A mellow, low-angle runoff the backside of Pioneer Ridge

Statistics

0 - 1

hrs

0

m

163

m

30

max°

Difficulty

FATMAP difficulty grade

Difficult

Description

The Pioneer Green Slope is a great run during times of high avalanche danger.

It's a mellow run with a long, open, sustained slope of less than 30 degrees towards the Heber Valley.

You'll want to bring skins for this mission, because you'll need to come back up the ridge after.

This area is outside of the resort boundary, and no avalanche work is performed here.

Make sure to carry a beacon, probe, shovel, know how to use them, and have a partner your trust.

Make sure to check the avalanche conditions before thinking about dropping in on this line.

It is generally very safe but you do see wind loading from time to time.

After unloading off the Crest Chair, head over to the backcountry gate on your right.

Take off your skis here.

It is long enough to merit putting your skis on your backpack.

This is also a good place to check your beacon and discus your plans with your group.

After heading out the gate, boot pack up the ridge towards the peak.

If the boot pack is set, this hike will take 15-20 minutes.

If there is no boot pack and you have to break trail, it can take much much longer.

Follow the ridge line until you reach the peak known as the Pioneer Ridge Peak.

After you've reached the landing at the Pioneer Ridge Peak, put on your skis and continue on the ridge by skiing down the low angle slope.

After about 100 feet, you will come to another saddle, where the ridge becomes a bit steeper and rockier.

This is around the drop in areas for the Pioneer Green Slope.

You might want to side step up another 50 feet up the ridge to get a better starting point.

From here, you ski down to your left, on the south/south-west facing slope.

The run is shallow angle and goes for almost 500 feet.

Your only real limitation is how far back up you want to hike.

After you've skied down to your heart's content, pull off to the side and put your skins on.

Usually people skin right back up the route that's skied - straight up to the peak.

Once you're back on the peak, you can ski the gnarlier V Tree chute, or go ski mellower slopes off the Pioneer Ridge peak to your right.