Aiming for “Pipeline”

The Pipeline chute in Snowbird is hard to miss if you're a mountain lover and if you crave for skiing in gnarly spots. It just stares at you and begs for a visit. That's a late ski season project of mine, and I'd like to descend it sometime this month of May. This year, the snow cover is so generous that the chute looks like a super-highway: Smooth, open and inviting.

To get there though, you need to register with Snowbird's ski patrol, carry a shovel, a beacon, bring a buddy and hike the 700 feet vertical that push you to the ridge. Fairly easy requirements that I should be able to comply with next weekend when the weather gets a tad colder and Mother's Day has been celebrated as it should...