Lake Chutes: Wacky's Chute - Breckenridge [4K]
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- Опубликовано: 21 июл 2024
- SKIING STATS:
Area Name: The Lake Chutes
Run Name: Wacky's Chute
Location: Breckenridge (Peak 8 Alpine: Hike-To Zone)
Rating:♦EX♦ (Extreme Double Black Diamond)
My Personal Rating Opinion: ♦EX♦ (Extreme Double Black Diamond)
Lift Taken: Imperial Express
Maximum Pitch: 42 degrees
Run Length: 0.1 mi.
Vertical Drop: 387 ft.
Run Aspect: South
Run Type: Corniced Chute
HIKING STATS:
Hiking Distance: 0.1 mi.
Hiking Vertical: 158 feet
Hiking Time: 15-20 minutes
DATE OF RECORDING: March 14, 2023
SNOW CONDITIONS: Soft-packed powder (although it sounds a bit crusty in the video, it wasn't at all like that)
DESCRIPTION:
Wacky's Chute is an insane, technical, gnarly run in the infamous Lake Chutes area of Breckenridge. It's without question the most difficult of the MARKED Lake Chutes and one of the trickiest lines you can ski at Breckenridge! According to a Summit Daily article, the origin of the run's fun name is very simple: "Fellow hiker Wacky Tim Tucker loved extremely steep and narrow runs with rock walls on each side, hence Wacky’s Chute. Wacky Tim was a house painter who removed snow and ice from rooftops during the wintertime. He currently divides his time among Breck, Wisconsin and Chamonix, France" (link: www.summitdaily.com/news/the-....
To get to Wacky's Chute, you must first ride the Imperial Superchair up to an insane elevation of 12,840 feet. From there you must take off your gear and hike for 15-20 minutes (or more depending on your pace) to reach the Imperial Summit. This hike is not for the faint of heart as it's decently steep and extremely high in elevation for the average guest. By the time you reach the summit, you're standing at just about 13,000 feet. Then, you must ski down the Peak 8 Summit Ridge to access all of the Lake Chutes. You will ski past Easy Street, 9 Lives, Zero Chute (AKA: Crazy Ivan 0), Crazy Ivan I, Crazy Ivan II, Vertical Cornice, Zoot Chute, Elevator, and Spine Line on your way to Wacky's. To get to Wacky's you must do an additional sidestep up a mound of snow. Other than Dwarves/Diagonal, (the steep field of snow that is located directly skiers' right and lookers' left of Wacky's Chute) this is the last Lake Chute run before the extreme Snow White bowl area.
To enter Wacky's you can either drop its main cornice or bypass it by traversing downwards a few meters. I decided to avoid the cornice drop-in since I had no idea what the snow conditions were like in the chute. Despite doing this alternative approach, I had no reason to worry as the snow conditions were fantastic! It's exactly the type of snow that I prefer to ski in these chutes: soft-packed powder with plenty of grip (it sounds a bit icy in the video, though trust me, the snow was good). The chute also looks a LOT more intimidating and tighter from afar as there was enough room for me to make turns. Don't get me wrong though, Wacky's Chute is extremely steep and has several rocky outcroppings that would really ruin your day if you were to fall. This is definitely a no-fall zone, more so than most of the other Lake Chutes, and I definitely wouldn't recommend this to those who are just getting into extreme chutes.
Towards the end of the chute, you have two options: the badass way, and the regular way of skiing Wacky's. The badass way is to take a little bit of air off some of the rocks. The regular way is just to avoid the air by taking one of the non-mandatory air routes which is what I did just to be safe. The chute is extremely steep throughout and tight in a few places. Jump turns were 100% required most of the way down.
During my first visit to Breckenridge, I was studying the map to see what runs I should do. I came across The Lake Chutes area. When I saw a picture of Wacky's Chute (this one specifically: desertsnowjunkies.com/wp-cont..., I nearly laughed out loud and thought, "there's no way that this run's actually skiable". I now know it's definitely skiable and that it's a hell of an adrenaline rush! I really enjoyed the thrill of skiing this line and I'm really excited to eventually return to Breckenridge to ski some lines that are rumored to be even harder than this one (Needle's Eye, Crazy Ivan II, Savor, etc...). Until then, I'm extremely proud that Wacky's Chute in Breckenridge's legendary Lake Chutes zone is my hardest run of the 2022-23 ski season!
PERSONAL ENJOYMENT RATING: 10/10
FUN FACT: After hiking, I forgot to tighten the upper two bindings for both of my boots for the entire run. Whoops!
TIMESTAMPS:
0:00 - Lake Chutes Gate
0:07 - Lake Chutes Traverse
1:04 - Wacky's Chute
EXTERNAL LINKS:
Skiing Bucket List: docs.google.com/spreadsheets/...
Double Black Diamond Runs I've Done: docs.google.com/spreadsheets/...
![Killebrew Canyon: Bob's Boulevard - Heavenly [4K]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/YlBXvpyVIM4/mqdefault.jpg)
This was my hardest run of the 2022-23 ski season, I'm so happy I was able to do it! The progress I've made from when I first started this channel (primarily being a groomer skier) to this recent trip (being able to conquer legit extremes) is something that I'm really proud of! Here's to many more new hardest runs in the future, it's only going to get more epic from here!
Sketchy over those rocks
Definitely one of the sketchiest runs I've done!
Love Wackys! It's probably my favorite run at Breck. It's filled in significantly more than the last 2 years.
Nice skiing tho dude! Keep up the great work!
Thank you so much man! Wacky's is such a cool run, I'm so glad I got to do it this time around! Your Lake Chutes/Six Senses video that featured Wacky's as the first run was definitely a big motivating factor for why I wanted to ski it! Breck has so many phenomenal lines in the alpine, my favorite's gotta between this and E.S.P. Both are awesome! :)
Man that looks nasty steep even through the gopro effect, it must have been a terror IRL. Nice work!
Thanks so much! I think this is the first time that a run I’ve done has looked decently steep on video hahaha. It’s extremely steep irl for sure, one of the most challenging runs I’ve done!
Nice! Lake Chutes look super fun. That’s some awesome progress from last season too!
Thank you so much dude! The Lake Chutes zone is genuinely one of my favorite areas I've skied (minus the hike hahaha)! I'm really pleased I was able to do this one, I really didn't think I'd ever be able to! 😁
This is a classic example of why weather and ski conditions can completely alter a run. When I did this, it was (relatively) fun and not terrifying. Whereas, at other times, other runs felt much worse.
Wacky's definitely varies heavily based on conditions! I also did it when coverage was very good. Being forced to jump over those rocks at the bottom definitely seems very intimidating!
Nice video!
Thanks! Stoked you liked it! 😄
I am curious if you compared this to Bald eagle at Beaver Creek CO which one is harder and the details
This is way way way way way way way harder than Bald Eagle no question. First, Wacky's Chute takes an additional 20-minute brutal hike to reach from the nearest lift. Then, Wacky's is at almost 13,000 feet of elevation, while Bald Eagle is at around 8,000 feet of elevation making it a lot harder to breathe while skiing Wacky's. Bald Eagle's max pitch is 34° whereas Wacky's Chute has a 42° - 45° pitch depending on which line you steep (it doesn't sound like a huge difference but trust, it's a massive difference). Wacky's profile in general is a lot more challenging than Bald Eagle's. Wacky's Chute is a high alpine rock-riddled chute/couloir whereas Bald Eagle is a tree-defined mogul run. Wacky's Chute in general also requires jump-turns which is a technique that no run at Beaver Creek really demands (other than perhaps select lines in the Stone Creek Chutes area). To put it in perspective, the difference in difficulty between Wacky's and Bald Eagle is like the difference in difficulty between a green and a black run. In summary, despite Bald Eagle being an above-average difficulty mogul run, Wacky's is a different beast altogether. If you want to progress to this run, start with either some of the easier lines in the Lake Chutes area at Breck (Easy Street) and the Stone Creek Chutes at Beaver Creek before progressing to this one. It's definitely possible to do, but it's a big step up from Bald Eagle for sure! :)
@@arjunski how is easy street on lake chutes
@martingiurca6748 Decently chill once you clear initial cornice drop. Pitch-wise, it's the same as Bald Eagle and it's much shorter. What makes it arguably harder than Bald Eagle is the high alpine setting, the hike that comes before, and most obviously the cornice drop-in. Before you try Easy Street, make sure you're comfortable with a bit of air because a Cornice drop-in might be something that you haven't encountered before. To progress up to Easy Street, start with Imperial Bowl at Breckenridge and then try the cornice drop in Whale's Tail. If you can do those two comfortably, you'll do great on Easy Street!
Nice job
Thank you! :)
This run is incredibly steep
It really is! One of the steepest lines in all of Breck in my opinion!
No straightline?
Nah, this one's way too steep and exposed for me to straightline it! I prefer to push myself gradually rather than doing something I'm uncomfortable with. Better to do this sport for a long time than to take unnecessarily risk when you're not ready for it! :)