TR First trip to Aspen/Snowmass March 26-28, 2015

[marzNC]

Here are impressions from my first time skiing the Aspen mountains. Enjoyed good spring skiing March 26-28, 2015. Having the Mountain Collective Pass (MCP) pushed Aspen higher up on the bucket list. Bottom line is that I’m interested in figuring out how to go again. That’s one reason I’m writing up a trip report at this late date to help me remember what I discovered. My ski buddies and I have bought the MCP for next season so Aspen is on the list for a mid-season trip.

I went with ski buddy Bill on this spring ski safari that included Aspen. We spent a day at each of the bigger areas: Snowmass, Aspen Mountain (Ajax), Aspen Highlands. I had opted to get the bonus day at Aspen so never needed to pay for a lift ticket (1-day ticket $129). Stopped by Buttermilk and walked around the base, but didn’t bother to ski there since it’s geared more for mixed ability groups that include beginners and intermediates, those interested in park, or families with kids in ski school. Lucked out and got several inches of fresh snow at Snowmass. The other two days were warm spring days, with temps getting into the 60s at the base by early afternoon. Not the best snow conditions, but plenty of great views. Ajax and Highlands are not huge, so possible in a day to get a pretty good sense of the terrain available. Snowmass is big, over 3000 acres, and spread out so we barely scratched the surface of the intermediate/advanced terrain. With easy access between the four ski areas via free buses, I can understand why heading to Aspen/Snowmass is a good choice for a once-a-year ski vacation.

It’s a bit different having four ski large areas under the same management so close together. One of the rental shops, Four Mountain Sports, not only provides free overnight storage, it’s also possible to have rental skis sent to a different mountain overnight. For instance, suppose you are staying at Snowmass. After skiing at Snowmass, you can turn in your skis, then pick them up when you get to Highlands the next morning, with no need to carry them back with you on the bus in the afternoon. The trail maps for all four places are on the same double-sided, oversized brochure, with Buttermilk and Snowmass on one side and Ajax and Highlands on the other. A feature on the trail maps I like is having full mountain stats, plus the stats for each of the lifts (vertical rise, ride time). Makes it very clear how many high speed lifts are available. A lot of the lifts go up over 1000 ft, with several close to 2000 ft. Easy to get in a LOT of skiing in a day at any ability level.

 

[marzNC]

Before I get to the pics, a few notes about logistics and travel . . . Per usual for trips with Bill, we were using his AWD car. Getting around Aspen is pretty straightforward but there are a few ways to make it easier when not staying on resort.

We each had a room at the Days Inn in Carbondale, which is about 30 miles from Aspen. I liked staying in Carbondale. (Similar driving time from Midvale to LCC.) It’s a little closer than Glenwood Springs, which has more motel options. The cheapest hotel rooms at Aspen or Snowmass were around $150. The Days Inn included breakfast and had both a hot tub and a sauna. The standard rate for late March was about $80. Carbondale has a pretty good selection of places to eat, mostly in the town center but there were a couple of places within walking distance of the Days Inn.

One reason I’m less interested in skiing in Colorado than some other places out west is the relatively high altitude. Carbondale is noticeably lower than Aspen or Snowmass. It’s at about 6100 ft, while lodging at Snowmass and Aspen is around 8000 ft. The summits are all over 11,000 ft, with in-bounds terrain over 12,000 ft at Snowmass and Highlands. (Most skiing at Alta is under 10,000 ft.)

When ever I go somewhere for the first time, I pay attention to parking options and locker rooms. With four separate ski areas under the heading “Aspen," it was a bit like figuring out where to park and boot up at Snowbird, Alta, Solitude, and Brighton when staying in SLC. When not staying in Aspen or Snowmass, there are assorted places to park to take advantage of the free bus system. It’s pretty clear that if you fly into Aspen, there is no reason to pay for a rental car.

For Snowmass, it was a powder day so we splurged for early bird parking in the garage right below the gondola base. Pricey at $25 but certainly convenient. We found a small locker room near Guest Services where we set up the MCP passes (RFID). Per usual, we left our boot bags on top of the lockers with no worries. Most of the people who parked in the garage booted up at their car before heading to the elevator. The other parking options at Snowmass include a pay lot at Two Creeks and a free Town Park Lot that locals call the “Rodeo lot.” The free buses run on a schedule pretty regularly, every 15 min or less during peak hours. The advantage of parking at Two Creeks is having a short walk to a lift and being in a less crowded lodge since it’s well away from the Snowmass resort village.

The second day we decided to drive into Aspen early to see what parking options existed. I’d read that it was possible to park on S. Aspen St. near the base of the Shadow Mtn lift (aka Lift 1A). That idea worked out pretty well. We used the Aspen Pay-by-Phone system to pay $8 for the day. There is no lodge at the base of Shadow Mtn so we booted up at the car. The walk is uphill but only a block or two depending on the exact parking spot. No big deal on a warm spring day. The bonus was that we could move the car closer to the town center in the late afternoon without having to pay more. The Orange Zone goes all the way around the town center. If we had taken a bus to the gondola base, we could have left shoes in the small locker room below the deck.

Going to Highlands, we took the small bus from the Buttermilk parking lot. We could easily park very close to the well-marked bus stop. Buses ran every 15 min until mid-morning, 30 min mid-day, and every 15 min again starting at 2:30. Since it was midweek, we didn’t have trouble getting on the next bus. On a busy weekend, parking at the Intercept Lot might be a better idea. There is a small garage ($11 weekday, $22 weekend) at the Highlands base. The garage is free for cars with 4 or more people.

When driving on RT82 from Glenwood Springs or Carbondale or Basalt towards Aspen, the first parking option is just before the airport. The Brush Creek Intercept Lot is located where you turn off RT82 towards Snowmass. There are buses running all day and night from this free lot to all the mountains. I gather there are also free buses that go around to all the condos at Snowmass. A fair number of people ride the bus with their ski boots on.

For a small group, flying into Denver and renting a AWD/4WD car is a reasonable approach for a ski trip to Aspen. Have read that flying into Eagle Vail is another option to consider. Apparently Eagle is more reliable in snowy weather than the Aspen airport. A little cheaper too.

 

[marzNC]

Snowmass is a growing resort. There are over 3000 acres, spread across several summits. It's about the same size as Snowbasin, but feels bigger. Definitely a lot higher. Relatively remote with mostly high speed lifts, which means the place is apparently uncrowded even during holiday periods. I could be happy skiing Snowmass by itself for a week.

Looking up towards the Village Express lift. The base of the Elk gondola is to the left. The brown sign is where to find restrooms and a small locker room. We left our boot bags on top of lockers, as did others.


There is a short hike to reach a long blue called Long Shot. Takes 5-10 min, not really steep. Also the access to the Burnt Mtn Glades. Took about 20 min to get down to the bottom of Long Shot, which ends at the Two Creeks lodge. We stopped every so often to get a sense of the area. The middle section was a relatively narrow trail, with big soft bumps. One family we passed was clearly not used to powder.

Top of Long Shot with new snow


Snowmass blues can be very wide . . . and very empty

 

[marzNC]

For lunch we headed to the top of Big Burn to eat at Up 4 Pizza. The Up 4 Combo is a huge slice of pizza with an equally huge, freshly baked, cookie for $11. By Aspen standards, that's a bargain.

After lunch, we got in line for the Cirque poma. It's relatively long surface lift that is completely above treeline. That was a first for me. We got on line around 2:00 and just made it before closing at 2:30. The bowl has a super wide blue groomer called Rocky Mountain High, so intermediates can head up for the view without worry.

The poma is on the skyline to the left of the trees in the middle. This view is from Green Cabin, a blue groomer from the top of the High Alpine lift that is the way to get over to the Sheer Bliss lift.


Poma line, as viewed from Sheer Bliss chair lift. Sheer Bliss covers 2212 vertical ft in 9 min. The Cirque poma goes up 806 ft in 5 min.


Detachable poma poles. Even with a liftie handing them the pole, there were people who fell off and had to start over.


Bill starting down from near the top of the poma. We were a little too late to head over to Hanging Valley.


Gowdy's Gully got narrower with bigger bumps farther down


Looking back towards the Snowmass Mall and village from the Village Express. There are quite a few condos along this groomer.

 

[badger]

What a great report! Thanks for all the logistical tips too. I have always wanted to go to Snowmass.

 

[marzNC]

Aspen Mountain, or Ajax as the locals call it, feels small compared to Snowmass. Reminds me of Bridger compared to Big Sky. What's unusual is that there are no green trails at all, only blue, black, and double-black. There are 675 acres with long blue groomers and relatively short black/double-black steeps that involve trees and bumps. There four lifts that serve upper mountain terrain only, a double that goes down to base level but has no services, a double on the ridge of Bell Mountain that only runs on weekends and other busy times, and a high speed gondola that covers 3247 vertical feet in 14 min. The trail map is misleading because it includes the town and makes the upper mountain seem relatively small.

Bill skied at Ajax when he was in high school (boarding school nearby). The lifts were not the same back then. He mostly did laps on Bell Mtn. It was too warm for us to spend quality time there this trip. Plus the Bell Mtn chair wasn't running since we were there mid-week. The layout means it takes a little work to repeat some of the more complex trails if not riding the gondola to the summit every time.

Base of Shadow Mtn lift aka Lift 1A to locals, no building, no services, but can park within a block or three for the day for $8 midweek


Signage at all Aspen mountains is pretty good. It was a warm day, in the 40s by mid-morning and 60 at the base in the afternoon.


Bumps near the base of Shadow Mtn, spring skiing with thin cover and too soft by mid-afternoon. We only hit these slopes on the way back to the car when done skiing elsewhere.


Gondola base is right in town

 

[marzNC]

more Ajax pics . . .

Getting to the top of the Gent's Ridge chair, a slow 13 min for 1100 ft vertical. View of the Silver Queen gondola and Ajax Express chair, which also go to the summit. The building is the Sundeck lodge at 11,212 ft. We ate lunch at the mid-mountain lodge called Bonnie's.


Example of a double-black in the Mines Dump area, a collection of bump runs off International that use Star Gulch as the runout to the gondi base. Not particular long or super steep, but challenging for sure. Definitely a trick to finding the best time on such a warm day. We were with a local (EpicSki member) the first time down mid-morning. He met up with us for a quick groomer tour while waiting for off-piste terrain to soften. After we followed him down, he went off with a ski buddy to find more soft bumps while we could slow down and take our time exploring the mountain. Always fun to meet up with a friendly local for a few runs.

Top of Short Snort


Looking back up Short Snort

 

[marzNC]

Our last day in the Aspen area was really warm. Didn't get much below 30 overnight so we knew that by the afternoon, there wouldn't be much good snow to be found. We were pretty much in what I call "tourist mode" the entire day.

For Aspen Highlands, we parked at Buttermilk, which is just off RT82 and slightly closer to Highlands than the Intercept Lot. Could park quite close to the bus stop. The small bus is actually a big van that seats about 20 people, no standing allowed.

Bus stop in front of Buttermilk base. Also a stop for buses to Aspen every 15 min or Snowmass every hour.

Bill's car on right with yellow NM plate, Highlands bus in center


The base of Aspen Highlands is low key. Just a few shops and places to eat and drink. I gather that the current base replaced basic buildings from before the Aspen Ski Company got control of Highlands. There are open cubby holes right in the main lobby entrance. Plus lockers at the same level as the top floor of the small parking garage, with an escalator to the ground floor. We booted up in the locker area but didn't pay for a locker per usual. Many people told us Highlands is where the locals ski most often.

Looking down at Highlands base, Exhibition chair goes to mid-mountain in 9 min, almost 2000 ft vertical


Lobby inside the main entrance. Can either walk thru or walk around outside when coming from the bus stop. Short distance from bus stop to lift base.


The kids we saw at Highlands on a Saturday were all clearly good skiers who probably started skiing when they were barely walking.


We spent the morning looking around the upper mountain, in particular getting a view of Highland Bowl. By lunch time it was obvious that the sun was too strong to expect any of the harder terrain to be worth the effort. Instead we took a free mountain host tour. Had a good time with Paula, who turned out to be a NYC transplant. Both Bill and I grew up in NYC. It was helpful to head to the base with Paula because she took a more interesting route down a black trail instead of the standard green/blue trails down the center of the mountain. Although that meant taking off skis at one point where there wasn't enough snow on a cat track. At least being with her we knew we were close to the end of the really flat section.

Great view from the porch of the ski patrol building at the top of Loge Peak. The sign on the left shows the names of all the peaks in the distance. In the morning I decided to wear the Facesaver to avoid the sun for a few hours even though it was warm.


Classic picture of the Maroon Bells, twin peaks that are "fourteeners" over 14,000 ft. Usually would still be completely white with snow.

 

[marzNC]

In the months before I headed to Aspen, I was reading as much as possible about the area. Became pretty obvious that a unique feature is the Highlands Bowl. Essentially an avy-controlled area that requires a fairly significant hike that ends with a great 360 view and steep but open bowl skiing that make it worth the effort. So getting a preview of the Bowl was of interest. Not sure I want to do the hike in the future, but definitely have a better appreciation for what would be involved.

The first preview from Midway Road at Ajax. The Highland Bowl is in the center, coming off the summit of Highland Peak. The double-black terrain with plenty of trees to the right of the Bowl is accessible from the Temerity lift.


The Highland Bowl hike takes most people 30-45 minutes. Everyone recommends having a way to have skis on your back so that you can use two poles during the hike. The Highland ski patrol sell a single strap for something like $10 and provide instructions on how to set it up. I talked to an instructor who was going to take two sisters, looked like tweens, on the hike. She said some kids get to the top in 20 min, while others take 1.5 hours. For travelers from the flatlands, the fact that the hike starts at 10,700' and goes up almost 800' is what makes it even tougher. A table on the trail map details that the trails down are in the 35-45 degree range, mostly starting at over 11,500'.

From the ski patrol building at the top of Loge Peak, there is a free snow cat from the Bowl Main Gate to the Rock Out Gate. Carries about 20 people sitting down and shaves off 10-20 min of the hike. Runs from 10:30-2:30, weather permitting. What we did was ride the cat out to the Rock Out Gate, take in the view, and ride the cat back. (Similar to riding the Big Sky tram up Lone Peak just to see the view.) The instructor's recommendation was to start the hike around 11:00. It became obvious that one advantage of starting later is that the boot pack is fairly well established by then by the early birds. We got on the cat just after it started running.

Snow cat loading area (cat in front of the trees). Can just see a few people hiking out on the cat track.


Hikers getting ready on the flat area where the cat stops


The start of the hike. Just past Rock Out Gate.


View from the ski patrol building. Peak in center. Start is visible down on the left. Being able to see the place in person makes a big difference in terms of understanding how big the bowl is and how long the hike is.

 

[marzNC]

What a great report! Thanks for all the logistical tips too. I have always wanted to go to Snowmass.

Happy to share what I learned. I've been curious about Snowmass for quite a while. Especially because it's often said that it doesn't get that crowded during holiday periods because getting there takes a bit more effort.

The combination of Snowmass with the other three mountains plus the town of Aspen makes it quite a fun destination, especially for a mixed ability group.

 

[marzNC]

If you are interested in more pics and descriptions of Snowmass and Buttermilk, check out this mid-season TR by @NewEnglandSkier. She got a few very uncrowded powder days.

https://www.theskidiva.com/forums/index.php?threads/aspen-feb-28-mar-3-with-pics.19255/

 

[MissySki]

In the months before I headed to Aspen, I was reading as much as possible about the area. Became pretty obvious that a unique feature is the Highlands Bowl. Essentially an avy-controlled area that requires a fairly significant hike that ends with a great 360 view and steep but open bowl skiing that make it worth the effort. So getting a preview of the Bowl was of interest. Not sure I want to do the hike in the future, but definitely have a better appreciation for what would be involved.

The first preview from Midway Road at Ajax. The Highland Bowl is in the center, coming off the summit of Highland Peak. The double-black terrain with plenty of trees to the right of the Bowl is accessible from the Temerity lift.
View attachment 3963 View attachment 3964 View attachment 3965

The Highland Bowl hike takes most people 30-45 minutes. Everyone recommends having a way to have skis on your back so that you can use two poles during the hike. The Highland ski patrol sell a single strap for something like $10 and provide instructions on how to set it up. I talked to an instructor who was going to take two sisters, looked like tweens, on the hike. She said some kids get to the top in 20 min, while others take 1.5 hours. For travelers from the flatlands, the fact that the hike starts at 10,700' and goes up almost 800' is what makes it even tougher. A table on the trail map details that the trails down are in the 35-45 degree range, mostly starting at over 11,500'.

From the ski patrol building at the top of Loge Peak, there is a free snow cat from the Bowl Main Gate to the Rock Out Gate. Carries about 20 people sitting down and shaves off 10-20 min of the hike. Runs from 10:30-2:30, weather permitting. What we did was ride the cat out to the Rock Out Gate, take in the view, and ride the cat back. (Similar to riding the Big Sky tram up Lone Peak just to see the view.) The instructor's recommendation was to start the hike around 11:00. It became obvious that one advantage of starting later is that the boot pack is fairly well established by then by the early birds. We got on the cat just after it started running.

Snow cat loading area (cat in front of the trees). Can just see a few people hiking out on the cat track.
View attachment 3966

Hikers getting ready on the flat area where the cat stops
View attachment 3967

The start of the hike. Just past Rock Out Gate.
View attachment 3968

View from the ski patrol building. Peak in center. Start is visible down on the left. Being able to see the place in person makes a big difference in terms of understanding how big the bowl is and how long the hike is.
View attachment 3969

Fantastic TR as always @marzNC. Aspen has been my favorite destination west so far, I really really want to go back. It was my first ski trip west when I was there a few years back, and I found everything so large and intimidating. Would love to hike the highland bowl next time, but the short hikes I've done in the west other times makes me nervous about how difficult it would be cardio wise for this flatlander. Mostly my anxiety stems from the fact that I will hold up a whole line of people behind me everytime I have to rest for air (which I know would be often!). haha I think when I go back I'd have to attempt it if the conditions are right though!!

 

[marzNC]

Fantastic TR as always @marzNC. Aspen has been my favorite destination west so far, I really really want to go back. It was my first ski trip west when I was there a few years back, and I found everything so large and intimidating. Would love to hike the highland bowl next time, but the short hikes I've done in the west other times makes me nervous about how difficult it would be cardio wise for this flatlander. Mostly my anxiety stems from the fact that I will hold up a whole line of people behind me everytime I have to rest for air (which I know would be often!). haha I think when I go back I'd have to attempt it if the conditions are right though!!

How long did you stay in the Aspen area? Did you stay in town or at Snowmass? Staying in Carbondale had it's advantages but I could see getting a condo at Snowmass for a small group.

When I first starting reading about Highlands Bowl, I had little intention of doing such a long hike that high up. But then a few years ago I wasn't in good enough shape for the hike at Catherine's at Alta. Having had enough fun at Catherine's to do that hike (5-10 min) more than once in the same morning this season, doing the Bowl once for the experience is not out of the question. Certainly an incentive to do more cardio during the off-season. Would only go on a day with good visibility though. And not too much wind.

Knowing more what to expect helps. In April, I got a book about Alta trails that includes pitch. So I have a direct comparison of what a trail that's over 35 degrees can be like. The lessons at Alta this season helped a lot for having fun on steeper terrain with variable snow. I only started skiing off the High T a few seasons ago, and didn't expect to progress that fast.

A very good source of info about the hike is a recent thread on EpicSki started by an intermediate from Virginia. Includes a few good pics. Can see that it's no problem to stop on the side to let faster hikers go by for most of the hike. The instructor (a young woman) I talked to said that there are three steep sections, with the third one being the longest.

Learned that it's possible to do the hike with the company of a Highlands mountain host on Wednesdays for free. I think they start at 11:00. Probably doesn't make that much difference for the hike when going with friends, but could be helpful for deciding where to drop in. Obviously the idea is to make it to the summit, then take one of the G trails. Those aren't quite so steep. More likely to have good snow because they are north facing. But in good conditions, could be that heading down sooner would be a reasonable choice.

 

[MissySki]

How long did you stay in the Aspen area? Did you stay in town or at Snowmass? Staying in Carbondale had it's advantages but I could see getting a condo at Snowmass for a small group.

I was there for 5 days I think before heading to Copper for a night. We stayed right in town a few blocks walk to the Gondola, it was awesome!! (DH and I won a 3 nights free at a condo from the Boston Ski Expo that year, and then we added a couple of extra nights onto that with a few friends) I absolutely loved the town and how walkable it was. When I go again I'd like to stay in town again if possible, or even at Snowmass. Did not need a car since we could take the free hybrid bus everywhere. We did the same as you and skied all of the mountains except Buttermilk. My favorite was Snowmass. I want to go back to all of the mountains and explore more since it's been a few years which I've progressed a lot in since then so more terrain would be doable now.

When I first starting reading about Highlands Bowl, I had little intention of doing such a long hike that high up. But then a few years ago I wasn't in good enough shape for the hike at Catherine's at Alta. Having had enough fun at Catherine's to do that hike (5-10 min) more than once in the same morning this season, doing the Bowl once for the experience is not out of the question. Certainly an incentive to do more cardio during the off-season. Would only go on a day with good visibility though. And not too much wind..

Yeah I just snowshoed up Sunday River with my skis and boots on my back last weekend.. that told me how much I need to work on my cardio and that wasn't even excusable by elevation!! I'm going to be working on that a lot this off season. The worst part is that I'm always in fantastic shape at the beginning of the season, but I don't keep up with my cardio DURING the ski season and it rapidly declines. I'm running around so much on the weekends to go ski, that I get lazy during the week and don't work out like I should. I'm going to try really hard to make an effort of working out at least a couple of times mid week during the ski season next year.

A very good source of info about the hike is a recent thread on EpicSki started by an intermediate from Virginia. Includes a few good pics. Can see that it's no problem to stop on the side to let faster hikers go by for most of the hike. The instructor (a young woman) I talked to said that there are three steep sections, with the third one being the longest.

Learned that it's possible to do the hike with the company of a Highlands mountain host on Wednesdays for free. I think they start at 11:00. Probably doesn't make that much difference for the hike when going with friends, but could be helpful for deciding where to drop in. Obviously the idea is to make it to the summit, then take one of the G trails. Those aren't quite so steep. More likely to have good snow because they are north facing. But in good conditions, could be that heading down sooner would be a reasonable choice.

I'll have to take a look at that thread, great info!

 

[marzNC]

Yeah I just snowshoed up Sunday River with my skis and boots on my back last weekend.. that told me how much I need to work on my cardio and that wasn't even excusable by elevation!! I'm going to be working on that a lot this off season. The worst part is that I'm always in fantastic shape at the beginning of the season, but I don't keep up with my cardio DURING the ski season and it rapidly declines. I'm running around so much on the weekends to go ski, that I get lazy during the week and don't work out like I should. I'm going to try really hard to make an effort of working out at least a couple of times mid week during the ski season next year.

I know what you mean about keeping up conditioning once ski season is in full swing. Once I started traveling beyond the Mid-Atlantic, I wasn't even doing very well on stretching. And I don't have to worry about getting to an office during the week like you do.

Of course, many more ways to work on cardio when the weather is nice and can do stuff outdoors instead of just in the house or at the gym.

You would certainly have a ball wearing yourself out at Snowmass given all the terrain that you can handle now. We did some seriously long runs that were great fun with soft bumps. The ratio of time spent on snow vs riding a lift is really good. Would like to explore the tree runs over in the Campground area. Haven't had much chance to ski in aspens. Only got a quick view when we rode up the Village Express lift just before we left. By 3:00, we were ready to pack it in.

 

[Jenny]

Sometimes just walking a couple of steps at that altitude feels like cardio.

 

[MI-skier]

Great report. Sounds like it would make a perfect ski diva's west trip.

 

[DanniAB]

Awesome report.
Inspired by your photos, I just finished watching 20 minutes of Highlands Bowl youtube videos - stunning!!!!

 

[Rainbow Jenny]

@marzNC , thank you for such a thorough TR, including all the logistics. I'm going for the first time in 2/16, you've certainly written a very handy guide. Am very interested hiking the Highlands ridge line and purchasing the straps, actually have started riding/climbing quite a bit on my road bike and am planning to hike more so I might huff and puff a little less at 10K feet elevation.

What are the title and name of the author of the Alta trails and pitch book? I would also like to get a copy, thanks. A friend pointed out Baldy main chute to me '13-14 season which I hadn't paid any attention to prior; another friend took me on the hike up it from Snowbird side in February. It wasn't pretty coming down, but I'm so intrigued by it and other more advanced terrain at Alta now.

 

[marzNC]

@marzNC , thank you for such a thorough TR, including all the logistics. I'm going for the first time in 2/16, you've certainly written a very handy guide. Am very interested hiking the Highlands ridge line and purchasing the straps, actually have started riding/climbing quite a bit on my road bike and am planning to hike more so I might huff and puff a little less at 10K feet elevation.

What are the title and name of the author of the Alta trails and pitch book? I would also like to get a copy, thanks. A friend pointed out Baldy main chute to me '13-14 season which I hadn't paid any attention to prior; another friend took me on the hike up it from Snowbird side in February. It wasn't pretty coming down, but I'm so intrigued by it and other more advanced terrain at Alta now.

Hey there! Are you going to Aspen for the EpicSki Gathering? I'll be there with friends for the first few days. Leaving Feb. 7. After seeing the beginning of the Highlands hike in person, there is some possibility I'll go. Have a week of skiing before Aspen so will be somewhat adjusted to higher altitude. At least it's incentive to do more cardio stuff this fall.

The book is The Powder Hounds Guide to Skiing Alta by Grad Asmus, 1992. It's a little dated but still useful. I was probably the most interested in learning that Stone Crusher is 40 degrees after skiing it for the first time in 2014. Last season I felt a lot more comfortable on Stone Crusher after 4 lessons at Alta (2 mid-season, 2 late season). Makes the pitches in Highlands Bowl seem possible.

The Baldy Chutes are 41-42 degrees. I'm not likely to hike for that experience, even from the Snowbird side.