Golden Peak - North

Type: Backcountry or Sidecountry

This is quite a long run with a pretty minimal cost: a quick and easy 580' climb gets you to a nice little summit with fantastic glade skiing for around 1800' vertical.

This route is harder and steeper than Golden Peak - Northeast.

From the summit, pick any line to the north or northwest, avoiding a small ridge and gully to the right (east). The top is wide open and gentle, and a nice warm up. The pitch steepens and the trees get more dense about halfway down, and there are also many small cliffs and large rocks that you should look out for. You may find yourself with a mandatory 3-5' jump.

There are several fun, quite steep pitches near the bottom, but the trees thin out a bit and it's pretty easy down to the road.

If you follow this line, you remain on public property the entire way. If you go too far left or right, you'll end up in a back yard (and find a lot more cliffs along the way!).

Once you hit the road, walk towards Vail Village and you'll find a bus stop soon enough. The bus is free and will have you at the Vail transit center in a couple minutes.