Hoppy Easter Chutes Report

 If you have been skiing The Chutes regularly you already know this... if you have been trying to work the nerve up to try them: THIS IS YOUR YEAR. In my 40 years of skiing Rose I have never seen the coverage as complete as it is right now. Virtually every normally rocky ridge is skiable and the steeps have been covered enough that they are infinitely easier to get down. The cold winter sans thaw has kept all The Chutes in good shape. Where normally there are mandatory side slips or "just point'em" chokes, those trouble spots are now covered to the point where most passages are much more open and skiable for the average skier or boarder. 

From El Cap to Miller's things are looking good. Normally the steeps in Charge are pretty reliably rocky and thats just not the case, even El Cap has blown in enough that one can ski right off the top. My personal favorite is 209'er which gets passed up by most folks as its entrance is hidden a ways down skier's left of Chaos although Chaos is a great ski too. With this warm weather you may have to watch for the melt-freeze cycle to leave some slopes icy in the morning such as left side of Jackpot and Cardiac Ridge and The Nose. Be cautions on your first run down any chute... as many folks have found out the hard way... its a long ways down. Try hard not to test the friction coefficient of nylon and snow.

If you're ready and willing you will seldom find them in better shape as a whole. Good luck and ski according to your ability... one more note: your Beer Goggles and The Chutes do not mix well!

Sven









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