Two super-steep slopes where a fall could result in sliding — or tumbling — hundreds of feet. A chute where the ski patrol has installed a rope, anchored to a rock, to assist skiers in down-climbing through a steep, narrow notch just to reach the top of the run. Related Articles Do zens of avalanches reported in Colorado mountains Fire shuts down restaurant, gondola at Aspen Mountain ski resort Mikaela Shiffrin remembers her late father after winning Olympic slalom gold With deep Colorado roots — and a Crested Butte skier — ‘skimo’ debuts as Olympic sport Colorado ski season could be several weeks shorter by 2050 as climate warms A series of chutes marked with an entry gate sign that warns, in all caps, of potentially fatal repercussions. All of that and more. Here’s a look at five of Colorado’s scariest, most challenging ski slopes. Take a deep breath and tighten your boot buckles. Let’s drop in. Highland Bowl, Aspen Highlands Officials at Aspen Snowmass would prefer not to have this steep, spectacular bowl portrayed as “scary.” OK, but Aspen native Mike Marolt, who has climbed and skied remote peaks all over the world — including 26,000-foot (8,000-meter) peaks in the Himalayas — sure makes it sound like it is. When the snow in Highland Bowl is smooth and firm, he says, falling is to be avoided at all costs because you could slide 2,000 feet. “When you go through periods when you don’t get a lot of snow, just the (effect) of people skiing it buffs it into this chalky, hard (surface),” Marolt said. “I think it’s the best ski conditions anywhere on the planet. It’s steep, it’s as smooth as glass, and it’s firm. That’s great, but it’s a double-edged sword. Because if you fall, it’s virtually impossible to stop. “You can survive a 2,000-foot slide like that,” he added, “but if you hook a boot or hook a ski and you start tumbling, it gets very ugly. It’s so smooth and so steep, you’re going to be going 50 mph by the time you get to the bottom.” Highland Bowl at Aspen Highlands offers 2,000 vertical feet of skiing and has a reputation for collecting a lot of snow on powder days. (Jordan Curet/Aspen Snowmass). The top of the bowl is at 12,392 feet. The steepest pitches range from 38 to 48 degrees. It is a hike-to, in-bounds area of Aspen Highlands and is controlled for avalanche mitigation by the ski patrol. Getting there requires a trek from the top of the Loge Peak lift (11,675 feet) and takes most folks around 45 minutes. Aspen Snowmass has a lengthy summary of what skiers need to know before skiing it on its website. Highland Bowl’s allure is especially strong on powder days because of the way it collects and funnels snow. “It blows in, and you get knee-deep, even waist-deep powder,” Marolt said. “It’s incredible skiing.” We’ll give the last word to Hannah Dixon, Aspen’s director of communications, since she was uncomfortable with us calling Highland Bowl scary. “But,” she said, “if we’re talking ‘tough’ in terms of the sense of accomplishment that comes from skiing it, Highland Bowl is top of the list.” Seniors, Palmyra Peak, Telluride There’s another in-bounds hike-to area in Colorado that tops Highland Bowl in more ways than one, including fear factor: Palmyra Peak at Telluride. “I’ve skied Highland Bowl quite a bit, and this is a different animal for sure,” said Brett Schreckengost, a filmmaker and photographer who has lived in Telluride for more than 30 years. “Highland Bowl is pretty high, but it’s a big bowl. There are rock outcroppings on Palmyra Peak that are in your way on the way down. It isn’t a bowl, it’s a big mountain (with) couloirs reminiscent of a European ski line, which is very different from a bowl.” Palmyra Peak at Telluride may be the scariest in-bounds skiing in Colorado. (Photo by Brett Schreckengost). The hike to Palmyra Peak is also longer and more exposed than the one at Highlands. “It’s an hour to an hour-and-a-half hike to a 13,319-foot peak with a very small summit,” Schreckengost said. “It’s not an easy hike for the faint of heart. It’s exposed in places, and it’s hard.” There are multiple lines on Palmyra. Most agree that the one known as Seniors is the toughest, a direct shot from the summit through rock bands. “It’s steep for sure,” Schreckengost said. “In certain conditions, if you fall at the top, you’re not going to stop until you get to the bottom — and probably contact a lot of rocks on the way down. The whole enchilada, start to finish, qualifies as extreme as you can get. “On a powder day,” he added, “if it’s got a bunch of snow on it, it can be not quite as extreme as it is when it’s boilerplate. I’ve skied it in both. When it’s in boilerplate conditions, it’s scary. If you fall, you are going to be going all the way down.” Second Notch, Arapahoe Basin’s East Wall You don’t have to travel to the Western Slope to find extreme ski runs. In fact, you can find them at two of the areas closest to Denver. For expert skiers, Arapahoe Basin’s East Wall is an irresistible swath of terrain riven by steep chutes and couloirs, all of it requiring hiking to access. It’s so steep it rarely has enough snow to open before February, and has yet to open this year. There is a series of four chutes at the southern end of the East Wall that are accessed by an uphill hike of 15-20 minutes from the North Pole Gate, which is near the top of the Lenawee Express lift. Among them is Second Notch, which is so steep and narrow at the entry point that the ski patrol has placed a rope anchored to a rock to help skiers down-climb five to 10 feet to the point where it widens enough to become skiable. Assisted by a rope anchored to a rock, a skier downclimbs to the entrance of Second Notch, the steepest and narrowest of the Chutes on the East Face at Arapahoe Basin. (Lucas Herbert/Arapahoe Basin) Ski patrol supervisor Lizzy Schofield says Second Notch is the steepest and narrowest of the chutes. “The entrance is definitely intimidating for people who aren’t familiar with that kind of exposure,” Schofield said. “We put that rope in a few years ago to make it a little bit easier for folks so they have something to hold onto. It’s a little down-climb and then a steep couloir all the way down. It’s certainly the chute that’s most intimidating when you’re standing at the top of it.” Further north on the East Wall is another series of steeps that is reached by traversing from the East Wall Gate, which is below the North Pole Gate. Those runs require steep climbs to ski. “We do offer some of the most challenging and unique in-bounds terrain in the state,” said A-Basin spokeswoman Shayna Silverman. “We’re really proud of that. The East Wall is one of the most iconic pieces of terrain in the industry, and it’s kind of the crown jewel of the Basin.” Better Not, Mary Jane Better not? Better think twice, at least, before you take your chances on the most notorious of Mary Jane’s — a part of Winter Park — intense Chutes. “It’s very narrow, walled by trees on both sides,” said ski patrol supervisor Riley McDonough. “Once you’re in, you can’t get out. You’re locked in. There’s no escaping when you get in there. You have to be very technically skilled to navigate that run and the Chutes in general. It’s high skill level, high consequences.” Skiers are duly warned of the dangers lurking in the Mary Jane Chutes which "may result in death." The most notorious of the Chutes is Better Not. (Provided by Winter Park Resort) You can’t say you weren’t warned. An ominous sign at the entrance gate says, “Falling is not an option and may result in death,” citing dangers that include rocks, trees, sheer cliffs and avalanche debris. “We want to give people the proper warning that you’re entering extreme terrain — enter at your own risk,” McDonough said. Better Not is extreme terrain for ski patrol rescuers to operate, too. “It takes highly trained and highly skilled rescue maneuvers, which would be a top-end (rope) belay,” said McDonough, a longtime Winter Park patroller whose father served as a patroller before him. “It also takes specialty gear. We have a special toboggan that has a four-point harness built into it.” Highlife, Crested Butte Rambo, a double-black-diamond run on Crested Butte’s North Face, gets a lot of attention because it is reputed to be the steepest lift-served tree-cut run in the U.S. And it is nasty, with a consistent pitch of more than 50 degrees. But, Crested Butte insiders insist, it’s not the toughest run at CB. No, that would be Highlife. Crested Butte is known for extreme skiing, but local skier Dylan Wood says the most difficult trail there is Highlife in Spellbound Bowl. "It’s just so steep and so technical and so demanding," Wood said. (Taylor Ahearn/Crested Butte Mountain Resort) “Definitely not,” said Dylan Wood, an expert skier who is the mountain sports coordinator at Western State University in nearby Gunnison. “I would say it is Highlife in Spellbound Bowl. You have to hike to it. It’s this big wall of snow and cliffs and trees that is more than 45 degrees, the entire top section of it. Some of it exceeds 60 degrees in pitch. “It’s this really intricate, interesting maze of cliffs and pillows and mandatory chutes and airs. Every time I go in there, it feels like I’m challenging myself in new and different ways, he added.” Like other extreme runs on this list, skiers had better be sure they are up to the challenge before they try it. There’s no way to bail out into more manageable terrain. “You have to be really precise and confident, making very calculated jump turns, where I can reach out with my uphill hand and touch the snow where I was just standing on my last turn,” Wood said. “It’s just so steep and so technical and so demanding. That’s easily the hardest run at Crested Butte.” Subscribe to our weekly newsletter, The Adventurist, to get outdoors news sent straight to your inbox. ...read more read less