New Bullion Basin lift, upgrade to High Campbell..

You guys need to get out more and lay off the internet, this kind of heat does little to improve skiing etiquette.

To avoid problems with backcountry users skinning up on runs I propose a uphill only trail be cut thru the woods, perhaps in the general area I've marked in red on Lowell's image. It wouldn't need any surface work, only clearing of trees and brush,  and only a few feet wide would be enough as it would be up only. Ideally the Forest Service would mark and build it, but a more realistic and timely method would be for TAYers to do the cutting.

To avoid problems with backcountry users skinning up on runs I propose a uphill only trail be cut thru the woods, perhaps in the general area I've marked in red on Lowell's image. It wouldn't need any surface work, only clearing of trees and brush,  and only a few feet wide would be enough as it would be up only. Ideally the Forest Service would mark and build it, but a more realistic and timely method would be for TAYers to do the cutting.

Seems like there is an obvious major problem with this idea: some lift skiers seeking powder in the trees are almost certain to ski down any such trail, even just portions of it connecting larger clearings.  The narrow width (if cut through tight trees or brush) will likely lead to sudden unavoidable accidents.

Personally, at an operating ski area, I'd much rather skin up the edge of a wide open trail, and would avoid going anywhere near a narrow trail up through the woods.

Since there is already a designated hiking/pack trail that is maintained by the forest service right through that area it seems unlikely that the FS would approve an additional trail.   The grade of hiking/pack trail is set for horse packing somewhat less steep than ideal for skinning.

Agree with Amar that skinning up the edge of regular ski run is safer. 

One example of that is the "Serpentine" run at the Summit Nordic center -- it was cut as a narrow winding XC trail a few years ago with the idea of providing a more gentle descent route for XC skiers from the "upper trails" back to the base -- unfortunately snowboarders discovered that it made fun "toboggan run" / "banked slalom" -- freaking out the novice XC skiers for which the trail was intended.    Now XC skiiers are channelled onto the nearby "Creek Run" than has been widened a bit.

The steath option is to skin directly up through the forest -- when the snowpack is above 50 inches or so the brush and creeks are covered enough that this is pretty easy -- but the trees are tight enough to discourage descending powder seekers that didn't learn to ski in Vermont.

I'm adding a cross-link to a thread about a March 2011 avalanche that crossed the northernmost run in the Bullion Basin footprint.

www.turns-all-year.com/skiing_snowboardi...03.msg85838#msg85838

This suggests that the new Bullion Basin lift, if Crystal Mountain builds it, may require closures and or control work to protect this run, assuming that it remains part of the development plan.

Thanks for the info Gary!

I was searching for something else and came across this. Well, here it is 2013/14 and I guess BB chair is not that much of a priority right now, nor is replacing CH6 with something more modern. *But* at least the wastewater plant is done and we have Taco truck!