Breckenridge off-piste & powder guide

Colorado, USA · 2926m to 3962m · 4 documented zones

Finding powder at Breckenridge

Breckenridge puts you above the treeline faster than anywhere else in North America: the Imperial Express SuperChair tops out at 12,840 feet, the highest chairlift on the continent. The bowls it opens feel remote and rugged while staying inbounds and patrolled, which is a rare and useful combination if you want the terrain without the full backcountry commitment.

Lift-accessed zones — no walking

Ride up, drop in. These 2 zones need no hiking, which also means they are the first to get tracked out after a storm.

Imperial Bowl

Peak 8 sector

Inbounds - patrolledAdvanced

Open powder fields straight off the highest chairlift in North America at 12,840 feet. Feels remote and rugged, and is patrolled throughout.

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
Imperial Express SuperChair
Walk in
No hiking — Lift-accessed from the Imperial Express SuperChair.
Getting back
Descends back into the Peak 8 lift network.
Known hazards
  • Exposed terrain above the treeline
  • Altitude and wind at 12,840 feet

The Six Senses chutes

Peak 6 sector

Inbounds - patrolledExpert

A set of chutes on Peak 6 alongside wide open above-treeline runs. E.S.P. at the southern end is the pick: a tight rocky start that widens as it goes.

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
Kensho SuperChair
Walk in
No hiking — Lift-accessed from Peak 6.
Getting back
Descends back into the Peak 6 lift network.
Known hazards
  • Tight rocky chute entrances
  • Exposed terrain above the treeline

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.

Lake Chutes

Peak 8 sector

Inbounds - patrolledExpert

Hike-to chutes off the top of the Imperial, and among the most challenging inbounds terrain in Colorado alongside neighbouring Snow White.

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
Imperial Express SuperChair
Walk in
A hike from the top of the Imperial Express to reach the chute entrances.
Getting back
Descends back into the Peak 8 lift network.
Known hazards
  • Steep confined chutes
  • Rock and cliff exposure above the treeline

Whale's Tail

Peak 7 sector

Inbounds - patrolledExpert

The large cornice linking Peaks 8 and 7, and the most popular of the high alpine areas. Most of Peak 7 is traverse-to rather than hike-to, so it is easier to reach than it looks.

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
Imperial Express SuperChair
Walk in
Head north off the Imperial and follow the sometimes rocky but mostly straightforward traverse out towards Peak 7.
Getting back
Descends into the Peak 7 lift network.
Known hazards
  • A large cornice at the entry
  • A rocky traverse in places

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

Breckenridge snow report & forecastSnow history & depthMore resorts in USA