7 replies to this topic

[nathanvg]

I see that the cirque lift a snowmass is listed as "secondary." What does this mean? I'm thinking of going to snowmass next week and would be a bit bummed if I couldn't ski the cirque headwall. Any comments would be very much appreciated. Also, since I haven't been to snowmass in 10 years, any tips on finding the steepest runs would be great.

[skierdude9450]

I think that it has that status because it is the first to be closed for wind. But on any normal day it will operate. As far as steep runs, Headwall's definitely one of them. Also go for Possible and that area off of the High Alpine Lift.

[k2skier]

If it's steeps your looking for, forget Snowmass and head to Aspen Highlands.

[egieszl]

The Cirque poma is considered secondary because the operation depends heavily on the snow conditions in the above treeline area. Most years the Cirque poma will not operate for the entire regular season (December - April) so it is considered a secondary lift.

When it was originally added to Snowmass, the management predicted it would operate for 3 - 6 weeks of the year. However, Snowmass has had generally good snow for nearly every season since its installation and it usually opens in mid-to-late January and operates through the end of the season. This year the poma opened in December. I should note that Snowmass generally doesn't open the Cirque lift when it is snowing.

There are plenty of steep runs at Snowmass. Burnside Cliffs will leave you with few choices other than a 10 - 50 foot cliff jump. Gowdy's off Sheer Bliss is generally considered one of the steepest runs. Also, there are some steep portions in the Hanging Valley Wall.

Neighboring, Aspen Highlands is a very steep mountain as well.

[coskibum]

it was running and had a ton of snow about a week ago when i was up there.

[skiersage]

I wouldn't worry about the cirque poma being open. I have been to Snowmass in April for the past 5 years and the cirque has has been open every time. With good snow too. On top of that, snowmass is having a record snow year this season.

As far as where the good skiing is, all of the best off piste runs are located at the top of the mountain. These include the Cirque Bowl area and the Hanging Valley wall. The skiing up there is great especially on a powder day. The only thing is that there is no good way to do laps on these areas. Skiing the cirque requires riding up coney glade to big burn to the cirque poma which takes a while. The eventual replacement of sheer bliss will fix this problem though. Skiing hanging valley requires riding up alpine springs to high alpine and then a short hike. On the flip side of this, the long lap times help keep the condition of the snow better for longer.

[liftmech]

Possible and the chutes around it are pretty good steeps; last time I was there there was a mandatory air (5-8 feet, not big but fun) to get into the chute itself. The whole hanging valley area has a lot a fun stuff in it.

[nathanvg]

Thanks for the tips guys. The Cirque lift was running when I was there last week and there are some great runs up there. Snowmass has some serious vertical and a lot of terrain. It had been nearly 15 years since I last went to Snowmass and it was better than I remember. I don’t think Snowmass gets enough credit and I highly recommend skiing it.