Vail off-piste & powder guide

Colorado, USA · 2475m to 3528m · 4 documented zones

Finding powder at Vail

The Back Bowls are the reason Vail is what it is: 3,017 acres of seven largely treeless bowls with about 2,000 vertical feet of open snow, all inside the boundary and all avalanche controlled. The catch is in the name of the first one. They face south, so they soak up the sun as readily as they soak up the snow, and a powder day here has a shorter shelf life than the same day on a north face.

Lift-accessed zones — no walking

Ride up, drop in. These 4 zones need no hiking, which also means they are the first to get tracked out after a storm.

Sun Down Bowl

Back Bowls sector

Inbounds - patrolledAdvanced

The most complicated and hidden terrain in the Back Bowls, and the one that rewards exploring rather than pointing them straight. Named for where the sun sets over it.

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
Wildwood Express (#3) or Mountaintop Express (#4) or Game Creek Express (#7)
Walk in
No hiking — Lift-accessed from the front side, then over the ridge.
Getting back
Bottom of the bowl is served by the Back Bowls express lifts.
Aspect
South-facing· Transforms fastest in sun
Known hazards
  • South-facing snow that transforms quickly in sun
  • Hidden terrain features

Sun Up Bowl

Back Bowls sector

Inbounds - patrolledAdvanced

One of the three main Back Bowls, wide and open with the same enormous scale as its neighbours. Get to it early on a powder morning.

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
Wildwood Express (#3) or Mountaintop Express (#4)
Walk in
No hiking — Lift-accessed over the ridge from the front side.
Getting back
Served by the Back Bowls express lifts at the bottom.
Aspect
South-facing· Transforms fastest in sun
Known hazards
  • South-facing snow that goes heavy through the day
  • Large open avalanche terrain

China Bowl

Back Bowls sector

Inbounds - patrolledAdvanced

One of the largest and most popular of the Back Bowls, mixing long flowing groomers with powder-filled glades, which makes it the most forgiving way into this side 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.

Lift access
Orient Express (#21)
Walk in
No hiking — Lift-accessed.
Getting back
Served by the Back Bowls lifts at the bottom.
Aspect
South-facing· Transforms fastest in sun
Known hazards
  • Large open terrain
  • South-facing aspect

Blue Sky Basin

Blue Sky Basin sector

Inbounds - patrolledAdvanced

The most remote part of the resort, with a genuine backcountry feel and the best chance of finding something untracked. Still patrolled and still avalanche controlled, which is the whole appeal.

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
Skyline Express (#37) or Pete's Express (#39)
Walk in
No hiking — Lift-accessed, beyond the Back Bowls.
Getting back
The basin lifts return you towards the Back Bowls and the front side.
Known hazards
  • Remote-feeling terrain a long way from the front side
  • Tree wells in the glades

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

Vail snow report & forecastSnow history & depthMore resorts in USA