True legends will always be made under the chairlift. Sure, most of today’s skiing and snowboarding exploits end up circulating on social media. However, there was a time before we all just did it for the ‘Gram. When the only way to narcissistically boost the ego was to give’r the beans in front of as many people as possible in real-time. No creative angles or second chances to hide behind. The feedback we received was measured in “yeeews” and “boos” from a captive audience rather than likes on a post.
No matter if you’re stomping big airs, railing high-G turns or tomahawking heroically, Hollywood Lines are the place to etch your name into lore, or at least into hazy exaggerations over a third après pitcher. Here are a few of Utah’s best.
Bump It Up: Thaynes, Park City Mountain
Whether it’s because of all those Dynafitters traipsing around on ultralight gear or the ubiquity of cheat-code-enabled powder skis, mogul skiing has fallen out of fashion in recent years. But if we let the forgotten art of shredding a bump line languish, Jonny Moseley’s dinner roll at the 2002 Salt Lake Olympics will have been in vain!
Thaynes at Park City Mountain is the perfect place to strut your stuff down a zipper line. The bumps on Thaynes flow directly beneath a classic double chair of the same name, giving onlookers the perfect vantage point from which to cheer and jeer as you go for glory. Ski fast enough and keep it together, and the doubters exclaiming “Bump skiing’s back, baby!” Real skiers like you know it never went away.
Under Chair Air: Diving Board, Alta Ski Area
The obvious under-the-chair-air is the ultimate test piece at every resort. Everybody sees it. Everybody harbors dreams of hitting it. Only the courageous and the desperate step up and send it.
Alta’s Diving board may as well be the encyclopedia entry for a Hollywood air. It’s an undeniably-apparent, aesthetically-pleasing launchpad that’s so close to the chairlift you feel like you could touch the skis of the people riding Supreme (please don’t). The adulation if you stomp is merely customary. The hectoring that comes if you ragdoll is mere jealousy of your sizeable ambition.
Pow!: Concord, Solitude Mountain Resort
There may be no greater pleasure than first tracks under the chair. You’ll only catch fleeting glimpses of your audience as you bounce from white room turn to white room turn, but rest assured the gratuitous face shots you’re getting are filling the spectators with FOMO.
Concord at Solitude Mountain Resort takes the fall line directly below the Powderhorn II lift. Get there first on a pow day and you’ll be rewarded with a pioneering trip directly to Trenchtown. Solitude Mountain Resort has no shortage of sneaky pow stashes that linger after a storm, but few put you front and center like Concord will.
Flip ‘em at the Bird: The Wave, Snowbird
“Do a backflip!” yelled innumerable chairlift riders, as they saw a skier or snowboarder hurtling down the in-run of a jump. Boorish? Perhaps. Wrong? Certainly not. It’s one of skiing’s verifiable maxims: everybody loves a good backflip. Give the people what they want.
The aptly-named Wave is conspicuous from the Little Cloud lift, and the absurdly long in-run from Road to Provo does plenty to hint at your intentions. The Wave has been home to many a spectacular crash, but it’s also been the site of aerial triumph. Use your discretion, as always, but the Wave is more than ready for you to go as big as you’re comfortable.
Tip It and Rip It: Nabob, Deer Valley Resort
Ready to really flex those skis and show off the angulation you honed in your high school race days? You’ve still got it, and it’s time to let everybody know that for you, carving isn’t a once-a-year activity reserved for a Thanksgiving turkey.
Deer Valley's Nabob is a prime example of the resort’s famed grooming quality. The pitch is just steep enough to separate those who really know how to put a ski on edge, from the pretenders who are happy to let the tails slide out when the g-forces pick up. Nabob has prime real estate just to the lift riders’ left on Sterling Express, ensuring you’ll never waste a turn beyond the reach of prying eyes.
Interested in skiing more iconic lines in Utah? Check out our top 10 powder stashes and trophy lines.
