Inbounds Backcountry Style Extreme Terrain at Park City Mountain Resort in Utah

Mark Saurer, the assistant safety supervisor at Park City Mountain Resort (PCMR), Utah, know the backcountry-style inbounds extreme terrain well because he’s part of the crew that does avalanche control before anyone is allowed on the steep terrain.

He relates: "Here at PCMR, we have three main areas that are rated entirely "double-black diamond" expert terrain. These areas are The East Face of Jupiter Peak, Pinecone Ridge, and all the terrain served by the Jupiter Chair. There is no regular grooming up here aside from access and egress routes and certainly no "easy way down."

Pinecone Ridge

Pinecone Ridge is reached only by hiking from Scott's Pass west of Scott's Bowl off the Jupiter Chair. The 600 vertical foot staircase-like boot pack takes guests to the top of the ridge and access to 600+ acres of bowls, meadows, and tree lines. This area sees very light traffic and is about as close as you can come to "in-bounds backcountry touring." While the area is patrolled and is only opened after extensive avalanche control work, signs at the base of the hike warn guests "not to travel alone and that rescue could be delayed." Due to the extent of the avalanche control work involved in opening Pinecone, the area is often not open until a couple days after a storm. This allows guest to enjoy a whole new powder stash long after other areas are tracked out.

Jupiter Bowl

From the top of the Jupiter Chair guests can access Main Bowl right under the chair (often mistakenly referred to as "Jupiter Bowl"), traverse out to the wide-open West Face, or attempt many super-steep tree chutes such as Portuguese Gap, Silver Cliffs, JFT, and Six Bells. A short hike west of the chair takes guests to the top of half-mile wide Scott's Bowl.

The East Face of Jupiter Peak (lovingly called "The Peak" by locals and patrollers) tops out at 9,998 feet and is only accessible by hiking from either the top of Jupiter or McConkey's chairs. A wide quartzite rock band cuts across the East Face creating some of PCMR's steepest and narrowest chutes such as 50-51 (named for it's slope in degrees), Twilight, and Machete. In addition to these chutes, The Peak also holds great tree lines such as P-Zone and Q-zone as well as the locals' favorite, Puma Bowl. As this area faces east, we often enjoy deep powder skiing in the cold, clear morning sun.

Visit Park City Mountain Resort to learn more about the resort and the backcountry-style inbounds extreme terrain.