With Halloween around the corner, we rounded up the scariest ski and snowboard runs out there.
If a clown mask doesn’t set you off screeching, then peeking down these runs will certainly amend that.
Prepare to scream all the way down.
With Halloween around the corner, we rounded up the scariest ski and snowboard runs out there.
If a clown mask doesn’t set you off screeching, then peeking down these runs will certainly amend that.
Prepare to scream all the way down.
Corbet’s Couloir. Jackson Hole, Wyoming
You’ve got a couple of entry options for this gnarly run.
Either take an entry jump of around six metres, or plump for the ‘easier’ option. This entails a vertical leap entry of around three to four metres.
Sounds less taxing, but if you land it, you’ll have to throw your weight forward immediately and sharply to avoid a solid rock (the first of many on the descent).
Most people look at this couloir, rather than leap.
Great Scott. Snowbird, Utah
As this run is located right below the tram, prepare to take centre stage as you drop down 1,000 vertical feet at 40 degrees.
The consistent pitch, rocks and a steep entrance requires guts of steel for this descent.
Harakiri. Mayrhofen, Austria
This Austrian piste reaches 78 degrees at its steepest point, dropping straight down the north face of the 2,000m Penken mountain.
Throw in icy conditions, and you’ve got a death chute hurtling down to Mayrhofen.
Everything at Mt. Bohemia, Michigan
That’s right – everything in this ski area is sketchy.
Not only is there an area called the Haunted Valley (complete with runs such as Cursing Werewolf, Thirsty Vampire or the Smiling Zombie), the entire ski area is recommended only for experts.
Grand Couloir. Courchevel, France
Make the drop in through an icy chute, with sharp drops on either side – and prepare for mogul madness.
Bizarrely, this is often described as ‘easy’, but that’s only in juxtaposition to the other drops nearby that aren’t recognised runs.
La Grave, France
Skiers enter at their own risk.
La Grave has no formal avalanche control, unmarked terrain and a lone cable car that judders skiers 3,200m up to the huge La Meije glacier, where they opt for their own descent.
Pick your poison: rocks, vertical cliffs, avalanches, crevasses and some of the most challenging terrain in the world.
Le Pas de Chavanette. Avoriaz, France
Take on the “Swiss Wall”: starting with a narrow, steep descent through moguls the size of small cars.
To add to the fear factor, it’s often icy and the initial gradient is so severe that from the top you can’t see what’s below your skis.
Delirium Dive. Sunshine Village, Canada
So common are avalanches in this spot, that to enter one must be equipped with a beacon, shovel and probe.
Add to this, unstable snow with hidden jagged rocks and you’ve got yourself a horror of a run.
Kill The Banker. Revelstoke, Canada
First up, the very name of the run connotes death.
Secondly, this slope requires you to jump a waterfall half way down the run.
Perhaps ideal for those with a death wish.
“Winterfox”, a short movie with a unique perspective on Hokkaidos snowy living produced, filmed and edited by Lena Stoffel.
After missing the 2018 games due to injury, Kelly is back at the 2019 XGames, Aspen and makes history by winning three medals in the one event!
There was a time when we, as snowboarders, had to fight for our place on the mountain. Now we’re bringing that same spirit of activism to women’s rights.
Listen to the Eyes, the brand’s first women snowboarding team film featuring Vans global snow team riders Hana Beaman, Mary Rand and Leanne Pelosi.
Time to treat yourself to a late Christmas present and get out to the mountains.
