Killebrew Canyon: Pipeline - Heavenly [4K]

RUN STATS:
Run Name: Pipeline
Area Name: Killebrew Canyon
Location: Heavenly
Rating: ♦♦ (Double Black)
My Personal Rating Opinion: ♦♦ (Double Black)
Lift Taken: Dipper Express
Maximum Pitch: 41 degrees
Run Type: Couloir
Total Run Length: 0.9 mi. (this is from the top of Gate A to the Mott Canyon Lift)
Total Vertical Drop: 1,294 feet. (this is from the top of Gate A to the Mott Canyon Lift)
Run Aspect: East
SNOW CONDITIONS: Soft snow with a few hard spots here and there
DATE OF RECORDING: March 25, 2024
DESCRIPTION:
Killebrew Canyon is an amazing expert zone at Heavenly. It's a zone that's really special to me as I've been wanting to do it since I was in 6th grade. However, while Killebrew is in bounds and patrolled, it's very isolated and remote which makes it risky to ski alone. In addition, because of its relatively hidden gates and long egress, not too many people ski Killebrew on a daily basis. I finally checked out the zone for the first time in March 2024. Killebrew Canyon is very tough to navigate past the gates and it's very easy to end up in the wrong place. This is especially true for Pipeline as I knew, going in, that I would have a bit of a hard time locating it. When you enter Gate A, you immediately start on the Outer Limits trail if you go skier's right, Ramarrah's if you go straight, and The Fingers if you go skier's left. There are two entrances into Pipeline: via Ramarrah's and via Outer Limits. Unlike how it's depicted on the trial map, Ramarrah's is actually NOT a separate run and is a very steep and narrow entrance into Pipeline. Because I was skiing Killebrew alone for the first time, I wasn't comfortable in taking the Ramarrah's entrance so I headed skier's right towards Outer Limits.
Outer Limits is one of the more mild runs in Killebrew Canyon. You can either take it all the way down to Boundary Chutes or ski down it for a bit and then cut skier's left to access Pipeline. It's very confusing on how to get to Pipeline from Outer Limits. I almost missed the run, but found it with a bit of luck. Even though the top part is the steepest, Pipeline maintains a nice consistent pitch all the way to the bottom (although I don't think the run is 41 degrees steep). I skied Pipeline during the peak of the season and so the chute itself had minimal obstacles. In bad seasons or the early season, Pipeline can be a lot more technical with some much tighter sections. The snow was definitely not good as the snow on the North-facing Stateline Chute but was still soft! After you reach the bottom of the run, you can either keep skiing straight down to the bottom of the Canyon or cut skier's left back towards Bob's Boulevard and the Upper Traverse. I didn't want to take the Lower Traverse so I decided to cut skier's left as soon as I cleared the chute and took the Upper Traverse all the way back to Mott Canyon.
In terms of difficulty, similar to all the other runs I did in Killebrew Canyon on the day of recording, Pipeline wasn't as challenging as expected. I'm sure it's definitely more difficult on worse snow years but when I did it, I'd compare it to something like Snake Eyes in Mott Canyon's Gate 1. They're roughly the same pitch and have equally narrow corridors. Assuming conditions are favorable, just like Stateline Chute, if you can do any run in Gate 1 of Mott Canyon, you should be able to do Pipeline. For reference, some runs like The "Y" in Mott Canyon are even more challenging than Pipeline. Like Stateline Chute though, I far prefer Pipeline to pretty much every run in Mott Canyon due to its epic remote feel and superior snow.
In fact, even though Stateline Chute was harder, I'd say Pipeline was my favorite run in Killebrew Canyon. It was steep, but never to the point that stressed me out and it's even more aesthetic than Stateline! Of course, compared to its neighboring runs "The Fingers" and "Ramarrah's", Pipeline isn't really what makes Killebrew Canyon as notorious as it is, however, that doesn't take away just how fun it is. Like Stateline, Pipeline isn't going to blow your socks off but it's a run that's just pure fun! Assuming reasonable conditions, I recommend this run to any rider who's confident with the runs in Mott Canyon Gate 1. I can't wait to come back to ride The Fingers and Ramarrah's to truly see what makes this zone as notorious as it is (though, I'm not comfortable doing those runs without a partner). I think I will say that for now, Pipeline ranks very high amongst my favorite runs that I've skied, period!
PERSONAL ENJOYMENT RATING: 9.5/10
TIMESTAMPS:
0:00 - Intro
0:05 - Outer Limits
0:58 - Pipeline
2:40 - Traverse to Bob's
3:01 - Bob's Boulevard
3:14 - Rim Trail
EXTERNAL LINKS:
Skiing Bucket List:
docs.google.com/spreadsheets/...
Double Black Diamond Runs I've Done:
docs.google.com/spreadsheets/...

[@arjunski]

I was kinda lost for getting to Pipeline in the beginning of the video but I figured it out eventually! The best directions that I can give is to go through Gate A, initially go just a bit skier's right (not NEARLY as far as I went) and then ski down 100ish feet and look for the run on your left. My mistake was definitely going way further skier's right I needed to go.

[@starkest]

few years back i got into that canyon by accident and immediately regretted it

[@arjunski]

Yikes, going into Killebrew without doing any homework on the area sounds like a nightmare! Hopefully you can go back one day and have a good time because it's a really cool zone!