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A bucket-list line if there ever was one: Corbet's Couloir.
A bucket-list line if there ever was one: Corbet's Couloir. (Photo: Courtesy of JHMR)

11 Classic Lines You Can Actually Ski

From the Super C to Corbet's Couloir, these are as good as it gets

Published: 
A bucket list line if there ever was one鈥擟orbet鈥檚 Couloir
(Photo: Courtesy of JHMR)

New perk: Easily find new routes and hidden gems, upcoming running events, and more near you. Your weekly Local Running Newsletter has everything you need to lace up! .

So you call yourself a skier or snowboarder, eh? Then add these classic lines to your bucket list. From legendary inbounds steeps (see: Corbet鈥檚 Couloir) to iconic backcountry peaks (here鈥檚 looking at you, Mount Superior) to European benchmarks (like the Vall茅e Blanche), these must-ride lines around the world are tough but totally doable.

Pyramid Peak, Valdez, Alaska
Book a trip with Valdez Heli-Ski Guides, and if conditions align perfectly, there鈥檚 a chance you can ski off 3,875-foot Pyramid Peak, a behemoth with ski-movie-worthy spines located deep in Alaska鈥檚 Chugach Mountains. It鈥檚 a proving ground for many a pro skier and rider鈥攕nowboarder Travis Rice has called Pyramid 鈥渁 classic Valdez face.鈥

Super C Couloir, Portillo, Chile
From the top of the Roca Jack five-person Poma lift at Portillo, a plush ski resort in the Chilean Andes, you鈥檒l bootpack straight uphill for several hours to the saddle of Cerro Ojos de Agua, where you鈥檒l score killer views of Aconcagua, the highest point in the Western Hemisphere. The payoff is a nearly 5,000-vertical-foot descent through a gorgeous narrow chute. 鈥淭he Super C is one of the coolest lines I鈥檝e skied anywhere,鈥 says pro skier Ingrid Backstrom. Sign up for Chris Davenport鈥檚 Ski with the Superstars camp or Kim Reichhelm鈥檚 国产吃瓜黑料s, both held in August, for a chance to be guided into the Super C.

Mount Superior, Little Cottonwood Canyon, Utah
Mount Superior may be one of the most popular backcountry peaks in Utah鈥檚 Wasatch Range, and it鈥檚 busy for a reason. This iconic mountain offers reliably good snow and a steep, sustained pitch. Start early in the morning and follow the skin track from Little Cottonwood Canyon to Superior鈥檚 11,040-foot summit. The South Face is the classic way down, giving you almost 3,000 vertical feet of powder back to the main road. New to the backcountry? Hire a guide鈥攍ike 鈥攐r hop a lift from , a heli-ski operation based out of Snowbird.

Vall茅e Blanche, Aiguille du Midi, Chamonix, France
You could ride the Aiguille du Midi cable car just for the views鈥攆rom the 12,604-foot summit, you鈥檒l be treated to up-front panoramas of Mont Blanc and the surrounding French, Italian, and Swiss Alps. But you might as well ski down from the top while you鈥檙e there. From the peak, the bravest of Chamonix鈥檚 steep-skiers head into the renowned North Face. For a tamer and still magical way down, hire a guide (like those at ) to ski the glaciated Vall茅e Blanche, a 12-mile roller coaster of a run that includes a stop for hot lunch at a midway hut and a train ride back into downtown Chamonix.

Tuckerman Ravine, Mount Washington, New Hampshire
Hiking and skiing Tuckerman Ravine is a must-do pilgrimage for East Coast shredders. Throngs of people make the trek come springtime, when corn snow, sunshine, and keg parties on Lunch Rocks make for a welcoming vibe. The skin in is just under three miles on the Tuckerman Ravine Trail to reach this wide-open bowl, a glaciated cirque with ample chutes off the southeast face of 6,288-foot Mount Washington, the highest peak in the northeastern United States.

Highland Bowl, Aspen Highlands, Colorado
For high-quality inbounds terrain in North America, you can鈥檛 beat the steep, quad-crushing lines in Aspen鈥檚 famed Highland Bowl. You鈥檒l ride a couple chairlifts at Aspen Highlands before embarking on a 45-minute bootpack to the bowl鈥檚 pinnacle, which offers Instagram-worthy views of the Maroon Bells. Take a deep breath: you鈥檙e at 12,392 feet up here. Hit the north-facing G-Zones for untracked powder on your way down.

Terminal Cancer, Ruby Mountains, Nevada
Drive Interstate 80 across Nevada and you can鈥檛 help but notice the Ruby Mountains, a spiky 80-mile-long range that shoots straight up from the desert sagebrush. Terminal Cancer is the range鈥檚 most legendary couloir鈥攊t drops some 2,000 vertical feet and doesn鈥檛 stretch wider than a ski-length across. You鈥檒l exit I-80 in the town of Elko and approach the chute via skin track or snowmobile before setting uphill on an elevator-shaft bootpack. 鈥淧art of the allure is that you鈥檙e in the middle of nowhere, and here鈥檚 this perfect, straight up-and-down couloir,鈥 says pro skier Elyse Saugstad. 鈥淚t feels off the beaten path even though it鈥檚 right under your nose.鈥

Mont Fort, Verbier, Switzerland
There鈥檚 an array of routes down from the Mont Fort summit at Verbier, including more intermediate-friendly piste. But the truly challenging terrain lies off the peak鈥檚 backside, a crevasse-filled backcountry zone that isn鈥檛 controlled for avalanches and is best ridden with a guide. (We like Jack and Susanna, the Switzerland-based American guides and founders of .) Ride the Mont Font tram to the peak鈥檚 11,000-foot summit, where you鈥檒l climb a rickety staircase before clicking into your skis for an unforgettable descent down cliff-scattered steeps and across frozen lakes.

Big Couloir, Big Sky, Montana
There鈥檚 essentially no easy way down from the top of Big Sky鈥檚 11,166-foot Lone Peak, accessed via cozy 15-person tram. One of the peak鈥檚 most classic lines is the Big Couloir, a 50-degree shaft that drops more than 1,000 vertical feet directly under the tramline. To ski it, you鈥檒l need a partner and avalanche safety gear (beacon, shovel, and probe). You also have to sign in at the ski patrol shack at the top of the peak (you鈥檒l get a time slot for when it鈥檚 your turn to go).

Corbet鈥檚 Couloir, Jackson Hole, Wyoming
No inbounds line in America is more fabled than Corbet鈥檚 Couloir. Getting into the chute is the tricky part: the entrance requires a mandatory air into a hard-banking, nail-it-or-else left turn. But once you鈥檙e in, it鈥檚 a straightforward shot of 40-degree steeps. A checklist item for any expert skier, the chute sits in clear view of the Jackson Hole tram, and there鈥檚 often a slew of tourists rubbernecking from the top, so whether you crush it or crash, you鈥檒l be doing it for an audience.

Middle Basin Chutes, Craigieburn, New Zealand
New Zealand鈥檚 club fields鈥攐ld-fashioned, club-owned ski areas with a no-frills, hardy vibe鈥攁re a scene every skier and rider should experience. Craigieburn, in New Zealand鈥檚 Southern Alps, has some of the rowdiest terrain. The area鈥檚 Middle Basin Chutes have a line called 210鈥攑ronounced 鈥淭wo Ten鈥濃攏amed for the chute鈥檚 width, in centimeters, at its narrowest point. It鈥檚 a classic line that starts out wide but rapidly shrinks to pencil thin. Back in the day, when skis were longer than 210 centimeters, you couldn鈥檛 jump-turn in, so you鈥檇 have to straight-line it.

Lead Photo: Courtesy of JHMR

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