Alta off-piste & powder guide

Utah, USA · 2591m to 3258m · 6 documented zones

Finding powder at Alta

Alta is the rare resort that publishes the pitch angles of its own steepest runs, and they are not modest: 44 degrees in the Main Baldy Chute, 45 in Gunsight. Almost all of it sits inside the boundary and is avalanche controlled, but several of the best lines need a bootpack of half an hour or more, and some have no bailout once you commit.

Lift-accessed zones — no walking

Ride up, drop in. These 1 zones need no hiking, which also means they are the first to get tracked out after a storm.

Alf's High Rustler

Collins sector

Inbounds - patrolledExpert

The signature Alta line: a 38 to 45 degree pitch running a thousand vertical feet, north-facing so it holds its snow, with a technical entry and navigation that catches people out.

Inside the ski area boundary and actively avalanche controlled by patrol. Controlled does not mean safe: the resorts themselves are clear that control work reduces the risk without eliminating it.

Lift access
Collins or Wildcat
Walk in
No hiking — Lift-accessed.
Getting back
Runs all the way out to the base area.
Aspect
North-facing· Holds powder longest
Known hazards
  • Sustained 38 to 45 degree pitch
  • Technical entry
  • Tricky navigation

Worth the walk — hike-to zones

Every one of these needs time on foot, which is exactly why the snow lasts longer. Walk-in times below are as published by the resort guides.

Gunsight

High Traverse sector

Inbounds - patrolledExpert

A 45 degree slope entered through a tight notch between rocky buttresses, reached along the High Traverse. The view from the entry is part of the problem.

Inside the ski area boundary and actively avalanche controlled by patrol. Controlled does not mean safe: the resorts themselves are clear that control work reduces the risk without eliminating it.

Lift access
Collins
Walk in
Along the High Traverse, then steep sidestepping to reach the notch.
Getting back
Opens into a broad bowl at the very bottom.
Known hazards
  • A 45 degree slope
  • A tight notch entry
  • Rocky buttresses

Eddie's High Nowhere

High Traverse sector

Inbounds - patrolledExpert

Forty degrees or more of sustained fall line, reached by a rope assist and a steep bootpack off the High Traverse.

Inside the ski area boundary and actively avalanche controlled by patrol. Controlled does not mean safe: the resorts themselves are clear that control work reduces the risk without eliminating it.

Lift access
Collins
Walk in
A rope assist and a steep bootpack from the High Traverse.
Getting back
Runs out towards Little Cottonwood Creek.
Known hazards
  • Sustained 40 degree fall line
  • Cliffside exposure
  • The Pyramid Rock cliff band

Baldy Chutes

Mount Baldy sector

Inbounds - patrolledExpert

A series of technical chutes off the 11,068ft summit of Mount Baldy, with the Main Chute hitting 44 degrees in places. Few inbounds lines anywhere feel this much like big-mountain skiing.

Inside the ski area boundary and actively avalanche controlled by patrol. Controlled does not mean safe: the resorts themselves are clear that control work reduces the risk without eliminating it.

Lift access
Sugarloaf
Walk in
45 min — Follow the East Baldy Traverse from the Sugarloaf lift, then bootpack to the summit of Mount Baldy. Expect between 20 and 45 minutes.
Getting back
Drops into the Ballroom area, then out along the Ballroom Traverse.
Known hazards
  • Up to 44 degrees
  • No bailout options once committed
  • A narrow section
  • Rocks, cliffs and unmarked hazards

East Castle

Devil's Castle sector

Inbounds - patrolledExpert

A consistently steep pitch off the Devil's Castle wall. The thirty to forty-five minute sidestep to reach it is the main reason it stays quiet.

Inside the ski area boundary and actively avalanche controlled by patrol. Controlled does not mean safe: the resorts themselves are clear that control work reduces the risk without eliminating it.

Lift access
Supreme
Walk in
45 min — Around 30 to 45 minutes of upward sidestepping and shuffling.
Getting back
Runs out onto the Devil's Castle apron.
Known hazards
  • A lengthy sidestep approach
  • Consistently steep pitch

Spiney Chutes

Supreme sector

Inbounds - patrolledExpert

Chute entrances steeper than 40 degrees, threading between gnarled limber pines and rocky buttresses.

Inside the ski area boundary and actively avalanche controlled by patrol. Controlled does not mean safe: the resorts themselves are clear that control work reduces the risk without eliminating it.

Lift access
Supreme
Walk in
A bootpack and traverse from the Supreme lift.
Getting back
Runs out into the Back Forty area.
Known hazards
  • Entrances steeper than 40 degrees
  • Intimidating sight lines
  • Gnarled limber pines
  • Rocky buttresses

The avalanche danger scale

Every European bulletin uses this five-level scale. The column that matters most is the last one: around half of all avalanche deaths happen at level 3, not at the extremes, because that is when the snow still looks worth skiing.

1. Low

about 5% of fatalities

Generally stable snowpack. Triggering is only possible with high additional loads, and only in extreme terrain. Natural avalanches are small at most.

The most favourable conditions of the season. Terrain choice still matters in isolated extreme spots.

Forecast on about 20% of the season

2. Moderate

about 30% of fatalities

The snowpack is only moderately well bonded on some steep slopes. Triggering is mainly possible with high additional loads. Very large natural avalanches are unlikely.

Conditions look benign and catch people out. Roughly a third of fatalities happen at this level.

Forecast on about 50% of the season

3. Considerable

about 50% of fatalities

The snowpack is moderately to poorly bonded on many steep slopes. Triggering is possible even from a single skier. Large avalanches are possible.

The most dangerous level in practice. It carries about half of all avalanche deaths, because the skiing still looks good and the snowpack no longer needs much provocation.

Forecast on about 30% of the season

4. High

about 10% of fatalities

The snowpack is poorly bonded on most steep slopes. Triggering is likely even from a single skier, and numerous large natural avalanches are expected.

Off-piste travel should be limited to low-angle terrain well away from anything steep above you.

Forecast on only a few days a year

5. Very High

rare enough that no share is published

An extraordinarily unstable snowpack. Numerous very large and often extremely large natural avalanches are expected, even on moderately steep terrain.

Do not go off-piste. Roads and parts of the resort itself may be closed.

Forecast on very rarely forecast

Scale and statistics from European Avalanche Warning Services - Avalanche Danger Scale.

What you need to carry

Transceiver

Worn on your body, not in your pack, and switched to transmit before you leave the lift. Every member of the group needs one; a single person without makes the whole group less safe.

Probe

Pinpoints the burial once the transceiver has brought you close, so you dig in the right place first time rather than in a hole beside them.

Shovel

A real collapsible avalanche shovel. Digging is the slowest part of a rescue, and it is what actually gets your partner out.

Airbag pack (optional)

Helps keep you nearer the surface in a moving slide. It supplements the three items above and never replaces them.

How to ski it

Read the bulletin before you go, every day

The danger level, the problem type and the aspects and altitudes it applies to matter more than anything on this page. Conditions change overnight.

Practise with your kit until the search is instinctive

Owning a transceiver is not the same as being able to use one under pressure. Run search drills at the start of every season.

Never ski off-piste alone

Companion rescue is the only rescue fast enough to matter. Burial survival drops sharply after about fifteen minutes.

Ski steep slopes one at a time

Exposing one person at a time keeps the rest of the group free to dig, and reduces the load on the slope.

Hire a guide for terrain you do not know

Local guides know which aspects have loaded, which lines cliff out and where this season's weak layer sits. Every resort guide on this page says the same thing.

Plan the exit before you drop in

Several classic routes finish in a different valley or a long way from a lift. Know how you are getting home, and what time the last lift and last bus run.

Keep planning

Alta snow report & forecastSnow history & depthMore resorts in USA