Inside Line Series

Find your favorite line to ski or snowboard at Solitude Mountain Resort in Big Cottonwood Canyon, Utah.

The Inside Line video series highlights legendary runs and terrain areas around Solitude Mountain Resort. Get the inside scoop on some of the most desired terrain in Utah’s Wasatch Mountains. Each episode showcases a Solitude athlete shredding their favorite area of the mountain — so dive in and daydream to prep for your next visit to Solitude.

Episode 1: Milk Run with Shannan Yates

Located at the top of Powderhorn II chairlift, Milk Run is known for its steep technical pitch and endless soft turns on a powder day. This run shoots you down to the bottom of Summit Express, where you can ride the lift to find more fresh turns.

Episode 2: Evergreen Peak with Blake Hamm

To access this incredible terrain area, you have to earn your turns. But trust us — it’s worth it. Just a short 15-minute bootpack puts you on Evergreen Peak, which is a favorite zone to find soft turns days after a storm. The views aren’t bad, either.

Episode 3: Fantasy Ridge with Davis Lentz

Fantasy Ridge is not for the faint of heart. This area is by far some of the most technical in-bounds terrain in the Wasatch Mountains, accessed by a rugged (and adrenaline-inducing) bootpack. There are endless descents from this incredible section of Solitude, but please note — all runs accessed from Fantasy Ridge are for expert skiers/snowboarders only. We recommend doing this hike with a backpack as you’ll need both hands to grab onto a small via ferrata section of ladders and a cable in the middle of the hike.

To access the Fantasy Ridge terrain area, each individual must carry an avalanche transceiver, shovel, and probe and check in with ski patrol at the top of Summit Express before proceeding.

Episode 4: Highway to Heaven with Pat Spence

The name says it all — Highway to Heaven is the closest thing you’ll find to heaven on earth. When you leave the upper gate, accessed from the top of Summit Express chairlift, sidestep out to find your line and ski down toward Brighton/Twin Lakes. The view of Wolverine Cirque is jaw-dropping. When you drop into Highway to Heaven, be sure to keep an eye out for the exit traverse on the skier’s left. The traverse will lead you to a bootpack that will take you out of this area and back to the front side of Solitude. Be sure to study our trail map on this one.

Episode 5: Honeycomb Canyon with Grete Eliassen

Honeycomb Canyon, one of the most coveted areas at Solitude Mountain Resort. People flock from all over to ski or snowboard this legendary area — and for good reason because it’s really THAT GOOD. There are endless lines to charge and zones to discover in this one terrain area. So if you’re feeling a sense of adventure, Honeycomb Canyon is a great place to fuel the fire and explore.

Episode 6: Cathedral Cirque with Harrison Holley

Cathedral Cirque is a great zone to practice your navigation skills. Find a fun line as you view it to your right from the Summit Express chairlift, then make your way through the Buckeye Junior gate at the top of Honeycomb Canyon. Be sure to keep high on the traverse or risk missing your entry onto the skier’s right side of the ridge. There are two gates to access Cathedral Cirque; sometimes the first gate is closed, but if the second gate is open, you’re in for a treat. With tight chutes, double-stage cliffs, open powder fields up top, and technical tree skiing on skier’s left side of the cirque, Cathedral pretty much has it all.

Episode 7: Skiing in Exposed Terrain

Follow along with Solitude athlete, Harrison Holley, in today’s Inside Line focused on safety in extreme terrain. He outlines the importance of scoping out terrain before riding it and forming a plan with a partner.

With a variety of unmarked obstacles in these areas, it is crucial to pay attention to signage and information at terrain gates. Rescues in these areas are often very intense. Know the terrain before you go, ski and ride with others who know the terrain well and check in with patrol.

If you love our Inside Lines series, peel your eyes for more episodes dropping this season. Feel free to shoot Solitude Mountain Resort a direct message to ask us any questions you may have about these areas of the mountain. To check for the latest conditions and terrain openings, please visit Solitude’s Mountain Report.

Check out what our featured athletes are up to and follow them on Instagram: Shannan Yates, Blake Hamm, Davis Lentz, Pat Spence, Grete Eliassen, and Harrison Holley.

Series filmed and edited by Pockets Independent