Bottom station with parking rail and loading/unloading in both directions.Doppelmayr return terminal.Integrated tower 1.Side view of the base.Extremely steep lift line.Doppelmayr Worldbook entry.Top drive station with loading and unloading.Doppelmayr Uni 90s-style enclosure.View down the gunbarrel.Upper lift line.Lower line.Towers 1-3.Tower 7.Arriving at the drive.Unloading ramp and load for downloaders.Riding down.
Correct. There is a cat track that wraps around the front side of the mountain, but during poor snow seasons, downloading is the only way other than the tram.
Access to Roundabout requires a half mile+ of fairly tough pushing/skating/walking – usually in heavy wet snow (due to the exposure) before you can actually ski downhill. Haven’t met a lot of people willing to do it more than once. There are other ways you can ski to bypass that flat section, but definitely not suitable for beginners or intermediates. Most everyone not capable of skiing the Face download on Gunbarrel or the Tram.
Love the photo with the caption “lower line”. Cal Base parking lot used to be that empty quite often during the week. But since Covid shutdowns, that lot fills up every single day, with the concomitant overcrowding on many of the runs. Used to think they’ll have to go back to work sometime, but it doesn’t look like that’s going to happen. Since I’m retired and only ski weekdays, starting to think Kirkwood or Sierra Ski Ranch “at Tahoe” (assuming it ever opens again) might be better alternatives, despite the fact I live only 3 miles from Heavenly. Or I could move to North Shore, always liked Alpine Meadows better, anyway. (“Tahoe Palisades”? NEVER!)
There are a couple of ways to get to the bottom without downloading or cat-walking, such as advanced roundabout that cuts off the cat-walking by going through the woods or riding down gunbarrel or east bowl (two double blacks that are pretty easy for almost any advanced skier that can do steep moguls). I would definitely avoid downloading because it requires you wait in the lines for patsy’s or groove lifts, that by the end of the day can get to 45 minutes of waiting.
“Advanced Roundabout” is one of the most unusual runs at Heavenly. It is not, and, to my knowledge, has never been, acknowledged, on their trail maps, and there is only one small trail sign on the mountain that points in that general direction. The exposure and relatively low elevation makes for poor snow coverage much of the time, so it’s often a minefield of obstacles. Although not particularly steep, it’s definitely a no go for beginners and most intermediates. They used to groom the upper part of it in big snow years, but that probably invited too many people to use it who had no business being there, ESPECIALLY if they tried it again without the benefit of a groomed surface. Because of all of the above, it usually doesn’t get a lot of traffic, which is fine with me. I enjoy skiing down to the parking lot at the end of the day, but am getting too old to deal with the entirety of The Face, as the conditions aren’t very good the majority of the time.
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Do they allow downhill riding due to the expert only terrain so novices Can get to the bottom?
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Correct. There is a cat track that wraps around the front side of the mountain, but during poor snow seasons, downloading is the only way other than the tram.
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The trail is called round about I think and it is a blue trail
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Access to Roundabout requires a half mile+ of fairly tough pushing/skating/walking – usually in heavy wet snow (due to the exposure) before you can actually ski downhill. Haven’t met a lot of people willing to do it more than once. There are other ways you can ski to bypass that flat section, but definitely not suitable for beginners or intermediates. Most everyone not capable of skiing the Face download on Gunbarrel or the Tram.
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Love the photo with the caption “lower line”. Cal Base parking lot used to be that empty quite often during the week. But since Covid shutdowns, that lot fills up every single day, with the concomitant overcrowding on many of the runs. Used to think they’ll have to go back to work sometime, but it doesn’t look like that’s going to happen. Since I’m retired and only ski weekdays, starting to think Kirkwood or Sierra Ski Ranch “at Tahoe” (assuming it ever opens again) might be better alternatives, despite the fact I live only 3 miles from Heavenly. Or I could move to North Shore, always liked Alpine Meadows better, anyway. (“Tahoe Palisades”? NEVER!)
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There are a couple of ways to get to the bottom without downloading or cat-walking, such as advanced roundabout that cuts off the cat-walking by going through the woods or riding down gunbarrel or east bowl (two double blacks that are pretty easy for almost any advanced skier that can do steep moguls). I would definitely avoid downloading because it requires you wait in the lines for patsy’s or groove lifts, that by the end of the day can get to 45 minutes of waiting.
LikeLike
“Advanced Roundabout” is one of the most unusual runs at Heavenly. It is not, and, to my knowledge, has never been, acknowledged, on their trail maps, and there is only one small trail sign on the mountain that points in that general direction. The exposure and relatively low elevation makes for poor snow coverage much of the time, so it’s often a minefield of obstacles. Although not particularly steep, it’s definitely a no go for beginners and most intermediates. They used to groom the upper part of it in big snow years, but that probably invited too many people to use it who had no business being there, ESPECIALLY if they tried it again without the benefit of a groomed surface. Because of all of the above, it usually doesn’t get a lot of traffic, which is fine with me. I enjoy skiing down to the parking lot at the end of the day, but am getting too old to deal with the entirety of The Face, as the conditions aren’t very good the majority of the time.
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