10 Adrenaline-Fueled Runs: Thrills from Top to Bottom
Below are 10 runs and areas you can write home to momma about, if you’ve got what it takes to get to the bottom. Some are in bounds, some are out of bounds. Some are out of sight. Some are gut-wrenching scary. Hmm…you like that, don’t you?
These runs are in no particular order and include both in bounds and out of bounds. Many of these runs are extreme and require expert level abilities.
They are highlighted with the help of Andrew Rusynyk, director of Marketing and Snow Sports at Castle Mountain Resort in southwestern Alberta near Pincher Creek; Mike Moynihan, Manager, Sales and Media at Sunshine Village in Banff National Park; and Paula Worthington, Media Relations and Marketing Coordinator at Resorts of the Canadian Rockies, which includes Lake Louise Mountain Resort in Banff National Park and Nakiska in Kananaskis Country.
Castle Mountain Offers Keys to Speed
Castle has long been a haven for hard core skiers and riders seeking the steep and the deep. If you want challenges, you’ll find them here.
1. Haavy’s Dream (in bounds). “It’s almost out on the west edge of our infamous south chutes,” says Andrew. “It’s one that can get loaded with great snow but has a real narrow bottleneck through a cliff band about half way down. It probably averages 43 to 45 degrees. And you have to pay attention on the top half to ensure you don’t go off the cliff band, but once through there, you can let ‘er rip on the bottom half.” Here’s a map, just follow the red arrow to Haavy’s Dream.
2. East Face, Mount Haig (out of bounds). The East face of Mount Haig was immortalized by local skier Peter Hodgson, who conquered it in April, 2006 with an amazing inaugural run captured in a 12-minute mini-movie, which ran this year in tandem with Warren Miller’s Off the Grid at select viewings. But beware this particular run – the chances of you actually getting to ski it are slim, as it requires cutting through red tape.
“The East Face is totally visible from the base area and it’s the first mountain peak the sun hits in the morning,” says Andrew. “It will take you at least a full day to hike around to the south and the next valley to get to this peak. You probably wouldn’t have much energy to get down it. Peter was taken by helicopter for the movie, but it probably wouldn’t happen easily for you.”
For a look at the East Face (and other extreme runs at Castle), click here, where you’ll learn, among other sage items of advice, that on the East Face of Mt. Haig, “avalanche stability is dubious at best.”
3. KC’s: It’s 52 degrees, it’s got rocks down the side that looks like something from surface of an asteroid, and you have no run out or recourse, says Andrew. (How do you like it so far?) You have to make it down the channel and then you get spit out the bottom, standing or rolling. A hidden gem with a brutally steep 58 degree chute, it faces West and North KC and, oh, it’s two hours from the parking lot. Drop in at the base of the NE ridge of Mount Haig. The first descent was in 1999 by Peter Then and Ben Stockey.
4. Chimo’s: The 55 degree roll over at the top of Chimo's is followed by 475 vertical metres of 40 degrees, usually interspersed with small rock bands. The first descent was done by Jim Wilson solo in 1987. Chimo's has seen many repeats as it is only an hour and a half from the base of the ski area (this information courtesy of Castle website).
Sunshine Provides Brilliant Experiences
Sunshine Village is the home of Goat’s Eye Mountain and Delirium Dive, featuring all-natural snow and providing plenty of fun or thrill seekers to rip into.
You can take the Goat's Eye express to 9200 ft. and have a vision: endless mountain ranges and the vistas of the Banff town site, bolstered by the powder on the Goat's Eye double black runs and gladed areas. Good news – Goat’s Eye had the earliest opening ever this year, showing that there is already a lot of pure white gold to play in early in the season.
5. Mike’s top pick is Delirium Dive, though Sunshine’s three Freeride Zones are some of the most challenging in bounds terrain anywhere. Delirium Dive restrictions require that skiers and boarders carry an avalanche beacon and a shovel, and have at least one other similarly equipped partner. If you are a first time visitor, ask Sunshine’s Ski & Snowboard School about Delirium Sundays for a guided program with lunch.
6. Wild West ( as well as the recently established Silver City, where there’s wild outcroppings), will test the nerve and skill of the very best big-mountain riders. Wild West is like Delirium Dive, featuring three major rock walled couloirs along with steep crevices. There is also a series of cliffs. You can access it off the western edge of Goat’s Eye Mountain.
Take the Leap at Lake Louise
Lake Louise Mountain Resort is known world wide for its awesome scenery and there’s no better way to see it than from some of the peaks of some of its most challenging terrain.
7. Purple Bowl (out of bounds): You can hike straight up from top of Larch, it’s not out of bounds but it’s not lift access; so you hike up and ski down Elevator Shaft which is in bounds, says Paula. From that hike, you can hike out of bounds into an area called Purple Bowl; it’s out of bounds skiing but well known for its conditions and altitude and long terrain. From Purple Bowl you can ski back into in bounds onto Larch again.
8. The Powder Bowls: The Powder Bowls at Lake Louise (2,500 acres of back terrain) feature bowls, ridges, and an area called the Ultimate Steeps where there is the free ski competition, says Paula. The competitors start their run between two flags and choose the line they want to take, and judged on speed and other factors, run Feb. 21-25. From the top of the Powder Bowls: if you the take Summit Platter up the front side and ski off the backside (it starts at 8,765 ft.), you can ski down that and continue all the way down to Temple Lodge which is 6, 608 ft., says Paula.
9. Devil’s Thumb (The Ultimate Steeps): Devil’s Thumb is all in bounds. One of the unique thing about the powder bowls it has extreme terrain but also Saddleback, which is a green run down, and there are some intermediate runs, says Paula.
Otherwise, for black diamond runs, the backside alpine bowls offer Jewelry Box and the Diamond Mine, with challenging steeps and chutes. Other challenges include Ptarmigan Glades (Runs #74 - #78), or places like Run #24 (Lynx run at the Larch Area) or the Men's World Cup Downhill Run #2, found on the front side of the mountain (this info courtesy of Lake Louise Mountain Resort web).
Fly Like an Eagle at Nakiska
10. Eagle Tail: It starts at the top of the Gold chair; go past the fence, you can see it from the lift, says Paula. So instead of doing the little turn, you keep going straight and you can connect Eagle Tail to Bob Tail and even to the Legacy Training run, where there is hard packed. Eagle Tail does build some bumps. Nakiska is known as intermediate but advanced skiers who like steeper terrain can find challenging runs off the Gold chair as well as the glades there. Eagle Tail and Bob Tail are the only runs at Nakiska that are double black; Legacy is black.
