1. Delirium Dive, Sunshine Village, Banff, Canada The Ride: The topography of this off-piste free-ride zone (it starts with a horizontal rock band that funnels into a tight channel) paired with its ludicrous pitch (much of it around 50 degrees) makes it extremely avalanche-prone. So much so, in fact, that only skiers outfitted with a radio transponder (which, of course, helps rescuers find you in an avalanche) are allowed through a special gate that accesses it. Insider Trivia: Those hell-bent on conquering the Dive can sign up for Sunshine Village’s “Delirium Sunday” ski-school program.
2.
Corbet’s Couloir, Jackson Hole, WY The Ride: The vast majority of skiers who approach this epic chute never muster the courage to go down. One look over the lip of its legendary opening precipice is all you’ll need to understand why: it’s nothing short of a cliff face. You’ll drop some 20 feet before your skis can even hope to connect with snow; edging over requires both a figurative and a literal leap of faith. The good news is, once that’s over, the rest of the run—with its average pitch of 40 degrees—will seem like cake. Insider Trivia: The trail is named for the late James Barry Corbet—founder of the Jackson Hole Mountain Guides—who, upon first spying the uncharted chute in 1960, reportedly said, “Someday, someone will ski that.”
3.
La Grave, France
The Ride: Straddling the massive La Meije glacier, which tops out at more than 13,000 feet, La Grave is the ultimate out-of-bounds destination for extreme skiers. There are no trails here—just 7,000 vertical feet of unmarked, unpatrolled terrain, punctuated by sheer vertical cliffs, crevasses hundreds of feet deep, and avalanche-ready bowls. To even hope to get down safely, you’ll need to hire a mountain guide, who’ll make sure you’re equipped with rappelling gear, ice crampons, and a radio beacon. A living will’s not a bad idea, either. Insider Trivia: Though La Grave has indeed claimed lives, its name doesn’t actually translate to “The Grave.” Rather, it means something closer to “The Serious Stuff” or “The Real Deal.”
4.
Black Hole, Smugglers’ Notch, VT
The Ride: Recommended only for skiers with a genuine taste for tree slalom, this thickly gladed run (the only triple-black-diamond trail in the eastern U.S.) requires super-fast hucking among pine trunks, branches, and stumps—at a 53-degree pitch. Insider Trivia: Seasoned glade skiers know that the best trick for swooping between (rather than into) heavy trees is to keep your eye trained on the white spaces between them.
5.
La Chavanette, Avoriaz, France
The Ride: Also known as La Mur Suisse—“The Swiss Wall”—this broad, near-vertical run looks deceptively user-friendly from the bottom. The top, though, is another story—especially if it hasn’t snowed in a week. Here, the outrageously steep pitch (between 50 and 55 degrees) and wind-blasted exposure can quickly turn the terrain to slick ice; a fall here means you may tumble for the next 1,000 feet (unless you’re stopped by a car-size mogul).（大如车的蘑菇？ 怕怕啊！） Insider Trivia: Skiing La Chavanette actually lets you border-hop (or border-plummet). The run is accessed from Avioraz, in France—but you’ll end up near Les Crosets, in Switzerland.
6
S+S Couloir, Jackson Hole, WY
The Ride: Hard as it is to believe, this outrageous couloir—it’s not actually a trail—makes its neighbor, Corbet’s, look like a walk in the park (okay, a very steep park, but still). The run’s opening 30-foot drop into a rocky chasm dwarfs Corbet’s and is such a serious safety risk that it’s hardly ever open. Even when it is, you’ll need permission from Jackson Hole’s ski patrol to go down—and you won’t want to rope-duck this one. Being in good with the patrollers is important, especially when you may need rescuing. Insider Trivia: The trail was named for Charlie Sands and John Sims, the first two ski patrollers to make the run successfully.
7.
Rambo, Crested Butte, CO The Ride: Like its movie-character namesake, Crested Butte’s steepest trail takes no prisoners. Once you commit to barreling down its 55-degree pitch, there’s no going back (unless, like many skiers, you make the hike of shame up the slope to retrieve lost gear). The only saving grace of this trail is its brevity—mercifully, it’s just 300 meters long. Insider Trivia: If stepping into the abyss is your idea of a good time, Crested Butte delivers. The ski area’s entire North Face section—plus the adjoining Teocalli Bowl—is carpeted with wall-like drops and the steep freaks who love them.
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发表于 2011-11-15 10:15:31
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发表于 2011-11-15 10:25:41
