Hike and Ride: Skiers increasingly look for film-quality steeps

In Telluride, life increasingly resembles the movies.

On a recent bluebird day, pro skier Herb Manning paused while hiking up the windswept ridge of Black Iron Bowl, Telluride�s new elevator shaft-steep hike-to terrain.

�You see that rock drop there,� he said, pointing to a 30-foot rock band cascading into a couloir. �In 2001, this was all backcountry. I skied off that rock for a Warren Miller movie. Now it�s in-bounds. That�s pretty amazing.�

But moving ski-movie quality runs in-bounds is increasingly the norm. The vast majority of ski runs added in Colorado in the past four years are rated black or double black. Many are hike-to chutes and bowls that emulate backcountry stashes on the big screen.

Telluride not only dropped the ropes into Black Iron Bowl this year, it added the high, remote north face of 13,320-foot Palmyra Peak, where skiers willing to climb 1,500 feet up an alpine ridge can drop 1,700 vertical feet of what Telluride Chief Executive Dave Riley calls �serious bigmountain terrain.�

�It�s a growing trend in the industry, but it�s not for the short of breath or faint of heart,� he said.

Two things are driving the trend. Movie-ready steeps are the ski equivalent of the $200,000 toy robots in a Neiman Marcus catalog, creating buzz even if few customers actually go for them. Second, they are essential for drawing young, hard-core skiers who are vital to resorts and want their vacations to feel like a ski film.

Manning stepped into his bindings on the ridge above Black Iron Bowl and peered into a narrow couloir plunging below his ski tips.

�The industry is changing,� he said. �For years, resorts have been chasing baby boomers. Terrain got harder with them in the 1960s and 1970s, and it�s been getting easier and easier ever since.�

Blue and green runs proliferated in the past 10 years as most boomers� knees grew more tender.

�But now, there�s a realization the boomers won�t ski much longer. We have to cash in on their kids. And this is what gets them excited,� he said.

Manning, 31, pushed off into the narrow chute and flew down in elegant arcs to a snowy basin below.

The same scene is playing out across the West, said Michael Berry, president of the National Ski Area Association in Lakewood.

�There are still a few baby boomers that ski that stuff,� he said. �But taking care of that 30-something trendsetter group is very important.�

Young skiers have been bolstered by lighter, stiffer backcountry-style boots with Vibram soles made for hiking and powder skis as wide as paperbacks that can ride out the toughest snow.

�Twenty years ago, when people were skiing on straight, 210-centimeter skis, one guy in a thousand could ski terrain like (Black Iron Bowl),� Berry said. �Now, even I can. With more people interested in exploring backcountry, the trend has been to throw open the gates.�

Once backcountry hike-to terrain is in-bounds, ski patrollers use explosives to control avalanches, so skiers can get the thrill of an out-of-bounds experience without the danger.

The industrywide turn toward lift-served hiking, or what some have dubbed �slack country� terrain, has left a skid mark of black diamonds across the Rockies.

In 2005, Monarch added the steep, definitely not familyfriendly hike-to chutes of Mirkwood Basin. In 2006, Keystone, Breckenridge and Beaver Creek added more than 600 acres without a single blue or green run. In 2007, Arapahoe Basin opened Montezuma Bowl � a 400-acre quiver of expert runs with two token blues down the middle and several hike-to double black chutes.

Expert terrain has become vital for marketing, Berry said, even for skiers who would never dream of dropping a double black.

�Whether you actually experience it, or just aspire to it, it�s to have the option,� he said.

It comes at a cost. Black Iron Bowl and Palmyra Peak are prone to avalanches.

To open the two areas, the ski resort bought an air-powered rocket launcher, called an avalauncher, to lob charges onto the steep slopes, and worked out a deal with a local heli-ski company to drop explosives from the air, said Jeff

Proteau, vice president of mountain operations.

�It�s a constant challenge,� he said. �But it�s also created a lot of excitement.�

Along with being catnip for skiers looking for something different and more challenging, Proteau said the new terrain helps him retain employees.

�They are here because they love to ski, and stay because they want to be a part of a mountain that�s doing things like this.�

On the ridge to Black Iron Bowl on a recent weekday, the draw of the advanced terrain was clear. Rob Braun, 28, was there with buddies from Chicago. Despite paying $85 for lift tickets, they were trudging up the ridge.

�This is where the best skiing is,� he said, trying to catch his breath. Despite a week without new snow, the chutes of Black Iron were still soft and slightly powdery.

�Plus, it�s a story,� he said with a wide grin. �Look around, the view is awesome!�

To the east, the jagged summits of the San Sophia Mountains stood like a white wall. To the west, a clutch of fourteeners cast mile-long shadows. Below, beginning skiers skidded through a network of greens and blues.

�Get a picture of me, bro,� Braun said, handing his camera to a friend. �This�ll be my new wallpaper at work.�

CONTACT THE WRITER: 636-0223 or dave.philipps@gazette.com

TELLURIDE�S NEW STEEPS

Black Iron Bowl

Acres: 353

Named runs: 8

Vertical drop: 1,100 feet

Palmyra Peak

Acres: 200

Named runs: 5

Vertical drop: 1,700 feet