How To Use This Site

(and other important notes)

The Biggest Lines website is organized around seven main categories, or folders (highlighted below in ALL CAPS), and numerous sub folders, all of which contain some very useful information on backcountry skiing and snowboarding—in what is generally regarded as the biggest, steepest, and most beautiful ski terrain on earth. The site is both concise and comprehensive: sparing in some ways, and yet highly detailed in others. And while it is certainly not the last word on the subject (much of the content here is, by necessity subjective and/or incomplete), The Biggest Lines comes as close to it as any other resource. If you can’t find what you are looking for on these pages, there is almost certainly a link on this site that will take you there. Scratch the surface, or dive deep. Explore the myriad possibilities. Scroll and click to your heart’s desire. Read the accompanying texts and sidebars. Watch the linked videos. Check out the recommended books, articles, magazines. But most of all enjoy the journey, whether it be in real time (in the mountains with friends), or simply imagined!
 


  • Click on the SKI ROUTES tab for a brief Description of each region, followed by an Image Gallery representing what’s on offer, and finally a specific List of the best and biggest skiable lines in the area, including: route information, trip reports, video links, FATMAP links, conditions reports, expected slope angles, exposure ratings, and distance from population centers. Colorful Maps at the end of each page provide additional context/beta.

  • Use the RESOURCES folder to get information (and outside links) on: weather, avalanche reports, guide services, lodging, backcountry education, books/publications, digital media and photography.

  • Click the GEAR tab for packing checklists and the CLOTHING tab for clothing essentials; includes information on the best, latest, and most useful gear. The clothing folder has suggestions on some of the highest quality and most functional backcountry apparel.

  • Use the BIGGEST LINES MAP feature for locating the start zones of the world’s biggest ski and snowboard lines, and for pinpointing their locations relative to population centers, transportation hubs/infrastructure, navigation waypoints—and each other.

  • Check out the GALLERY page for beautiful and inspiring photos of dozens of the world’s biggest lines, including links to photographer profiles/websites.

  • Use this site in conjunction with the indispensable FATMAP by STRAVA mapping software to optimize your experience. It’s cheap and easy. Download here.

  • Click on the cream-colored hyperlinks throughout this site for route descriptions and/or FATMAP links, and for other useful information related to backcountry skiing and snowboarding.

  • Check out the Biggest Lines Sidebars and/or Top Ten Lists for anecdotal info on the best of everything in backcountry skiing and snowboarding.

  • Make the Necessary Preparations: Stay fit Stay sharp. Stay informed. Educate yourself. Take a course…or two, or three. Repeat every season, as reinforcement is key and there is always something new to learn. Learn all you can about avalanche avoidance and mitigation, ski touring methods, backcountry navigation, terrain management, rope management, steep skiing techniques, group dynamics, and backcountry rescue. Practice. Practice. Practice. Learn from your mistakes, as you will inevitably make them. Find a safe, skilled, enthusiastic, and reliable partner, if you don’t already have one. Note: A good partner is one who lacks both an ego and an agenda. Social media junkies, ticklist checkers, and calendar markers are dead men/women walking! Steer clear of them. The mountains don’t care about your Weekly Planner entries, your job, your personal goals, your achievements, your experience, your skillset, your sponsors, your ego, your peer and social acceptance issues, your groups’ objectives, or the time left on your watch! Mountains can kill and maim, randomly and arbitrarily, sometimes with little or no warning. Be vigilant. Be conservative. Be smart.

  • Hire a Guide, as often as you can, and on those occasions when you find yourself without a (solid and reliable) ski partner. Find one here, on our GUIDES page. Read. Plan. Organize. Pack smart, but pack light. Study the weather/avy reports—regularly and often. Practice avalanche rescue and crevasse rescue with your partner(s) and/or guide at least once a year. Practice skiing on belay. Practice ski cutting while on belay. Practice anchor building. Practice rappelling, loweriing, raising, and belaying your partner. Practice identifying and managing dangerous avalanche terrain, weather, snowpack. Practice. Practice. Practice.

  • At a minimum, follow these (very) GENERAL SAFETY RULES:

    Avoid travel in the backcountry at all times in the following situations: (1) poor/unstable weather, (2) rapid temperature changes (i.e.: warming), (3) high wind events, (4) persistent snowpack instabilities, (5) recent and/or observable avalanche activity.

    Wait at least 24 hours after a big snow event before venturing into the backcountry. Always be mindful of wind slabs (smooth, rounded, dense snow deposits on leeward slopes and gullies, and under cornices), signs of cracking or a collapsing snowpack, blue (bulletproof) ice, and cornices! Remember to look up and ahead. Plot your line: watch out for convexities, cliff bands, terrain traps, obstacles (trees, rocks, crevasses), and other skiers and snowboarders—both above and below you. Move quickly and efficiently, but cautiously. Go slow on the downhill…open it up only when it is safe to do so and/or if the line requires it (re: sluff management/suspect slopes/hangfire). Look for islands of safety. Use them, if it is prudent to do so. Plan your runout/exit route, as many accidents occur near the end of a ski tour/route. Rappels can be especially dangerous (even with lots of experience) and should be avoided when possible. Belaying and/or down-climbing with crampons and ice axes is oftentimes the safer option, as many accidents occur here.

  • Don’t forget: beacon, shovel, probe; food, water, sunscreen; phone/GPS, (extra) batteries, first aid kit; ice axe, belay device, several locking carabiners; rope, accessory cord, harness; slings, webbing, prusiks; a puffy, an extra layer, a lightweight emergency blanket or bivy…an extra pair of gloves! For a complete list, go here. Do a beacon check with your partners BEFORE you hit the skintrack (or the hike/descent—if you are not skinning)! Know the snowpack, the anticipated terrain, and the weather. Know your partner(s)’ abilities, limitations, experience, fitness levels, confidence levels, personality quirks, preferences, personal agendas, etc. Have a rescue plan! Have several options to your primary objective, including turning around and going home! Live to ski another day!

  • GO BIG!