Most Intense Lift Accessed Run?

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lab49232

Discussion Starter · 19 d ago

Curious as to what other people have done/looked at and backed out for most intense runs that you can take a lift to without really having to hike. Think Corbetts but honestly after the initial drop, it's actually just a big open face for the most part. At Baker, in-bounds really almost any area is rideable as long as you just don't accidentally cliff yourself out in a specific spot. I never looked at a zone there and just said nope.

I remember doing Lone Peak at Big Sky and thinking I can't believe this is just open to anyone. Looked at Big Couloir but couldn't bring myself to do it with snow conditions that day. Hit most of the Liberty, Lenin, Marx side of the peak, but the rest of that area, i would call a safety hazard to the general public.

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Board Doctor

· #2 · 18 d ago

Steep cliffs and exposed rock just aren’t worth the risk to me.

At Big White I‘ve only dropped into the Parachute Bowl a few times in one particular season when there was an easy entry rather than a huge wind lipped cornice. Similarly I did the Whistler/Blackcomb Couloir Extreme during heavy El Niño and La Nina years… but another time it was an icy surface surrounded by rocks and said no freaking way!

I guess if there’s lots of pow I’ll do up to 42 degrees or so? I need to feel like I could stop if I had to… staying in control… though I rode out of a few things at ludicrous speed when I was much younger.

Rip154

· #3 · 18 d ago

In North America you mean or?

Etienne

· #4 · 18 d ago

I'm usually more scared when I don't have my board straped on, but off the lift, I think this couloir.. The first time I did it was an accident. I was 16, followed tracks without studying the mountain enough, thinking I was going elsewhere… found mysefl too low, on my heel side, having to climb back one footed… The couloir itself is pretty nice, 40ish, narrow but turnable, with a nice exit drop. First time I was so scared for my life, I was 100% in the zone, nail the drop perfect (there was a little crowd watching at the bottom, probably because I got stuck at the top for quite a while). I redid it a couple times after that, but on firmer snow and you could billy goat around the drop. I don't do it anymore, the shoulder to access it is too exposed for my liking now.

Then it's probably this couloir in Las Lenas. It's named after some dude's first name, that is not "Eduardo" (this one is on the other side), but I can't remember the name. I think it was my first 50 (and one the few btw) and when the guide dropped, I was like "well, looks like he has more confidence in our skills than I do!".

Other than that, there are quite a few lines from La Saulire especially those dropping back to Meribel. With a bit of hiking, P1/2/3 in Tignes are not too exposed (so you can fall), but quite steep too. Couloir des Croix (never did it with a big lip to jump, always "cheated" like this) and Lana in La Clusaz require a bit of walk too, but not too much and once you're past the entry it's "OK". There's obvious void on the right, but if you stick to the safe, it's cool.

Funny to think about it, the results are… not what I would have expected. I would have imagined Chamonix or La Grave would top the list, but I always remained pretty reasonable there , mostly backing off and looking at tracks like "What the actual F". There is all the terrain you could ask for to shit yourself though, even without hiking. This cave has collapsed since, but it was a scary one too, the time I did it the entrance was much smaller, and you had to crawl your way to the exit, which was way bigger (not 100% sure it was the same cave as the video, but pretty similar).

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Needmoresnow

· #5 · 18 d ago

Spankys ladder at Blackcomb is pretty crazy. Delirium dive at Sunshine looks crazy too but haven't been there yet to check it out.

Phedder

· #6 · 17 d ago

Needmoresnow said:
Spankys ladder at Blackcomb is pretty crazy. Delirium dive at Sunshine looks crazy too but haven't been there yet to check it out.

Delerium Dive is only really intimidating at the top, dropping in from Bre X can be committing, there's easier ways to enter though. Definitely very steep and exposed at the top, but once you're properly in there it's not that crazy and has some phenomenal more open sections for big steep pow turns.

Now The Wild West at Sunshine is what I would say, there's 4 chutes that get narrower and narrower, some years they're completely unrideable and I don't think I've ever ridden in there without hitting a rock or two. I much prefer The Dive for enjoyment, Wild West is a straight up challenge every time.

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Cambered234

· #7 · 17 d ago

Board Doctor said:
Steep cliffs and exposed rock just aren’t worth the risk to me.

At Big White I‘ve only dropped into the Parachute Bowl a few times in one particular season when there was an easy entry rather than a huge wind lipped cornice. Similarly I did the Whistler/Blackcomb Couloir Extreme during heavy El Niño and La Nina years… but another time it was an icy surface surrounded by rocks and said no freaking way!

I guess if there’s lots of pow I’ll do up to 42 degrees or so? I need to feel like I could stop if I had to… staying in control… though I rode out of a few things at ludicrous speed when I was much younger.

If it’s truly great pow, 45+ degrees can be some of the most fun turns on a board, just gotta keep the nose pointed somewhat down the fall line and avoid going horizontal. Snowbird has a few good sections that are very lapable if you’re okay with a traverse or riding the cirque traverse although I’d like the sections to last longer before transitioning into the bottom part of the mountain, but I’m scratching my head for which place has the steepest lift accessible inbounds… backcountry is where the best steep lines are in my opinion. Resorts with good slackcountry can sometimes get you much steeper lines with better conditions than inbounds.
If the pow is good, I’m addicted to the 45+ steep stuff.

Kevington

· #8 · 17 d ago

Although Europe and North America are not really comparable in terms of lift accessed gnar, the Aiguille du Midi cablecar has many insane lines right from the lift. There is an ‘easy’ way down but it’s still a 20km ride down a crevasse ridden glacier after negotiating a knife edge ridge. Grand Montets (also Chamonix) has some crazy stuff right off the top lift. That’s the one time I’ve got myself into a situation where I was thinking “I really shouldn’t be here, I could die” there were two tracks on the line but I couldn’t see where they ended so I hiked back up and out.

Etienne

· #9 · 17 d ago

Yeah Mallory Couloir has a good chance to be one hardest possible things off a cable car, couloir de la passerelle is no joke either. On the other side, from the Ellbroner, I've been eyeing Aiguille d'Entrèves for a while, which is much more in my league snowboardwise, but that little ridge is easy but scary (note: this the route from chamonix, you can get it off the cable car from Entrèves, in Italy). If you ever have a chance, I think you'd like La Grave

Note that none of this is "inbound", there is no such thing in Europe: you're either on the slopes or in the backcountry (although sidecountry is very controlled in facts, but not officially).

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freshy

· #10 · 16 d ago

Revelstoke. I don't know how many runs, you can hit more than a few from the Stoke chair into North Bowl that are gnarly amounts of steep.

Cambered234

· #11 · 16 d ago

freshy said:
Revelstoke. I don't know how many runs, you can hit more than a few from the Stoke chair into North Bowl that are gnarly amounts of steep.

Revelstoke is absolutely in the mix!
But the best stuff requires a hike. I considered this as well, I interpreted the criteria as lift with no hiking. If lift+hiking can fit, then certainly Snowbird (I say Pipeline gets the #1 spot), Silverton, Revelstoke, Kicking Horse, Crested, Palisades, a-Basin, etc. (Honeycomb Canyon at Solitude has some good stuff too thats less known about because usually unless you’ve found it, you don’t know it exists; Brighton has Elavator at the top of Milly, and access to some good stuff that requires hike+traverse albeit it’s technically out of bounds and not the most vertical it’s still great slackcountry) suddenly the discussion opens up a lot more in regards to resort stuff in BC+ the lower 48.
Europe does have a different resort setup, but obviously they have some fantastic steep terrain with tons of vertical (from my experience, snow quality/coverage is a downside as really good and deep new pow isn’t on tap as it more commonly is in North America and this is just from my experience so I own that I could be wrong; whereas the lower 48 can have sections that are awesome steepness, they don’t have the continuous vertical that Europe has. So there’s an argument that can made for each.). Las Lenas has serious stuff from just a chairlift (no or minimal hiking) but that lift is closed so often it might as well be considered backcountry as well. Again, the snow quality and coverage comes up because the Andes could be much better if they got the snow coverage that North America gets. Which leads things to where the best terrain (steepness, lines, vertical, and coverage) is for boarding: AK. But AK can’t fit the criteria as it’s pure backcountry.
I guess from my standpoint, regardless of the criteria of the original question, it’s not just about the pitch, vertical, and exposure, rather it’s about those PLUS snow quality and coverage. So if lift + hikes are allowed, my vote for the gnarliest line at a resort is Pipeline at Snowbird. Just my thoughts at least.

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freshy

· #12 · 16 d ago

You asked from chair. Every resort has something steep to hike to, not every one has ski from a lift accessibility to gnar.

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Cambered234

· #13 · 16 d ago

freshy said:
You asked from chair. Every resort has something steep to hike to, not every one has ski from a lift accessibility to gnar.

Fair enough.

locallawndart

· #14 · 16 d ago

I can't speak for the rest of the US, but on the West Coast, McConkey's at Palisades definitely takes the cake for me. Shit is more or less just a sheer cliff face with a 10-15' drop at the end. With the absolutely ludicrous season that the West got this year, I was able to hit it in late January and it really is all gas no breaks until the end

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Etienne

· #15 · 16 d ago

Cambered234 said:
Revelstoke is absolutely in the mix!
But the best stuff requires a hike. I considered this as well, I interpreted the criteria as lift with no hiking. If lift+hiking can fit, then certainly Snowbird (I say Pipeline gets the #1 spot), Silverton, Revelstoke, Kicking Horse, Crested, Palisades, a-Basin, etc. (Honeycomb Canyon at Solitude has some good stuff too thats less known about because usually unless you’ve found it, you don’t know it exists; Brighton has Elavator at the top of Milly, and access to some good stuff that requires hike+traverse albeit it’s technically out of bounds and not the most vertical it’s still great slackcountry) suddenly the discussion opens up a lot more in regards to resort stuff in BC+ the lower 48.
Europe does have a different resort setup, but obviously they have some fantastic steep terrain with tons of vertical (from my experience, snow quality/coverage is a downside as really good and deep new pow isn’t on tap as it more commonly is in North America and this is just from my experience so I own that I could be wrong; whereas the lower 48 can have sections that are awesome steepness, they don’t have the continuous vertical that Europe has. So there’s an argument that can made for each.). Las Lenas has serious stuff from just a chairlift (no or minimal hiking) but that lift is closed so often it might as well be considered backcountry as well. Again, the snow quality and coverage comes up because the Andes could be much better if they got the snow coverage that North America gets.

France definitely isn't powder paradise. But somehow that's why we can ride those mountains too, else the avalanche risk would just be too high. I've actually stopped rushing for steeper things first chair in the morning for that reason. I won't go into untouched steeps without at least a couple day of sun/freeze, and then it might depend on wind etc.. It means I miss some obvious stuff and I have to skin/hike more for pow (although, when you know the place…), but I'm pretty OK with that.

Some part of central Switzerland/Austria have much bigger average fall (almost 3 times as big as Tarentaise) and I imagine terrain to be pretty big and well equiped too, but I've never been there.

Cambered234

· #16 · 16 d ago

Etienne said:
France definitely isn't powder paradise. But somehow that's why we can ride those mountains too, else the avalanche risk would just be too high. I've actually stopped rushing for steeper things first chair in the morning for that reason. I won't go into untouched steeps without at least a couple day of sun/freeze, and then it might depend on wind etc.. It means I miss some obvious stuff and I have to skin/hike more for pow (although, when you know the place…), but I'm pretty OK with that.

Some part of central Switzerland/Austria have much bigger average fall (almost 3 times as big as Tarentaise) and I imagine terrain to be pretty big and well equiped too, but I've never been there.

That’s a good point about coverage from the perspective of slides.
As for the most gnar and steepest individual lift run, I really don’t know… perhaps big sky can take that in the lower 48, but have fun getting it when it’s powder and not wind blown. I agree with Freshy and I’d also add that there are plenty of resorts that have a few lift runs that are decently steep/gnar while the rest of the resort/mountain is more mellow. I tend to gravitate towards a resort that is more of the entire mountain being steep with a lot of off piste stuff; I think it’s misleading for a place to claim to be the steepest mountain when it’s really just a section and the rest is more mellow.

Sorry for rambling and going into points that are not specific to what you asked.

lab49232

Discussion Starter · #17 · 15 d ago

freshy said:
You asked from chair. Every resort has something steep to hike to, not every one has ski from a lift accessibility to gnar.

This was exactly the point I was trying to get at. Mt hood isn't overly insane but if I wanted to go find a rock to climb above and make myself cliff out in an area of course I can, same with any major size mountain. I was looking for more named, on the trail map ride off the lift and just go straight down accessible to anyone without extra effort.

Etienne said:
Yeah Mallory Couloir has a good chance to be one hardest possible things off a cable car, couloir de la passerelle is no joke either. On the other side, from the Ellbroner, I've been eyeing Aiguille d'Entrèves for a while, which is much more in my league snowboardwise, but that little ridge is easy but scary (note: this the route from chamonix, you can get it off the cable car from Entrèves, in Italy). If you ever have a chance, I think you'd like La Grave

Note that none of this is "inbound", there is no such thing in Europe: you're either on the slopes or in the backcountry (although sidecountry is very controlled in facts, but not officially).

OK.... WTF. This is kind of what I was looking for but, like, that's not snowboarding that's mountaineering with a snowboard! So in France you can just start climbing, rapelling and go anywhere you want, do anything you want??

I dont think anything is going to beat multiple repel sections throughout the run, so I guess we now have to move to most challenging full runs that don't require unstrapping for hahaha.

Etienne

· #18 · 15 d ago (Edited)

Yeah it's called "steep skiing" or snowboard mountaineering, that's a whole thing in itself. Not the kind of stuff I even dream doing, this doesn't event seem fun. I like to watch it as an horror movie once in a while though (like Krister Kopla channel).

I kinda like how some US resorts do mark ungroomed, but classic lines though. Everybody does it anyways you might as well document and secure it.

Kevington

· #19 · 15 d ago

lab49232 said:
OK.... WTF. This is kind of what I was looking for but, like, that's not snowboarding that's mountaineering with a snowboard! So in France you can just start climbing, rapelling and go anywhere you want, do anything you want??

European resorts in general have a different attitude to personal responsibility than those in North America. If you want to do it, you are free to try but it's on you. In general the ski patrol are really good, particularly at avalanche info and mitigation but it is not their job to tell you what you can and cannot do. Chamonix is kind of next level, even in a Euro context. It’s the spiritual home of alpine sports and people go there to deliberately put their life on the line and many pay the ultimate price.

As the snowboard industry media is US centric (even though Europe is the larger market for snowboard equipment), the narrative is that T.Rice or Jeremy Jones are the gnarliest dudes on Planet Earth. Although they are of course very good at what they do in high-risk environments, getting dropped on top of an Alaskan or British Columbian cream cake by a helicopter is just not in the same league as what hundreds of unknown riders, some with no sponsors are doing in Europe all season long, often right off a cablecar. Chamonix really has to be seen to be believed, I can highly recommend it to just see the place and feel the atmosphere as a bucket list type thing.

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Cambered234

· #20 · 15 d ago

Kevington said:
European resorts in general have a different attitude to personal responsibility than those in North America. If you want to do it, you are free to try but it's on you. In general the ski patrol are really good, particularly at avalanche info and mitigation but it is not their job to tell you what you can and cannot do. Chamonix is kind of next level, even in a Euro context. It’s the spiritual home of alpine sports and people go there to deliberately put their life on the line and many pay the ultimate price.

As the snowboard industry media is US centric (even though Europe is the larger market for snowboard equipment), the narrative is that T.Rice or Jeremy Jones are the gnarliest dudes on Planet Earth. Although they are of course very good at what they do in high-risk environments, getting dropped on top of an Alaskan or British Columbian cream cake by a helicopter is just not in the same league as what hundreds of unknown riders, some with no sponsors are doing in Europe all season long, often right off a cablecar. Chamonix really has to be seen to be believed, I can highly recommend it to just see the place and feel the atmosphere as a bucket list type thing.

Certainly Jones doing the Shangri-La wall is worthy of at least some respect?
Some of the European stuff is totally insane, straight lining ice faces is absolutely nuts and the mountaineering aspects are very intense.

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