Snowmass Expert Skiing

Snowmass is touted as being a family-friendly resort with tons of intermediate terrain, but don’t forget that there is also world-class expert skiing at Snowmass. Expert skiers and riders looking to tee-up cliffs and explore extreme terrain at Snowmass have several in-bounds areas to choose from.

The two hike-to zones in Snowmass are the Cirque (accessed from the Cirque Poma at the top of the Sheer Bliss chair) and Hanging Valley (which is just a short traverse from the top of the High Alpine chairlift). Both of these zones were formerly venues of an annual extreme skiing competition at Snowmass. The Cirque Headwall is a steep, rock-littered shot that funnels into a fun gully. You’re going to see tons of cliffs with good take-offs and landings throughout the area. And, Hanging Valley has a lot of everything—steeps, trees, cliffs, and wide-open powder fields. If you’re on the hunt for fresh snow and challenging terrain, devote some time to exploring both zones, you won’t be disappointed. 
If you like moguls don’t miss Sam’s Knob and all the bumped out tree runs around Big Burn chairlift, especially Garret Gulch, Powerline and Sneaky’s Glades.

The three Snowmass terrain parks—a 22-foot SuperPipe (the same size as the halfpipe in X Games), and a beginner half pipe for aspiring pro-park skiers and riders—rivals that which you’ll find at nearby Buttermilk, home of the Winter X Games since 2002. The jumps are clean and lofty, the pipe is meticulously groomed, and the beginner features are prime spots to practice tricks in a safe progressive manner before venturing to the bigger jumps and rails.

To learn more about Snowmass expert skiing call, or chat with, one of Ski.com’s knowledgeable Mountain Vacation Specialists.