff on your own with a little fear of dying...the Alps..you better know what you are doing or have a guide. I just watch vids of it like ones of LaGrave to really see what its about..way out of my league..


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## Tonyr (Apr 29, 2021)

That is my attempt on Great Scott from the very first entrance earlier this year. Its rocky but I thought some of the lines on the back side of the cirque traverse through the trees were nastier. Love Snowbird!



The 4th (and hardest) Daly Chute at Deer Valley of all places was quite a bit steeper and narrower than Great Scott.


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## Smellytele (Apr 29, 2021)

Wolf creek Knife edge...


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## machski (Apr 29, 2021)

jimk said:


> Fun thread.   We need somebody from the Alps to weigh-in.  Lots of crazy stuff there.  I'm a resort skier so usually skiing on normal/tame terrain for the most part.  A couple places that creeped me out a little bit were Highland Bowl (I drop in early, have never hiked all the way) and Delirium Dive.  After skiing those and stopping to look back up you do get a feeling that this place could slide/avalanche on you.
> 
> This is the view of Delirium Dive from the Goats Eye trail pod at Sunshine.  The part that I and most people ski is the white bowl below and just left of the patch of blue sky.  My son skied the rockier part directly below the blue sky on one of his laps here.View attachment 51635
> As has been said, the snow in these infrequently skied steeps is usually (at least in midwinter) very good, deep and not moguled.  The hardest part for me at Delirium Dive was walking down a short icy set of stairs entering the easiest drop-in point.  There was a very icy/rocky ledge at the bottom of the stairs that you had to use to put your skis on.  If you lost control of a ski it could fall over the edge on either side and be much trouble to collect.
> ...


BTW, steepest stuff in Highland Bowl is actually the early lines before you hit the summit.  If you have a chance, hike all the way up and stick to boundary skier's right of the bowl.  Most just charge down the gut, as such the right edge while not as steep tends to hold untracked snow for quite a while.


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## andrec10 (Apr 29, 2021)

Zand said:


> With the low visibility when I was at Snowbird, I went honking into the traverse one time and very nearly launched into Great Scott.
> 
> Otherwise, the scariest peak is definitely Nashoba Valley.


Low visibility at Snowbird can get you into trouble!


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## kingslug (Apr 30, 2021)

I flew right off the side after getting off the tram in zero vis.


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## Zand (Apr 30, 2021)

andrec10 said:


> Low visibility at Snowbird can get you into trouble!


One of my rides up Mineral Basin on a real low vis day, someone launched themselves off a curve on Lupine Loop onto a flat area below and was getting their leg splinted by ski patrol. 

I guess low vis can get you in trouble at almost any western resort when you get to the tree line. But yeah Snowbird has those narrow snaking catwalks all over the upper mountain and not much marking the edges.


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## kingslug (Apr 30, 2021)

Glacier skiing at Kuprun Austria..hey thats a big storm coming..lets get the hell out of here..5 seconds later zero vis. Run into a local..says...you better get down to the exact point for the lift..either side and your going off the mountain...oh great..we followed the little colors ( ski jackets) down..for 1 scary lift ride back down in high wind. 
Europe is fun..


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## 2Planker (Apr 30, 2021)

Did


kingslug said:


> I've skied the Alps for many years but never got into the crazy stuff..you need a guide for that. I did watch this at Chaminox and at the time..said no way!
> At least here you can access crazy stuff on your own with a little fear of dying...the Alps..you better know what you are doing or have a guide. I just watch vids of it like ones of LaGrave to really see what its about..way out of my league..


We did the Aguille du Midi w/ a guide years ago on a 10 day Chamonix trip.
Simply  Amazing !!!


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## kingslug (Apr 30, 2021)

I was unlucky at Chaminox..very little snow..guides said it wasn't worth it. We have nothing here that beats Europe for sheer scary.


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## Smellytele (Apr 30, 2021)

2Planker said:


> Did
> 
> We did the Aguille du Midi w/ a guide years ago on a 10 day Chamonix trip.
> Simply  Amazing !!!


The traverse out of the snow cave was the scariest part. A cable drooping down by your knee as you walked across the 20” wide 200’ long path was all that stood between you and a straight down 1500’ fall.


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## kbroderick (Apr 30, 2021)

Zand said:


> One of my rides up Mineral Basin on a real low vis day, someone launched themselves off a curve on Lupine Loop onto a flat area below and was getting their leg splinted by ski patrol.
> 
> I guess low vis can get you in trouble at almost any western resort when you get to the tree line. But yeah Snowbird has those narrow snaking catwalks all over the upper mountain and not much marking the edges.


I got out there a while back, staying on a friend's couch but he ended up in Moab that week, so I really had very little to do other than ski. One day the weather was damp at best and the visibility was nearly non-existent; skiing the front side was okay, but going into Mineral Basin turned out not to be such a good idea. I ended up skiing very slowly so I could follow the corduroy and tried not to get vertigo. That was probably the worst visibility I've dealt with, and I've skied in some pretty thick fog.


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## dblskifanatic (Apr 30, 2021)

jimk said:


> Fun thread.   We need somebody from the Alps to weigh-in.  Lots of crazy stuff there.  I'm a resort skier so usually skiing on normal/tame terrain for the most part.  A couple places that creeped me out a little bit were Highland Bowl (I drop in early, have never hiked all the way) and Delirium Dive.  After skiing those and stopping to look back up you do get a feeling that this place could slide/avalanche on you.
> 
> This is the view of Delirium Dive from the Goats Eye trail pod at Sunshine.  The part that I and most people ski is the white bowl below and just left of the patch of blue sky.  My son skied the rockier part directly below the blue sky on one of his laps here.View attachment 51635
> As has been said, the snow in these infrequently skied steeps is usually (at least in midwinter) very good, deep and not moguled.  The hardest part for me at Delirium Dive was walking down a short icy set of stairs entering the easiest drop-in point.  There was a very icy/rocky ledge at the bottom of the stairs that you had to use to put your skis on.  If you lost control of a ski it could fall over the edge on either side and be much trouble to collect.
> ...




Ya I mentioned DD earlier.  We were there in 2015 and DD actually had an avalanche with and air rescue and one fatality which sealed my decision not to ski it.


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## dblskifanatic (Apr 30, 2021)

Here is a list that is fitting for this thread!









						Ten deadly ski runs to make you crap yourself
					

The world's deadliest ski runs to try before or while you die….




					www.snowsbest.com


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## FBGM (Apr 30, 2021)

dblskifanatic said:


> Here is a list that is fitting for this thread!
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Whoever wrote that about pipeline needs a re-visit. I still have not skied it, (I wonder if they have that open, I might go ski bird tomorrow, need to knock that one off the list)


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## raisingarizona (Apr 30, 2021)

kingslug said:


> I've skied the Alps for many years but never got into the crazy stuff..you need a guide for that. I did watch this at Chaminox and at the time..said no way!
> At least here you can access crazy stuff on your own with a little fear of dying...the Alps..you better know what you are doing or have a guide. I just watch vids of it like ones of LaGrave to really see what its about..way out of my league..


I gotta say, I've been surprised at what has gotten some of my friends/hero's/peers in the past. I've learned over the years that it doesn't take much.


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## raisingarizona (Apr 30, 2021)

andrec10 said:


> Low visibility at Snowbird can get you into trouble!


No, you get yourself into trouble, low vis just makes that easier to do.


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## kingslug (Apr 30, 2021)

Remembering the Skiers We Lost
					

Over the last week, five top mountain athletes died in three separate incidents in the Himalayas and Andes. Here, we’ve gathered remembrances from people who knew them best.




					www.outsideonline.com
				



I had just started following Andreas Fransson..no one really heard of him until he found some one good enough to come with him to film.


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## Zand (Apr 30, 2021)

dblskifanatic said:


> Here is a list that is fitting for this thread!
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Stopped reading after they put Corbets at the top.

Maybe I need to go to Jackson a 4th time, but there has never been been a 1 foot drop into Corbets when I'm there, nevermind 20. You can launch in if you want, but as far as the goat path goes, once you get over the notoriety it's a pretty simple steep narrow drop, hard right (with a banked down and the wall is like 20 feet past the turn...its not that easy to hit), then take a left into a wide open bowl. There's way too many 1k+ foot long chutes that are 10 feet wide the whole way down with no room to turn for Corbets to make this list.


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## dblskifanatic (Apr 30, 2021)

Zand said:


> Stopped reading after they put Corbets at the top.
> 
> Maybe I need to go to Jackson a 4th time, but there has never been been a 1 foot drop into Corbets when I'm there, nevermind 20. You can launch in if you want, but as far as the goat path goes, once you get over the notoriety it's a pretty simple steep narrow drop, hard right (with a banked down and the wall is like 20 feet past the turn...its not that easy to hit), then take a left into a wide open bowl. There's way too many 1k+ foot long chutes that are 10 feet wide the whole way down with no room to turn for Corbets to make this list.



I thought the same when reading that since Corbets is so popular.  The it has had it's share of injuries.  If you look it up - Truth to tell, no-one has ever *died* in *Corbet's* (or so the resort will tell you, and there is no reason to doubt it), although there has been a litany of blown-out knees, spiral fractures, and broken bones.


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## jimk (Apr 30, 2021)

FBGM said:


> Whoever wrote that about pipeline needs a re-visit. I still have not skied it, (I wonder if they have that open, I might go ski bird tomorrow, need to knock that one off the list)


My son has done Pipeline.  He joked that the hardest part is the hike to it.  But seriously, it is skied in streaks.  Often no one in it for a long time, then lots of people ski it during a short period of time.  You have to talk to locals or patrol to find out when it's in reasonably safe shape.  These photos are a couple years old,  For those who don't know, Pipeline is a hike-to chute above the Little Cloud area at Snowbird, it's the long narrow chute to upper right:

Close up with guys in the chute




Zand said:


> Stopped reading after they put Corbets at the top.
> 
> Maybe I need to go to Jackson a 4th time, but there has never been been a 1 foot drop into Corbets when I'm there, nevermind 20. You can launch in if you want, but as far as the goat path goes, once you get over the notoriety it's a pretty simple steep narrow drop, hard right (with a banked down and the wall is like 20 feet past the turn...its not that easy to hit), then take a left into a wide open bowl. There's way too many 1k+ foot long chutes that are 10 feet wide the whole way down with no room to turn for Corbets to make this list.


I have not skied Corbets, and I'm impressed that you have.  The drop-in can be very intimidating in low tide conditions.  I've been to Jackson Hole on three occasions, all after I turned age 60.  There's no fool like an old fool and I didn't want to attempt it and get hurt.  Delirium Dive is much tamer than Corbets, except for the stairs   As my son says, the worst thing you can do in steeps is take your skis off.
My son entering Corbets:


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## Zand (Apr 30, 2021)

dblskifanatic said:


> I thought the same when reading that since Corbets is so popular.  The it has had it's share of injuries.  If you look it up - Truth to tell, no-one has ever *died* in *Corbet's* (or so the resort will tell you, and there is no reason to doubt it), although there has been a litany of blown-out knees, spiral fractures, and broken bones.


I think all the injuries and notoriety are more because way too many gapers have easy access as it's about 500 feet from the team station and easy to get to. But nothing about it is really death defying...if you fall you tumble down in usually deep powder and have only a small chance of hitting a small rock with no cliff bands or anything.

I think the reason so many people tumble down Corbets is that they try to throw on the brakes right before the turn and there's not enough room with the rock on the right, so they catch their ski and get spun around. When I hit it I admittedly panicked for a brief moment but I kind of leaned to the left onto the wall, then the banking in the turn stood me back up. I knew I couldn't throw the brakes on. 

Stuff like Pipeline has a higher chance of death because it's narrow, rocky, and has cliff bands. But less injuries because you have to hike to it. Most stuff like that either has to be hiked to or you need permission and avy gear before going in. Corbets you just hop off the tram and ski right up to it.

I'll never ski stuff like Pipeline because I hate straightlining anything. Even if its like 100 feet...just hate not having speed control. Corbets is like a fun house ride compared to the rest of these. Not saying it's easy to drop in by any means, but it has one narrow area with a banked turn and then it's nothing.


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## Zand (Apr 30, 2021)

jimk said:


> My son has done Pipeline.  He joked that the hardest part is the hike to it.  But seriously, it is skied in streaks.  Often no one in it for a long time, then lots of people ski it during a short period of time.  You have to talk to locals or patrol to find out when it's in reasonably safe shape.  These photos are a couple years old,  For those who don't know, Pipeline is a hike-to chute above the Little Cloud area at Snowbird, it's the long narrow chute to upper right:
> View attachment 51650
> Close up with guys in the chute
> View attachment 51651
> ...


I faced the opposite direction when I went into it. Easier to turn in the direction of the curve, plus less trouble if you need to bail to the left a bit.


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## kingslug (Apr 30, 2021)

My most insane run was Little chute at Baldy..next to main chute. Main chuet is a piece of cake compared..and I should not have been in there..but..everyone else did it..I ended up last to go and it scared me to death..so I ended up side slipping the upper narrow part until I got to the wider part. I will never do something like that again..it was no fun and almost killed a woman we were skiing with..she fell 400 or so feet face down breaking her shoulder. Stuff like this no longer interests me. Although now I could probably do it much better..but..nah.....
Pipeline..if you survive the hike then you can survive the run. I will attempt neither.


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## raisingarizona (May 1, 2021)

Central is the real deal. Cody > No Name > 4 Pines is probably the most classic, iconic side country ski tour/run in the lower 48 imho. I feel really fortunate to have many days doing that one. I’ve skied central three times, twice where the exit was only an easy 10-15 footer, once where we had to gun it and drop 30 or so feet to clear the lower rock. It has one of the best landings at the Vill, a true greaser!

pipeline is pretty straight forward. Me and a buddy of mine once poached the viewers right facial zone, I can’t remember what it’s called but it’s a big no no and has some decent exposure.

Corbets entry is committing but once your in it’s pretty much done. There’s a much more exciting Couloir to the right as you walk off the tram dock stairs that basically drops into the upper reaches of Granite called Horseshoe. It has a mandatory 15-20 half way through the line. 50 + degrees. It’s one of my most favorite lines in Jackson.

its been a long time but I think crested butte has a pretty cool summit you can hike to.









						WATCH: Skiing The Iconic 'Central Couloir' With Max Hammer [#TBT]
					

This is exactly how we all imagine skiing Jackson Hole’s Central Couloir. The bummer of it all– only Max Hammer and a handful of others can rip this line with such fluidity and grace. *…




					unofficialnetworks.com


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## jimk (May 1, 2021)

raisingarizona said:


> its been a long time but I think crested butte has a pretty cool summit you can hike to.
> 
> 
> 
> ...



There is a hairy side from the CB summit.  My son and I took the tame side and curled around to do some of the chutes like Banana and Funnel.


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## raisingarizona (May 1, 2021)

jimk said:


> There is a hairy side from the CB summit.  My son and I took the tame side and curled around to do some of the chutes like Banana and Funnel.
> View attachment 51654


One of my most favorite places. While living in steamboat for a couple of years we would get down there for their free skiing week and closing day shenanigans. The terrain is awesome but the lift set up kind of sucks. 3 lifts to lap the nf stuff I bet gets old if you’re a local.

That’s an aspect that I loved about Taos, there’s really good skiing off of nearly every lift for doing hot laps.


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## FBGM (May 2, 2021)

That pipeline pic above, it’s deep. Blown in good. That’s best case there.

it was pushing 80° in PC today. I’m over skiing. I got the hot rod so close this morning (first time on the road after a 16 month build). Then went to golf. Yeah, bye winter.


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## thetrailboss (May 2, 2021)

andrec10 said:


> Low visibility at Snowbird can get you into trouble!


Indeed.  Even a regular run down Regulator gets pretty tricky if the clouds/fog rolls in.  Not fun.  I've had some interesting days there in all kinds of weather in the last ten years.


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## thetrailboss (May 2, 2021)

kingslug said:


> I was watching a video of Big Sky which I went to 9 years ago and I remembered getting off the tram and going holy shit!..it was the scariest peak I had ever been on. JH is tame..I mean they have a waffle hut...even the top of Baldy at Snowbird/Alta is a cool place to chill out before you drop in...but this thing had nothing but steep drops on all sides. We skied the dictator chutes which were pretty damn steep. Never got to hit the Big one as it got socked in and the line became an hour wait after we got down. Only thing I can think of even close in the East the top of Tuckermans.
> Thoughts?


So when I did Lone Peak earlier this season I enjoyed it.  Maybe it was because having been out out west I've gotten used to steeper and open slopes.  You are right though that Big Couloir is serious stuff as are the front side of the Tram.  I skied Liberty Bowl and Lenin.  The latter had some consistent pitch.  

In terms of other scary peaks, on the east coast I'd say the Summit of Mount Ellen (Black Diamond and FIS) is pretty damn steep for east coast.  Tux is also steep.  In terms of other lift-served terrain that is steep, Middle White Nitro at Sugarloaf drops off pretty quickly and can get pretty slick.  Pretty much anything right under the Spillway X-Cut is pretty steep.  

Scary steep stuff out here--lots of places at Alta/Snowbird.  I did see one picture of the Daly Chutes at Deer Valley that are indeed legit.  Ski Discovery in Montana has lots of steep goodies on the backside.  My first taste of steep west coast skiing was at Squaw Valley in 2010.  Lots of steep goodies there.


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## thetrailboss (May 2, 2021)

kbroderick said:


> I got out there a while back, staying on a friend's couch but he ended up in Moab that week, so I really had very little to do other than ski. One day the weather was damp at best and the visibility was nearly non-existent; skiing the front side was okay, but going into Mineral Basin turned out not to be such a good idea. I ended up skiing very slowly so I could follow the corduroy and tried not to get vertigo. That was probably the worst visibility I've dealt with, and I've skied in some pretty thick fog.


Yep, been there done that with Mineral Basin.  At least today there were orange posts marking the sides of Powder Paradise.


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## thetrailboss (May 2, 2021)

dblskifanatic said:


> Here is a list that is fitting for this thread!
> 
> 
> 
> ...


For some odd reason I cannot get that to open....


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## Tonyr (May 2, 2021)

I believe Upper Starr is the steepest inbounds trail in VT at 38 degrees. The Daly Chutes are indeed legit especially the 4th and 7th Chute. This is looking up from the drop in of the 4th Chute, it's a 44 to 45 degree pitch that is pretty sustained. (as I posted earlier)

Below are a couple of other good ones that I've been on. This is a line somewhere between Toilet Bowl and Das Boat at Grand Targhee, it was so steep it was almost unskiable as you can tell I just kind of edged down the drop in, the run is not very long so once you get by the worst part it's not so bad but that small area may be the steepest thing I've been on, I'm guessing somewhere in the high 40's.....(the 2 young guys going over it behind me were jumping it! I'd guess that section was a good 25 to 30 feet long)


This is the 1st Wipeout Chute at Mammoth, you can ski around to the 2nd Chute pretty easily and avoid that bumped up nastiness but if you go down the 1st Chute you'll be on one of the steepest trails at Mammoth, that drop in at the very left of this picture was definitely over 45 degrees. You can see the edges dropping down into it. I skied this one in July 2 summers ago.....

Looking up the Wipeout Chute....

That is the steepest run at Park City called the Red Pine Chutes the first entrance onto the trail has a 44 degree pitch the 2nd entrance a little further over is tamer. The run is quite a bit wider than the other three so it was the easiest....
Those four are probably the steepest trails I've been down. Snowbird, Alta, Jackson,Telluride, Squaw Valley and Crested Butte all have really steep terrain as everyone knows but I don't think I was on anything at any of those places that was over a 43 degree pitch. Crested Butte's T-Bars were closed when I was there or I very easily could have. Telluride didn't have there best stuff open yet either and the only day I skied Alta I was with my wife and son so I didn't get a chance to explore the stuff off of the Collins lift. Same with Big Sky I skied there with my family the whole time both days we were there. They have a ton of crazy stuff if your willing to hike over to the Headwaters area. A local told me that the backside of the Headwaters Chutes is the toughest terrain on the mountain, he thought the Big Couiler was much easier than anything on the Headwaters side facing the tram.

In any event I think steep terrain with trees in way is the most challenging thing to ski unless of course your hucking off cliffs in the backcountry. Needle's Eye at Breckenridge and a sidecountry run at Stowe called Pipeline are the two most ridiculous trails that I've been on. Pipeline at Stowe in particular has some of the steepest and tightest trees you will ever ski in bounds. For anyone interested the small entrance is located to the skiers left of Upper Goat right behind the Octagon restaurant, it is so tight in there that you can barely turn your skis.


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## Hawk (May 3, 2021)

I've been to a lot of these place mentioned.
 - Aspen Highlands - Highland bowl - I will agree that the further up you go the more intimidating it is.  I am not sure if that is because of the serious head rush I had because of the elevation.
 - Big Sky - Top of the tram is not that bad.  It has a nice flat to get your crap together and you can go around the snow fences and find easier ways down.  It's not all hair ball. - What is really sketchy is walking the ridge up and out from the headwaters chair.  Especially that bit with the rock band with the rope attached.  One slip in ski boots and you gone.  I have never made it all the way out on that ridge.  I was totally petrified. 
 - Top of snowbird tram and down the ridge is not that bad either.  I think some of the places I hiked on Baldly were steeper and scarier.

Easily, most of the scariest situations I have been in were in Chamonix and right off the lift.  I have been up the Aiguille du Midi a few times.  The arete is only the start.  I saw a lady slip and dangle on a rope almost pulling her guide down the town side of the ridge.  They rope you up for a reason.  If the Arete is icy then you need to go real slow and check your footing.   From there we went left over to the Grand Envers.  Look it up.  You travers over exposed areas to ski 40+ degree slopes.  Also some of the hikes at Brevant our guide took us on were not for the faint of heart.  I was more scared there then anywhere I have been.


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## kingslug (May 3, 2021)

Its why the big boys move out there when they get bored here. And the food is better...


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## Hawk (May 3, 2021)

Yup good food.  We ate like kings.  I also love the vibe in town.  Good mix of bars and cafe's and people from all over the world that are so friendly.   I've been there 3 times and we plan to go back.  It's not nearly as big as some of the other places but it has something the others do not.  It is hard to describe.


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## kingslug (May 3, 2021)

We hung out at the Ausie bar..walking around after that in the dark on ice..was fun. Ate ..a lot of cheese..a lot...
I remember taking our skis to a shop as we had trashed them on the rocks..I though we had really trashed them until he showed me what really trashed looks like. 
We don't really rock ski here..


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## 2Planker (May 3, 2021)

After hitting Chamonix 3 times to ski, Wifey now wants to do a summer trip - Hiking  via ferrata from Mürren to Gimmelwald, Switzerland – just wow)


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## dblskifanatic (May 3, 2021)

So another that comes to mind is Steep Gully Chutes at A Basin,  Rocky, relatively narrow no fall zone.


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## dblskifanatic (May 3, 2021)

This series  (The FIFTY) is pretty cool with a lot of pucker factor moments!  Here is one episode.


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## NYDB (May 3, 2021)

dblskifanatic said:


> So another that comes to mind is Steep Gully Chutes at A Basin,  Rocky, relatively narrow no fall zone.


How is that a no fall zone?   It definitely looks steep and gnarly at the top, but it appears if you fell you would just slide down the gully.  I always thought no fall zones were above exposure where if you ended up falling you might just careen off of a cliff band to your serious injury or demise.  It looks like if you fell here you might bruise yourself up a bit but nothing serious.


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## machski (May 3, 2021)

Hawk said:


> I've been to a lot of these place mentioned.
> - Aspen Highlands - Highland bowl - I will agree that the further up you go the more intimidating it is.  I am not sure if that is because of the serious head rush I had because of the elevation.
> - Big Sky - Top of the tram is not that bad.  It has a nice flat to get your crap together and you can go around the snow fences and find easier ways down.  It's not all hair ball. - What is really sketchy is walking the ridge up and out from the headwaters chair.  Especially that bit with the rock band with the rope attached.  One slip in ski boots and you gone.  I have never made it all the way out on that ridge.  I was totally petrified.
> - Top of snowbird tram and down the ridge is not that bad either.  I think some of the places I hiked on Baldly were steeper and scarier.
> ...


Yup, that is some some scary schit.  Wouldn't be quite as bad if it were ok to gear on on the hike line, but that is faux pas.  I crap myself every time I step off the path to boot up.  Almost lost it once gearing up.  Much less scary once into the bindings.


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## jimmywilson69 (May 4, 2021)

NY DirtBag said:


> How is that a no fall zone?   It definitely looks steep and gnarly at the top, but it appears if you fell you would just slide down the gully.  I always thought no fall zones were above exposure where if you ended up falling you might just careen off of a cliff band to your serious injury or demise.  It looks like if you fell here you might bruise yourself up a bit but nothing serious.


I've not skied the steep Gullies, but they are steep as shit as seen from RTE 6 and if you fell you would do much worse than "bruise yourself"   By your account the same would be true in the Big Couloir right?

I also think they say that to keep out the Jerrys as rescue operations from Patrol are going to be incredibly difficult.


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## kbroderick (May 4, 2021)

jimmywilson69 said:


> I've not skied the steep Gullies, but they are steep as shit as seen from RTE 6 and if you fell you would do much worse than "bruise yourself"   By your account the same would be true in the Big Couloir right?
> 
> I also think they say that to keep out the Jerrys as rescue operations from Patrol are going to be incredibly difficult.


The Big doglegs, if you miss a turn up top you're rather likely to bounce into and/or off rocks before getting to the bottom. There's a video from this year of someone doing that floating around.

When I took the OEC class, the instructor pointed out that *most* of the time, the nice thing about steep slopes was that the patient would usually slide to the bottom before stopping. Obviously, that doesn't really apply if they can get hung up on obstacles.


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## LonghornSkier (May 4, 2021)

Never skied the Steep Gullies at A-Basin (never skied A-Basin in general)... But based on that video, I would characterize that run as "more than bruises, less than death" if you had a bad fall.


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## abc (May 4, 2021)

kingslug said:


> I was watching a video of Big Sky which I went to 9 years ago and I remembered getting off the tram and going holy shit!..it was the scariest peak I had ever been on.





thetrailboss said:


> So when I did Lone Peak earlier this season I enjoyed it. Maybe it was because having been out out west I've gotten used to steeper and open slopes.





kbroderick said:


> At least they have trail signs at Big Sky.


I've been to Big Sky a few times spanning the past 10 years, but only up the peak in clear days on my 1st and last trip. The last one didn't feel half as scary as the 1st trip.

I thought it maybe because I'm used to it. But then I was told they rerouted the access to the front side, and added signage in the recent years. That's when I remember how totally confusing it was the 1st time I went up it years ago. 

I think that made the difference. It's no longer as scary as it used to be.


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## dblskifanatic (May 4, 2021)

NY DirtBag said:


> How is that a no fall zone?   It definitely looks steep and gnarly at the top, but it appears if you fell you would just slide down the gully.  I always thought no fall zones were above exposure where if you ended up falling you might just careen off of a cliff band to your serious injury or demise.  It looks like if you fell here you might bruise yourself up a bit but nothing serious.



Well there is a possibility that you will ping pong amongst the rocks because there a lot of them.  Also it depends on how you fall.


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## Hawk (May 4, 2021)

Big Couloir is no joke.  Actually the fun begins with the  approach.  The ridge you ski to get there is usually scoured down to the ice with rocks showing.  you don't want to fall there or you go down into the North snow fields.  The entrance is 50 degrees usually with a cornice and wind packed snow.  Check out this video.  Falling down the Big! 

That is a guy we used to ski with at Sugarbush.  He moved out there a couple of years ago.  He is a very good skier but had really bad luck going in.  He survived with a broken leg and shoulder.


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## kingslug (May 4, 2021)

Its why I'm cutting back on my no fall zones..I have more fun on sub 40 degree runs now.  Although the occasional pucker run is good to get things going. 
I think the steepest t thing I did this season was Upper Starr and a few runs off 9990..nothing scary though. It was the first time I hit all of the front 4 in one day though.


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## dblskifanatic (May 4, 2021)

It is all relevant, right?  The first time I went down off a cornice in Montezuma bowl I thought it was heart pounding and the same with Pallavicini, after that first run you realize that it was not that big of a deal.  Then going off the top of Peak 8 and some runs on Peak 7 off the T-bar I felt the same.  Now not a big deal.  A lot of the time we get into our heads  or at least I am willing to admit that.  A lot is about trying it.  I fell on a tree run off E Chair at Breck and bounced down about 5-6 bumps before I stopped in a trough.  That freaked me out - it just makes you more aware.

My wife does not like the heart pounding feeling but I get her on runs off Pallavicini or on Over the Rainbow at Loveland and others to show her that she can ski those types of runs.  She does well every time.  I love to see her push herself because I am fascinated by her growth in the sport - she did not start until she was 32.  Reading the stories here makes me realize what is scary to some are enjoyed by others.  The runs mentioned above I enjoy but to my wife they are the scariest runs.

None of us want the oh shit moment where we look back and say I should not have done that, but that is the trill of the sport for the 1-2 %


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## jimk (May 4, 2021)

dblskifanatic said:


> It is all relevant, right?  The first time I went down off a cornice in Montezuma bowl I thought it was heart pounding and the same with Pallavicini, after that first run you realize that it was not that big of a deal.  Then going off the top of Peak 8 and some runs on Peak 7 off the T-bar I felt the same.  Now not a big deal.  A lot of the time we get into our heads  or at least I am willing to admit that.  A lot is about trying it.  I fell on a tree run off E Chair at Breck and bounced down about 5-6 bumps before I stopped in a trough.  That freaked me out - it just makes you more aware.
> 
> My wife does not like the heart pounding feeling but I get her on runs off Pallavicini or on Over the Rainbow at Loveland and others to show her that she can ski those types of runs.  She does well every time.  I love to see her push herself because I am fascinated by her growth in the sport - she did not start until she was 32.  Reading the stories here makes me realize what is scary to some are enjoyed by others.  The runs mentioned above I enjoy but to my wife they are the scariest runs.
> 
> None of us want the oh shit moment where we look back and say I should not have done that, but that is the trill of the sport for the 1-2 %


My wife retired from skiing about 10 years ago.   My favorite part of skiing with her was snuggling on the chairlift rides.  You are very fortunate to have a skiing spouse.  Keep the nurturing going on that


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## Boxtop Willie (May 4, 2021)

Everything is relative...life long skier, skied all over, L3 instructor. Scariest peak was anything I was on during my first day learning how to snowboard...at age 47.
Blue square of death. Never more terrified on snow.


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## kbroderick (May 4, 2021)

Hawk said:


> Big Couloir is no joke.  Actually the fun begins with the  approach.  The ridge you ski to get there is usually scoured down to the ice with rocks showing.  you don't want to fall there or you go down into the North snow fields.  The entrance is 50 degrees usually with a cornice and wind packed snow.  Check out this video.  Falling down the Big!
> 
> That is a guy we used to ski with at Sugarbush.  He moved out there a couple of years ago.  He is a very good skier but had really bad luck going in.  He survived with a broken leg and shoulder.


Yup, that's the video. I'm not clicking on the link because watching it once was more than enough.


Boxtop Willie said:


> Everything is relative...life long skier, skied all over, L3 instructor. Scariest peak was anything I was on during my first day learning how to snowboard...at age 47.
> Blue square of death. Never more terrified on snow.


The scariest moment I've had on skis was a poorly timed attempt on Dodges Drop; I had expected the refrozen surface to warm and soften, but the weather didn't cooperate and I ended up using a platform a photographer had carved out the day before to transition back to crampons and climb out the top. Hillman's had enough additional sun that it was corned up very nicely.

Several of the scariest moments in a resort, though, were looking uphill at Killington on busy days.


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## Funky_Catskills (May 12, 2021)

I love Dodges.


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## andrec10 (May 15, 2021)

Great Scott at Snowbird is the real deal.


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## kingslug (May 16, 2021)

With lots of snow it it , its not too bad...the entrance is a little scary.


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