Prima Cornice - Vail [4K]

SKIING STATS:
Run Name: Prima Cornice
Location: Vail (Frontside)
Rating: ♦♦ (Double Black Diamond)
My Personal Rating Opinion: ♦EX♦ (Extreme Double Black Diamond)
Lift Taken: Northwoods Express
Maximum Pitch: 44 degrees
Run Length: 0.3 mi.
Vertical Drop: 804 ft.
Run Aspect: Northwest
Run Type: Cliff & Glades (?)
DATE OF RECORDING: March 12, 2023
SNOW CONDITIONS: Fresh Powder :)
DESCRIPTION:
Prima Cornice is an infamous expert trail located on Vail Mountain's massive frontside. To get here, you can either take the Northwoods Express or the Mountaintop Express. Travel down the main summit ridge all the way down until you get to a fork between legendary groomer Riva Ridge, or the challenging bump run Prima. Take a right onto Prima and then look for the Prima Cornice Gate on the far right-side of Prima. I believe there are two gates with Prima Cornice and that the second gate is a little easier. I always take the first gate and traverse downwards from there. Although Vail doesn't use the Extreme Terrain designation on its official trail map that other Colorado resorts use for their most technical terrain, there is an ♦EX♦ sign at the top of this run (visible at 0:36). The drop-ins generally get easier from skiers' left to right. I eventually found a good spot that was reasonably challenging given my skill level. It had snowed a foot the previous night and so the run was in very good condition when I dropped in. It took me two turns to get down this top section and I was extremely happy that I'd skied it much more confidently than my last attempt when I basically slid down the entire run because of icy conditions.
From here, Prima Cornice's upper cliff section filters into some menacingly tight glades. I took a bit of a strange path that took me between a tree and a cliff and was forced to sideslip down this part since a straightline was impossible due to the tree blocking my path. My skis got stuck between two rocks at one point during the sideslip and I had to use my arms to manually free my skis. After this, the pitch became far more forgiving and the snow in this next glade section was incredible. Eventually, I filtered into the Prima Cornice Bump Run-Out section, and unlike my last attempt, the bumps were really soft and in good shape. Because of that, this section was a lot more enjoyable than when I did it last year. I then merged onto the lower part of the blue run called Northstar and took that all the way back to the Northwoods Lift.
Overall, compared to the last attempt, I had an absolute blast skiing Prima Cornice this year. I'm really happy that I lucked out with the conditions this time around and that's honestly what made the experience so enjoyable. If there's one thing that I learned from this whole experience, it's that good conditions genuinely makes everything a bit easier. My increased skill between the two attempts was also definitely a big factor in this attempt being a lot more successful. While this run isn't the most interesting or unique run out there, it's definitely one that'll get your adrenaline pumping. If you're an expert at Vail looking for the most challenging run on the mountain, look no further than this cliff riddled line on the frontside, though I'd really only recommend doing it when the conditions are prime!
PERSONAL ENJOYMENT RATING: 8/10
TIMESTAMPS:
0:00 - Flashback to 2022 Attempt
0:28 - Prima Cornice Gate
0:43 - Prima Cornice Ridge
1:24 - Prima Cornice Upper Section
2:20 - Prima Cornice Trees
3:10 - Prima Cornice Run-Out
3:21 - Prima Cornice Bump Section
4:32 - Lower Northstar + Outro
EXTERNAL LINKS:
Skiing Bucket List: docs.google.com/spreadsheets/...
Double Black Diamond Runs I've Done: docs.google.com/spreadsheets/...

[@arjunski]

Super happy I was able to go back and do a lot better on this one. Next time, assuming conditions are this good, the goal is to drop at 0:57! :)

[@SeattleDiverSkier]

Good job! And good luck next time

[@arjunski]

@@SeattleDiverSkier Thank you! :)

[@DaleySpam]

Progress is definitely noticeable! Nice skiing, powder looks so nice!

[@arjunski]

Thanks so much man! Snow was incredible this day, it's incredible how better conditions can legit make you a better skier by allowing you to trust the snow more! :)

[@Mongoliantreecow]

Gotta try this on a snowboard now 👌👌

[@arjunski]

Haha absolutely not 😂 That's all you man! I'm happy I was able to survive this run on skis

[@treypodlesny9460]

my friend did it on snowboard and hes 13

[@Mongoliantreecow]

@treypodlesny9460 good for him 👍

[@SeattleDiverSkier]

I've enjoyed watching the video. I appreciate editing and humor. 🙂 And I noticed you make thumbnails similar to my video, so I clicked. 🙂

[@arjunski]

Appreciate that man! Wanted to have some fun with this one so I decided to experiment a bit with the editing. Just checked out your channel, your videos are super cool! :)

[@SeattleDiverSkier]

@@arjunski Thank you. You inspired me, yesterday I went and skied on some crazy rock double black runs, edited a video to music, added captions. Check it out. ?v=Z5fSwSsjTQQ

[@arjunski]

Just saw your latest video, love the music and skiing man! It goes really well with your editing style. The only thing is that your pitch estimates seem slightly off. Consider using this website called FATMAP for pitch estimations (I'll link it below). Although it's not 100% accurate, it's still pretty good for getting a feel for how steep slopes are! Alpental seems really cool, definitely on my bucket-list! FATMAP LINK: fatmap.com/adventures/@47.4391209,-121.4349532,3468.0753133,-30.0602268,-120.0741313,1260.1090006,satellite,winter

[@SeattleDiverSkier]

​@@arjunski Okay, I replied yesterday, now I don't see my reply here for some reason. Briefly, I discovered FATMAP a week ago and even wanted to also recommend it to you - it's great! It overlays my ski runs from Strava (imported from Garmin) on the hills, and that's how I know how those hills are called. 🙂 Regarding Upper International, I'm sure FATMAP has an error there. It's clearly not less steep than Adrenaline, it's easy to see on the 3D map. I did a search and from several sources got some numbers, one source says that average pitch on Upper International is 43°. FATMAP shows a very strange curved route, but actually you can drop straight down the wall on the right side, which is what I did on the video, and it's as steep as Adrenaline. Also, there is another run nearby called Shclucht, which it says is 43°, in real life Upper International is noticeably steeper & more dangerous. Anyway, Alpental with International and the back bowls would be a treat for anyone who is looking for extreme terrain. 🙂

[@arjunski]

Ahhhhh I see, that makes sense! My apologies! FATMAP can be annoying sometimes but it's a great tool! It's totally changed the way I plan out runs for upcoming trips and it really lets me assess which runs could potentially be within my ability level! Cheers, and I can't wait to make a trip out to Alpental at some point, the terrain there looks way too sick! :)

[@Someonewhoasked]

What was the day you went out on this? Hopefully I see some better early season snow this year 😢

[@arjunski]

According to the description, I did Prima Cornice on March 12, 2023!

[@Someonewhoasked]

@@arjunski sorry for not reading! Thanks for also telling me

[@arjunski]

No worries! :)

[@Someonewhoasked]

@@arjunski also really hoping that 2024 winter will be promising. Sadly I have no option but to go during late December, so I’m just hoping this year will not be another record low. In 2023 I could see the grass between every mogul and the snow had a slight muddy color.

[@arjunski]

@@Someonewhoasked Ahhhhh, it's unlikely that Prima Cornice will be by then. It's definitely possible if the year is exceptionally good, but Prima Cornice in particular requires a lot of snow to open, let alone be actually skiable. Again, it's definitely possible though so keep your fingers crossed! 🤞

[@treypodlesny9460]

just did it today

[@arjunski]

Nice, that's awesome! How was it?

[@treypodlesny9460]

@@arjunski powder

[@BrentBrewington]

That was thrilling. Aaand not going to do that run

[@arjunski]

Haha valid. This is a really tough one and I took one of the easiest entrances!