After passing through the El Cap gate accessible from either the Blazing Zephyr or Northwest Magnum high-speed six-pack chair, looking down the mountain at that 55-degree drop is nerve-wracking. It’s like peering over the edge of a cliff. The scene off in the distance is gorgeous, with its panoramic views of Reno and Mount Rose Proper. However, a LA Times article from 2005 wrote that the Chutes’ snowy ridge, “…looks more like a takeoff for skydiving than for skiing.”
Nine gates access 16 advanced and expert/black diamond and double black diamond Chutes, each featuring anywhere from a 40-55 degree pitch and 1,000 vertical feet to the base of the triple-seat Chuter chair. The Chuter is on the Slide side and takes you out of the Chutes, dropping you at the base of the Blazing Zephyr.
Once you get through those gates, the only way to go is down. Precision is key when skiing or riding the Chutes; one must know how to make quick, accurate turns and watch out for obstacles like rocks or trees. The next minutes provide a leg-burning workout, which some people are good with just one time while others choose to do them again and again.
History of The Chutes
The Chutes opened to the public in the 2004-2005 season, this season marking its 20th anniversary. However, people had been poaching the Chutes since the 1960s and getting their ski passes/lift tickets yanked because of it.
The 200-acre advanced and expert terrain is situated between the Rose side and Slide Mountain facing northeast in an area of the resort that tends to stay shaded most of the day because of how the sun travels. Its steep grade is prone to avalanches and was labeled out of bounds/a closed area for several decades. However, the Chutes sit right above SR-431 (also known as the Mount Rose Highway), so the ski resort began working with NDOT (Nevada Department of Transportation) in the 1970s to help mitigate the risk of major snow slides blocking the highway.
The ski resort installed an Avalauncher, a pneumatic artillery device, at the bottom of the Chutes that blasts explosives into the steep terrain to hopefully force small slides before they become more dangerous and impactful build-ups.
“As part of our mitigation plan, the ‘Avalauncher’ building was constructed on the ridge just east of the Show-off trail. This air cannon was another tool for ski patrol’s mitigation process,” says Mt. Rose Marketing Director Mike Pierce. Trained ski patrollers also regularly “ski out” the terrain to help release unpredictable pockets of snow and strengthen the snowpack.
For advanced skiers and snowboarders, staring out into the ski resort’s best thrilling terrain and not being able to get into it was treacherous. Getting caught ducking the ropes (aka “entering a closed area”) to ski or ride the dangerous terrain could result in a $500 fine and/or six months in jail.
“After 10 years of groundwork, Mt. Rose officially adopted these 200 acres into its trail system including the addition of the Chuter lift providing an exit back to the Slide lodge. The 200+ acre Chutes offer some of the longest vert in North America with pitches from 40-55 degrees,” Mt. Rose’s website states. The Chutes opened in December of 2004 and ticket sales shot up, solidifying the demand for wanting to get into the region’s notorious terrain.
“2004-05 as well as 2005-06 were BIG snow years and [Mt. Rose] had record skiers visits which coincided with the first two years the Chutes were open,” Pierce says.
The Steep Sixteen
Opening the Chutes changed the game for Mt. Rose, which altered its terrain ability breakdown to 20 percent beginner green, 30 percent intermediate blue, 40 percent advanced black, and 10 percent expert double black.
Each Chute gate has a chain, and if the chain is down then all the terrain accessible from that gate is available. Access into that chute is prohibited if a chain is across the gate with a “CLOSED” sign clearly marked. There are strict penalties for “ducking the ropes” and entering the Chutes while they’re closed… a big snowstorm presents serious avalanche risk.
The sixteen Chutes accessible through the nine gates are (from skier’s right to left): Miller Time, Nightmare, Chaos, Hornet’s Nest, Beehive, Yellow Jacket, Charge, Detonator, Fuse, Saddle, El Cap, Jackpot, Cardiac Ridge, Cutthroat, Dragon Lady, and Lowball. All runs end up in the Tailings bowl which leads to the Chuter chairlift.
An old Chutes map from the 1980s has names on it that were changed when it opened to the public. Some of those legacy names include “Tear Drop”, “Tower 9”, and “Nick’s” that is thought to be the name of one of the ski patroller’s dogs (it was changed to “Jackpot”). However, there are Chutes that have signs in them that are not on the trail map, likely because there’s not any room on the map to list them. Some of Mt. Rose’s “hidden chutes” include Playground (under Lowball), Venom, 209’er (named after longtime ski patroller Carl Williams’ radio number), Coddington’s, The Bermuda Triangle, and Jerry’s Tree (named after its topographical resemblance to Jerry Garcia). The ski patrollers give names to other features and sections in the Chutes to know where to accurately throw a detonator…or respond to an emergency call.
In the past few years, Mt. Rose has held contests where advanced skiers and snowboarders can test their mettle in how well they navigate the steep terrain*. They are usually held in the spring when the Chutes have a more consistent snowpack.
Mt. Rose is planning a few 20th anniversary Chutes events for this upcoming season, and the traditional Steep 16 and the Tahoe Freeride events are expected to return in a big way for 2024-25. For more information, visit https://skirose.com/.