Ultimate Inbounds Extreme Skiing Experience at Winter Park Resort, Colorado

Expert skiers and snowboarders will find a lot to love at the Winter Park Resort and its interconnected playgrounds. Here, you’ll discover impressive extreme ski terrain to explore with a multitude of open slopes and steep chutes located above the treeline. Moreover, there are glades so tight that only seasoned tree skiers and riders should venture into them. For insider advice on the best inbounds extreme experiences, I consulted Jamie Wolters, an experienced ski patroller at Winter Park, who shared valuable insights and tips for skiing or snowboarding the challenging Vasquez Cirque and in the trees surrounding the Eagle Wind lift.

Exploring the Vasquez Cirque

The Vasquez Cirque, which crowns Winter Park Resort, reaches heights of around 12,000 feet above sea level. This cirque is a local favorite for extreme inbounds skiing. However, getting to the start of the cirque can be adventurous. In addition to being an expert skier or snowboarder, you’ll need to make the nearly one-mile traverse from the top of the Panoramic lift just to access the headwalls and chutes.

If you prefer lift-served terrain and consider yourself an experienced tree skier, check out the ski and ride areas around the Eagle Wind lift. In Wolter’s words: “This is all expert terrain. There’s nothing easy about it.”

Favorite Places in the Vasquez Cirque

Here are Jamie Wolter’s tips for exploring the Vasquez Cirque:

• The South Headwall provides excellent value when accessible, being the first open terrain and having significant vertical. However, it faces northwest and bears the brunt of the wind, often resulting in stripped snow.
• When the slopes on the Vasquez Cirque are opened for skiing, ski patrollers observe an interesting pattern. According to Wolter, when the rope drops to open the South Headwall, the West Headwall, and some of the Alphabet Chutes (A to G), many skiers rush to the farthest point from the rope drop. Consequently, this leads to competition for fresh tracks. Savvy skiers, however, jump into the closer runs, such as the C and D chutes, often enjoying the entire slope to themselves.
• During the traverse to the Cirque, skiers often take off their skis and walk, which resembles walking on sand due to the soft snow. It is significantly faster and more efficient to skate across the snow instead.
• Wolter’s favorite runs include the South Headwall when snow-covered and the G chutes (G 1-4) for their steepness and direct fall line. He also notes, “It’s way out there.” Below these areas, tree skiers particularly enjoy the good lines in Eldorado, where the trees are tight, and Rollover, which remains fairly open and holds abundant snow.

Tree Skiing at Eagle Wind

Eagle Wind offers a maze of ungroomed terrain where trees narrow as you descend. Therefore, it is vital to be very comfortable in tight trees and natural snow conditions before venturing onto these slopes.

• The slopes around this lift begin as narrow trails and transition into paths between densely packed trees. There are some lovely alleys in this area; however, you might need to search to find them. You may stumble upon a beautiful alley that unfortunately ends in thick woods. Among Wolter’s favorites are Little Raven and Medicine Man.
• To access this terrain, you can either take the Switchyard down toward Village Way and traverse through the trees to the base of the Eagle Wind lift or ride the Panoramic Express and ski down Village Way to a gate that leads you to the Eagle Wind area when officially open.

Please note: All skiers and snowboarders entering these areas are advised to ski or ride with a partner for safety.