Advanced Skier Itinerary

Start: Upper Mountain Fast

Head to Upper Mountain early when there's fresh snow and beat the crowds. Take the Funi as soon as you can and come back for lower elevation skiing later - usually tracked out by the powder hounds since those lifts often run through storms.

From here, you’ve got two good opening moves: Siberia or Headwall.

Option 1: Siberia

If there’s fresh snow, you can crank out a few fast laps off Siberia before the crowds catch up. Quick laps, good fall lines, straightforward terrain, and plenty of variations if you duck into the side pockets or push skier’s left.

Option 2: Headwall

If you want to wake up with a bang, go straight to Headwall. This is where the mountain gets real immediately.

From the top, you can hit:

• North Bowl – smooth, wide, great pitch
• Hogsback – consistent and fun
• The Slot – steep, classic, but conditions-dependent
• Anything along the Ridge – tons of micro-lines, little drops, side entrances

If you’re here on a good snow day, this zone alone can occupy a big chunk of your morning.

Mid-Morning: Granite Chief Terrain

Once lines start building and Siberia/Headwall become less efficient, shift toward Granite Chief. It takes a minute — up Gold Coast, ski down Shirley, then keep moving — but you get actual skiing on the way.

Granite Chief has a ton of fun backside terrain:

• Glades everywhere
• Short hikes up to the Chief for more vertical and cleaner snow
• Long traverses hard skier’s right to hit lines like Breakout Hour, Arrete, and other steeper fall-line shots

This zone stays good later in the day than you’d expect, mostly because it takes effort to reach.

Optional: Silverado (If Open)

Silverado is never casual. If it’s open and conditions are right, this is expert terrain with almost no room for mistakes.

Tight chutes, steep sections, old-school Tahoe lines that demand commitment. There are zero easy ways out, so you need to know where you’re dropping in.

When it’s good, though, it’s some of the best skiing on the mountain.

Afternoon: The Mothership (KT-22)

End the day where the legends ski: KT-22.

You can burn a whole afternoon here alone. A few classics:

• West Face – direct, consistent pitch, fun flow
• Chute 75 – a little spicier, straight fall-line
• Rock Garden – playful, varied, and great when filled in

KT has dozens of micro-lines, and everyone eventually finds their personal favorites. It’s the cleanest way to end the day if your legs still have some life left.

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That should take you through a full advanced day at Palisades — start early, stay high, and chase the best terrain while avoiding the worst crowds.