Park City off-piste & powder guide

Utah, USA · 2103m to 3230m · 4 documented zones

Finding powder at Park City

Park City hides its expert terrain up at the top: Jupiter, Scott's, Puma and McConkey's bowls carry the steep ungroomed double-diamond skiing, and several lines only open through control gates when patrol judges conditions good enough. Jupiter takes over 350 inches a year, appreciably more than the rest of the mountain.

Lift-accessed zones — no walking

Ride up, drop in. These 3 zones need no hiking, which also means they are the first to get tracked out after a storm.

Jupiter Bowl

Jupiter sector

Inbounds - patrolledExpert

The premier double-black terrain at Park City, and among the best inbounds expert skiing anywhere. It catches over 350 inches a year, noticeably more than the rest of the mountain.

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.

Access rules

Several of the lines here sit behind control gates that patrol only opens when conditions are good enough and safe enough.

Lift access
Jupiter chairlift
Walk in
No hiking — Lift-accessed from the Jupiter chair.
Getting back
Descends back towards the Jupiter lift.
Known hazards
  • Steep ungroomed double-diamond terrain
  • Gated lines that are shut when the snowpack is poor

McConkey's Bowl and Scott's Bowl

McConkey's sector

Inbounds - patrolledExpert

Steep ungroomed double-diamond terrain alongside Jupiter, and the obvious second stop once Jupiter has been tracked 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.

Access rules

Parts of these bowls are behind control gates, opened only when conditions allow.

Lift access
McConkey's Express
Walk in
No hiking — Lift-accessed.
Getting back
Descends back into the Park City lift network.
Known hazards
  • Steep ungroomed terrain
  • Gated lines subject to closure

Ninety-Nine 90

Canyons sector

Inbounds - patrolledExpert

The steepest ungroomed terrain on the Canyons side, holding light powder early and bumping up heavily once it has been found.

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
Ninety-Nine 90 Express
Walk in
No hiking — Lift-accessed from the Ninety-Nine 90 Express quad.
Getting back
Descends back into the Canyons lift network.
Known hazards
  • Steep ungroomed terrain
  • Heavy moguls once tracked

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.

Jupiter Peak and Puma Bowl

Jupiter sector

Inbounds - patrolledExpert

A twenty minute walk along the ridge to Jupiter Peak, then down the East Face into Puma Bowl. You can also reach the peak in about the same time from the McConkey's Bowl and Pinyon Ridge side.

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
Jupiter chairlift
Walk in
20 min — Around twenty minutes along the ridge to Jupiter Peak, from either the Jupiter side or from McConkey's Bowl and Pinyon Ridge.
Getting back
Down the East Face into Puma Bowl and back to the lift network.
Known hazards
  • Exposed ridge walk
  • Steep ungroomed descent

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

Park City snow report & forecastSnow history & depthMore resorts in USA