Member of the Month

BallClapper
October, 2024

Online

Welcome to the Newschoolers forums! You may read the forums as a guest, however you must be a registered member to post. Register to become a member today!

Exploring Off-Trail

profile picture
Mr.Lumpyjumbles
Posts: 157 - Karma: 1,412
The last couple of winters I have been getting into exploring off-trail at ski resorts and finding cool lines and powder stashes. I typically just cut into small gaps in trees where there are sometimes tracks and make my way down as well as I can. I'm always worried when I do this, though, because I feel like I'm going to run into a spot where it's impossible to get down because of cliffs or trees getting too thick. It's nearly impossible to get anyone to tell you about specific lines, which I totally get because the few tracks are part of what makes this kind of skiing appealing, but I don't know how else to find out about them without just blindly entering the woods in random places.
(I also mostly go alone which is probably not the best idea)

How do other people go about exploring the mountain outside of the marked trails?
Dec 4 2019 9:46PM
7 0
profile picture
ogreene
Posts: 42 - Karma: 116
1. sketchy that you're going alone
2. get caught and your pass is probably pulled which sucks
3. try and find inbound terrain that no one knows of, more of a challenge and safer
4. ski park
Dec 4 2019 9:53PM
1 18
profile picture
TRVP_ANGEL
Posts: 12498 - Karma: 116,021
I just follow other peoples tracks, until one day i accidently follow julian carr's tracks
Dec 4 2019 9:53PM
22 0
profile picture
theabortionator
Posts: 51512 - Karma: 160,858
Sometimes the trees get too thick or you hit creek beds or get cliffed out. Just be careful when checking out new places. Always a good idea to ride with somebody, especially if you're way off the run and whenever there's deep snow.

Sometimes, you get stuck, sometimes you find the ultimate stash, it's def a fun hunt though.
Dec 4 2019 9:53PM
12 0
profile picture
WoFIowz
Posts: 9788 - Karma: 72,407
theabortionatorSometimes the trees get too thick or you hit creek beds or get cliffed out. Just be careful when checking out new places. Always a good idea to ride with somebody, especially if you're way off the run and whenever there's deep snow.

Sometimes, you get stuck, sometimes you find the ultimate stash, it's def a fun hunt though.


Perfectly said. Most resorts I've been to, anything within the outer perimeter of the bounds is fair game even if it's an unmarked glade. Just be careful as he said because you might get stuck. Always smart to have a buddy
Dec 4 2019 10:01PM
7 0
profile picture
Saucerboyshane
Posts: 226 - Karma: 590
depending on resort, google earth can help spot terrain (with spring/summer imaging) for example you can see some Mt.Mansfield and Smuggs spots on there.

another thing i just realized is when i’m lapping park and take many rides up the lift so many people tell me things when we talk. Great way to get locals to give away the best spot!
Dec 5 2019 9:23AM
5 0
profile picture
J_Steez
Posts: 1159 - Karma: 4,165
ogreene1. sketchy that you're going alone
2. get caught and your pass is probably pulled which sucks
3. try and find inbound terrain that no one knows of, more of a challenge and safer
4. ski park


big pussy energy
Dec 5 2019 9:40AM
10 1
profile picture
wass41
Posts: 65 - Karma: 177
When I look for secret spots, I’ll study a topo map of the area and keep in mind cliff areas and other obstacles I don’t wanna get caught up in. If you look up cal topo online it’s got good maps with avy shading and all kinds of useful settings for skiing. Other than that I just ask around or follow other tracks, but I’m always weary if it’s just a single set of tracks, sometimes someone just went out to take a shit, or other times it’s some mad man doing a crazy line. Are you skiing in the east or west?

**This post was edited on Dec 5th 2019 at 9:45:21am
Dec 5 2019 9:43AM
4 0
profile picture
clorox
Posts: 1728 - Karma: 4,863
Saucerboyshanedepending on resort, google earth can help spot terrain (with spring/summer imaging) for example you can see some Mt.Mansfield and Smuggs spots on there.

another thing i just realized is when i’m lapping park and take many rides up the lift so many people tell me things when we talk. Great way to get locals to give away the best spot!

There's some steep lines that used to be skiable glades at my home mountain, but have gotten overgrown since there isn't a high speed lift near where the trail starts anymore, people forgot about it. Been eyeing lines on google earth and keep forgetting to tag trees in the summer.

I ride the lift with ski patrollers when possible and usually have some good input on what isn't getting skied out.
Dec 5 2019 10:00AM
5 0
profile picture
SuckleBrick
Posts: 452 - Karma: 1,097
best way to go is to go with a friend and say full send
Dec 5 2019 10:07AM
1 0
profile picture
elm.
Posts: 1480 - Karma: 13,398
Bring avy stuff if it snowed a lot recently. In some areas of resort avy danger can be just as high as bc
Dec 5 2019 6:23PM
2 0
profile picture
iced
Posts: 3070 - Karma: 17,963
ogreene1. sketchy that you're going alone
2. get caught and your pass is probably pulled which sucks
3. try and find inbound terrain that no one knows of, more of a challenge and safer
4. ski park


why do you usually respond in lists do you need a puffer or something
Dec 5 2019 10:23PM
3 2
profile picture
hi_vis360
Posts: 4919 - Karma: 49,667
you ski at the loaf right? Still not tons of accessible trees right now, there are some lines between kings/hayburner/skidder but honestly those are usually kinda meh. There are couple cliff bands in brackett you could get stuck on top of (if you can't drop like a 4 foot cliff) but other than that pretty much everything is good to go. I'd def have someone with you if you're planning on venturing deep into brackett. Broccoli gardens is the dank low-angle glades area.
Dec 6 2019 3:13PM
2 0
profile picture
xxACIDTRIPxx
Posts: 5980 - Karma: 8,175
Just get a mate first of all. Sometimes I just chat with people on the lift and ask what they’re doing, sometimes they know spots.

if I’m hunting I’ll just go to the quieter places that are on the borders of the resort and take weird lines through the fall line. If there’s sketchy shit well... you kinda just have to shimmy yourself back up/across. Cause no ones gonna save your ass.

finding pow stashes is my favourite thing to do, it’s like crack
Dec 6 2019 4:52PM
2 0
profile picture
snowmosexual
Posts: 1933 - Karma: 10,015
HYP3R_REAL1TYI like crack

Crack is wack, especially in the backcountry
Dec 6 2019 6:21PM
0 0
profile picture
Mr.Lumpyjumbles
Posts: 157 - Karma: 1,412
Yeah, it sounds like the best way to do it is to just send it with a friend. I have some friends that are going to ski more this winter and I'll try to get them good enough to hit the woods. I guess as long as I'm somewhat careful I can always bushwhack or hike back up if things get real bad.
I already know of a couple places that I saw last year that looked skiable, now I just need some snow! (and friends who can shred)
Dec 6 2019 8:00PM
1 0
All times are Eastern (-4)