Snow White Chutes for Breckenridge

An area of seven steep chutes between Peak 8 and 9 that has always been off limits at Breckenridge Ski Resort will likely be open for the taking this ski season.

The resort plans to open 150 acres of terrain named Snow White, which is located in the saddle between Peaks 8 and 9 and would be accessible from the Imperial Express SuperChair, said resort spokesperson Nicky DeFord.

The above-timberline terrain skis similarly to the nearby Lake Chutes, she said.

“It’s steeper than Imperial Bowl, it’s not going to be groomed, so it’s definitely for the stronger skier,” DeFord said.

The Snow White chutes feed skiers onto the advanced Double Barrel or Way Out trails on the backside of Peak 8. Even though Snow White has always been in the resort’s operating boundary, it hasn’t been open to skiers and riders because it was at least a 45 minute hike from the top of the T-Bar before the Imperial Express opened last season. Because of that, ski patrol was more limited in how much terrain it could open at the top of Peak 8 due to the high avalanche danger, which requires control work before it can be opened to the public, DeFord said.

The new terrain isn’t offical yet; officials from Breckenridge will meet with the Forest Service this fall to put Snow White in the resort’s new master plan. After that, it should be official, DeFord said. At that time, the total cache of terrain accessed off Imperial Express will grow from 400 acres to 550 acres, DeFord said.