Okay. So you think the top 5 “most heralded lines” at Squaw are: For Pete’s Sake, High Line on McConkey’s, Schmidiots, Tram Face (any line), and Sacrifice. It seems each answer also had an asterisk attached to the nomination. For example, turns had to be made down High Line, and Schmidiots had to be ridden in its original form of pads versus skiing it as a straightline-to-air. Cool. What about hucks? Squaw has grown a reputation for people that like to take flight, and as Squallywood the Book captures, there’s ample opportunities to log vertical air time with each visit to Squaw Valley USA (also see, Walls of Freedom, 1995).
The question, while it may seem easy, has many factors to take into account. Some airs are clean, like the Main Air in the Fingers. Some drops are the definition of fat-to-flat, like Adrenaline Rock. There are technical cliffs like Chamber’s, and V Rock, and then there are the go-to fun drops many skiers race for on a powder day, like No Way Out. And then there’s the airs that very few have, or ever will drop, like the Gun Show.
Gunnar's line to lookers left, Mike Wilson's to lookers right Photo courtesy of tetongravity.com
So what do you think? Is it the technicality, aura, fun factor, difficulty, or sheer air-time that makes one huck stand out? What do you think are the raddest hucks, and ultimately the raddest huck, at Squaw Valley?
Photo Courtesy of tetongravity.com
*Feel free to to scrupulously study Squallywood to develop your most accurate answer. What?!? You don’t own it?!? Get with the program and click here.
My favorite might be Treeman’s on Granite Peak (at least, I think that’s what it is called). Not the biggest, not the hardest, but I love it. It is great to billy goat around up top, open it up a bit, then hit Treeman’s (but avoid the tree in the landing) and cruise out into the open apron.
I think the air you’re refering to is Treeboys. Just lookers right of the peak? One of my favorites as well.
Treeman’s is fun Dave-o. My fav. is the cliff band off the far boundary of VIP’s. Usually, you can go anywhere from 15-40 feet, after a nice safety meeting, leave a huge bomb hole, and ski fresh back to Granite. Man, I LOVE SQUAW!!!!!
And I forgot to say, The Gun SHow has to be the raddest huck on the mountain.
Has anyone every aired McConkey’s (or Eagles Nest Back in the day) in its total? That. Would . Be. Rad.
Otherwise, top 5:
1. Bowers Tower
2. GCP from the top
3. Ways air over China Wall (70+?)
4. Gunnar’s unamed air over the Triple area in C2
5. When someone hucks the Fingers from the top of Middle Knuckle they win (which will take this huck from #5 to #1)
Freebird: airing looker’s right of High Line up on McConkey’s into Ambrosia and then riding out onto Ambrosia’s apron. I’ve never seen it go, but it looks like a helluva show.
Middle Knuckle…with heat from the very top to very flat bottom
Hey, thats my wicked sick spread eagle up there, F YEAH!
And probably the gnarliest air ive seen live was the cliff right under Headwall about 3/4 up. Was right above it on a stopped chair when Wilson flipped it a few years back. He exploded hard. Apparently went back for redemption same day. Does it have a name?