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Let me preface by stating I'm a level 5 skier. One of my fears when trying out a new ski resort is the 'Uh-Oh" factor. Meaning I go down an apparent benign trail (green, easy blue), then all of a sudden......'uh-oh!!!", and it drops off to the darkest of blues (dare I say blue/black or black).

So, question for the crowd. In your opinion, are there any green/easy blue trails that look very do-able for someone of my level, but get 'real bad, real quick" that you'd advise to watch out for?

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Good old "Wally World"..ever see the original Vacation movie, with Chevy Chase? Wally World is the Sunshine Bowl area. It is the easiest intermediate terrain on the Mountain. It taks some work to get over there, but its worth it in the end. I take a lot of low level skiers there but have to figure minimum of half day if they arent very confident. It's a great family area too, blend it in with lunch at Rendevouz and have a great day.

S-turn

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Do I just take the sundown express or is there more to it than that?

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That gets you there and then you can cycle on the Sunshine Express or take South Peak to the Rendezvous Saddle Restaurant for a break.

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you guys are going to have to forgive me. I know you know this by heart, but its all a mix of spagetti in my head.

so my real best question is: once I have fun all day in wally world, what is my best way to get to the bottom of the hill (other than tumbling) being a green/easy blue skier?
Kup

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Kup, last year I took Tomahawk down to the south peak lift, then down Broadway to the elkhead lift. Then down tower to the gondola base. Here's where I made a mistake, I was pretty tired by then but decieded to ski down Why Not....bad idea... not because it's hard or anything but I was simply wore out!!! I made it, but was totally exhausted and went to sleep about 8:00 that night. If your tired...ride the gondola back down, no shame, plus you"ll have the energy to hoist a few cold ones afterwards!

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I've done that same thing but with my boys who were 4&6 at the time!! The grading was even flatter at the end than it is now. In that long pole/skate toward the bottom my husband and I were each pulling a poleless child. Both kids somehow got caught in the grade that led to the old Christie Lift (it had closed already) and we could not get them back up. We ended up hiking back along the road to the base from the turnaround on the road in full gear carrying skis. One child was crying by this time, one child kept lying down in the snow on the side of the road, my husband was yelling at them out of frustration, I was vowing never to ski Why Not again.

All I have to do is remind my boys about that and they happily skip the lower half of Why Not.

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KC,
To get to the Sunshine area, when you exit the Gondola take Spur Run(about 1 oclock)down to the Sundown express chair. At the top go semi right,not down the steeper High Noon,to Sundial which will take you to Tomahawk which will take you to the Sunshine express chair back up to the top again for more. To get back to the base take the South Peak chair and then Broadway and then the Elkhead chair, at the top go left to the Gondola area and either ski Why Not to the bottom if you have enough energy or ride the Gondi back to the base, a good idea when it's crowded and your tired.

Have fun,

Barry Goldkind
Ski School

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Thanks Barry. I knew about sunshine/south peak and elkhead from last year as I ski'ed Tomahawk with the family. However I never knew about Sunshine bowl area until this new forum was up and running. Will try out cowboy coffee and frying pan after getting my ski legs back. It's been a year so my first 2 days will be all on the front side. 21 days and counting!

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Sunshine lift is the best place for a level 5. There's just a brief steep and crowded section as you get onto Tomahawk, but oncec you get past that..it's sunny skies and cool cruisin'. You can take it easy or experiment on the fringe. Once you have some confidence then try Trap,Cub, Pup, Buckshot or Ramrod, which add softer snow and a few mild bumps.
On the Storm Peak side, Buddy's Run is great, but if it hasn't snowed, it can be icy and a bit steep. Good challenge.
The only time I got caught on a Black run by accident was when I made my way from Sunshime Peak to Storm Peak via Highline. Ooops!I

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I did that too 4 years ago when I had yet to ski any blacks at all. We were trying to get to Buddy's Run (without asking anyone first, obviously). I don't remember the run just how the anxiety started to build when I realized what was happening.

Now that's a true Uh-Oh moment.

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see, this is the stuff that concerns me. So my new quesiton is, arent the trails marked well there? It seems they should to avoid having to rescue people.

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The trails are marked really well. It's just that without knowing how the peaks are connected on top you can think from reading the map that you can get from the Sundown side across the top to the Storm Peak side at the highest point which would allow to get to Buddy's Run easily. You can't or at least it's not at all obvious to a non-local.

I've never seen anyone need rescue due to fear of the slope. There's always the textile method of getting down. Take your skis off and scoot...slide...scoot...slide.

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