Variations

On top of the basic trails and canyons mentioned above, there are many more ways to ski this terrain, like:

• The trees between the Glade Trail and Sand Canyon, but beware of tree wells!
• A few shortcuts here and there, such as the one connecting the Alpine and Glade trails.

There are also a few other small canyons within the ski area itself (inbounds), such as:

• The Bone Zone.  Relatively well known place at the eastern edge of the terrain served by the Stormin’ Norman lift.
• Corkscrew Canyon, which starts at the bottom of Stormin’ Norman and continues almost to the bottom of the Jeff Flood lift.

Also, there are some regular trails that seem to be under the radar and are rarely skied, such as:

• The Wy’east trail from Molly’s ridge dropping toward the bottom of Pucci.
• The unnamed but beautiful trail that starts from the same spot as the Wy’east trail but then drops southward almost parallel to Molly’s chairlift but west of it.

Out-of-bounds Policy

Timberline’s policy is that they don’t encourage people to go out of bounds, but if you do decide to go there anyway, they just want you to know that you are on your own, taking full responsibility for yourself, that rescue might not be possible, and that you or your heirs will be responsible for the cost of any search and rescue operation.

If you do go out of bounds, Timberline asks that you leave the area though one of the established gates, and that you read the sign posted at the gate.

Make your side-country excursion legal by registering and picking up a wilderness permit, and make it safe by observing all the safety issues mentioned above.

A Word of Encouragement

With all the emphasis on the safety issues,  many people might be intimidated or discouraged.  So I would like to add a word of encouragement.

These adventures can be both fun and safe.  There is really nothing too difficult, with the possible exception of the entry into Zig Zag Canyon, which you can easily avoid and ski around if you find it too challenging.

A lot depends on the snow conditions.  There are days when the snow is heavy, or wet, or too icy, or too windblown, when I won’t venture into the ungroomed at all.  On such days, let’s give thanks for grooming machines and the people who spend most of the night making the slopes skiable for us.

But, when the snow is good, it is very good!  There are days when the ungroomed snow is easier to ski than the groomed.  It depends on the time of day too.  The magic time is usually between 10 am and 12 (noon), when the snow softens up just enough but not too much.

I would encourage any good intermediate skier, anyone who can make a parallel turn, to not be intimidated by any of the safety warnings.  Yes, observe the warnings, but don’t be intimidated by them.  Don’t let that stop you from having a wonderful day on the slopes exploring the side-country.  Remember that in many ways skiing the quiet side-country is a lot safer than skiing the crowded groomed slopes where speeding skiers and riders often get perilously close to you and occasionally even collide with you.

Join Us!

One of the safety points is to go on your first tour with someone who knows the terrain.  In that spirit, for the sake of safety, I am offering myself as a guide. Please feel free to join me any and every Saturday in May at 9 am at the Timberline Wy’East Day Lodge. It’s best to meet me while I am filling out the paperwork in the climber’s room at the entrance to the day lodge, around 8:45 am, or inside the day lodge during the next 15 minutes.  I will need your name on the form.

There is no charge for the guided tour. This is all just for fun. There is also no guarantee of anything.  Where we’ll go and what we’ll do depends entirely on the snow conditions.  But nobody will be left behind.

Have all your equipment ready, and let’s plan on starting to ski by about 9 am at the rear exit, next to the ski check.  Even better, please let me know your plans to join me by emailing me.

See you up there.  Let the adventure begin!

Last modified: May 6, 2014