The world’s best ski runs, listed by the ski world’s biggest names
Over the years Fall Line has caught up with plenty of legendary freeriders, where sometimes talk of runs other than far-out freeride descents creeps into conversation.
We’ve asked the biggest names in skiing for their all-time-best pisted or inbound ski runs, and here’s what they’ve said…
Michelle Parker
My favourite lift-accessed line is off KT 22 at Palisades, Lake Tahoe. If referring to it by the specific line it would be The Nose to The Fingers. This line offers up ample air time, or you can billy goat your way down the rocks and chutes that make up The Fingers. With blind rollovers and exposure, this one is a true test piece for big mountain skiers and snowboarders.
Sam Anthamatten
Obere National, the black slope in Zermatt on the Rothorn side. Definitely an interesting one, and one of the slopes that is just evenly steep for 80% of it. In my teenage years, this was our best training for some of the longest mogul slopes we had. Today it gets perfectly prepared to race down on some GS skis.
Lexi Dupont
The Bowls (a collection of mainly Black trails, below Bald mountain, pictured above), says Lexi, pictured above on her number one ski run. It’s a Sun Valley classic – 360-degree views of the surrounding mountains, lots of steeps. On a powder day I’m in there lapping, either getting strong for the season or just enjoying myself, with a heavenly 1,500-feet of vertical.
Reine Barkered
My favourite trail in Åre is Getrappet… It’s wide but doesn’t follow a straight path, which I like. One of the best things is that it has a couple of nice rollers where you can get some air if you are inclined to. Situated right under the VM8 high-speed chair you have to make sure to ski it clean with all those people watching!
Markus Eder
The steepest slope at Klausberg is called Klaussee 2 8d. Not a fancy name, but it’s definitely steep. It happens often that people crash on the very top of it and then slide down the entire slope with no control, their gear all over the place. My relationship with it is that a lot of The Ultimate Run was filmed on the skier’s right next to the slope. It’s also my home training run, which I hit back-to-back whenever it gets a reset.
Looking for more? Check out why pros Dan Egan and Stian Hagen vote The Fingers in Palisades and Lavancher Bowl in Chamonix, respectively, their all time best ski runs:
