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Utah Snowbird beyond "Exit Gully"?

mdf

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When skiing at Snowbird, the groups I'm with tend to spend a lot of time around the Gad 2 lift. And a lot of that time we go through the gate into Tiger Tail or Red Lens Line. But we almost always cut back at "Exit Gully" because nobody wants to go so far over that you have to ride the Baby Thunder lift.

So as I was pondering how long it is till ski season, I go to wondering.... what else is over there? The map shows a few more trails before the boundary. Are they any good? Slow to get skied out? Are we missing something great by being stubborn about Baby Thunder?
 

cosmoliu

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I've cut left after Exit Gully with Jeff a couple of times. Over to Thunder Alley, I guess. Jeff has gone with some of his local buddies further over, but they started higher and went all the way out to No Name Bowl. I've never done that. I have been on the High Saddle Traverse many times, to access the lower part of Thunder Bowl, but have always wound up on Exit Gully. Thunder Alley didn't seem like anything special, but my experience over there has been in March, so basically the snow was mashed potatoes because of the late season conditions and the elevation. The snow definitely was of poorer quality than even in Exit Gully. Each time we've gone over there we didn't opt for seconds. Maybe Jan or Feb would be different. Riding Baby Thunder wasn't such a bad deal- no lift line and a fairly short ride. There definitely isn't any traffic over there. I guess we'll have to make a point of going out there at the Gathering.

Edit: We've been on High Saddle Traverse a couple of times with the intent of going over to Defiance Ledge, which I'm thinking is what you were alluding to in the OP. Each time we've done that we saw that Thunder Bowl was basically untracked so dove in there. So, no, I've never stayed above Exit Gully and been over to Defiance Ledge. Again... March?
 
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mdf

mdf

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Hmmm...
Well No Name is beyond the boundary line, so that's out. I was wondering about Defiance Ledge and Figure 8, right next to the rope.

Looking at the map, there are other parts of Snowbird I never seem to ski. What about going the other way off Cirque Traverse, into Barry Barry Steep or the runs next to it? Or the stuff off the ridge between Alta and Snowbird?
 

cosmoliu

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Yeah, Jeff's friend Dr Thom really likes going over to Barry Barry and Wilbere Bowl. Getting in can be a little tricky, and I've never done it alone. Now, THAT'S some SWEET deep powder skiing after a storm. Again, not heavily traveled. Very (Barry?) steep at the top after dropping off the traverse. The first couple of times I went over there I had no idea where I was until we dropped onto Big Emma.

I've also returned to GMD from Snowbird by skiing the ridge from the top of the tram and dropping into Ballroom from above. That's pretty fun.
 

KingGrump

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Looking at the map, there are other parts of Snowbird I never seem to ski. What about going the other way off Cirque Traverse, into Barry Barry Steep or the runs next to it? Or the stuff off the ridge between Alta and Snowbird?

Shhhh. That is some of the best terrain at the bird. South Chute and lone pine are two of my favorite there.

This is a funny one from the Snowbird book.

IMG_20170929_001952.jpg
 

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