Palisades Tahoe, CA - ◊◊ National Chute (1-28-23) [4K]
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- Опубліковано 1 січ 2025
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Oh boy. This was insane.
National Chute is one of the steepest trails at Palisades Tahoe (formerly Squaw Valley). It's one of several iconic drop-ins that define the famous Palisades at this namesake resort. Even though National is considered the "easiest" way down from Wa She Shu peak, it's still one of the steepest in-bounds trails here or pretty much anywhere. A grueling hike is rewarded by a splendid view, or at least until the nerves kick in.
This was my first time doing a trail of this nature and I was (quite justifiably) terrified! But after seeing a few people do it, I finally regained my confidence when I was able to see the drop down just when I was preparing to drop in. I promise, it gets much easier once you see the ground you're dropping onto.
Advice: Everyone else I talked to at the top gave pretty sound advice. To sum it up: it will look terrifying from the top (where I was originally standing) but gets MUCH more manageable once you get into position to drop in. It was especially scary to me because I couldn't even as much as visually confirm where the ground and sides of the chute were, but this all changes when you move into that slot.
Moving into said slot also appears quite daunting, but the snow is pretty resilient and usually wouldn't be slippery enough to cause major slippage. Both slide-in techniques in the video (parallel parking and sliding in from the left) seem to be effective.
After that, it's all about the first turn! Just go in a straight line from the drop-in until you have enough contact with the ground to regain control. I definitely wouldn't recommend dropping in right off the edge (perpendicular to the cliff) - there's a reason no one in the video did that because it is quite dangerous due to the accumulated speed on a super bumpy surface.
Another thing to note is there is an easier way down than shown in the video - if you continue further down the top plateau there is a drop-in that is significantly less steep. It's a little hard to find, though, and ironically that's what I was looking for. I ended up on the hard way down, but it still wasn't bad at all!
I also want to stress that the hike up is still actually outrageous in its own right. It's one of the steeper in-bounds climbs to get to a trail, and even if the first few hundred feet are groomed it absolutely takes a toll on your body. You'll be carrying all your gear up an icy, wind-swept incline (oh yeah, the wind is nuts, too) at super high altitude. I was honestly almost as discouraged by the hike itself more as the vertical staredown from the top.
But hey, honestly, if you've skied any other double diamonds at Palisades before (e.g. Poulsen's Gully from the very top, Moseley's, Chute 75, etc.) you will probably be fine!
Overall Difficulty: 8/10
Relative Difficulty (Double Diamond): 6/10
Accessibility Rating: 3/10 (Brutal hike up from one or two lifts)
Open Trail Index: 1/10 (Extremely weather-dependent! Closes instantly if Siberia is down, usually patrol closes it after ~1:30pm, requires boatloads of snow to stay open for more than a day)
Enjoyment Rating: 6/10 (While the satisfaction afterward was immense, it was extremely intimidating and anxiety-inducing up until all velocity is dissipated at the bottom)
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Song "Outlaw" by Creo
• Creo - Outlaw
This is my first time adding music to one of my ski videos. Feel free to add constructive criticism - this isn't something I plan on doing a lot but I thought it was well worth the occasion.
If you would prefer to watch this video without music, here is another link: • Palisades Tahoe, CA - ...
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REGARDING COMMENTS
Hey there, if you're stumbling across this video in 2024 or later, I have paused comments for the time being. There were a lot of nice people with constructive feedback, but I'm not willing to put up with a bunch of grumpy curmudgeons downright insulting my skiing form or editing choices. If you were about to leave a hateful comment, that's you. This video isn't even about politics, man. What's the point? Like, what outcome to you anticipate from commenting that?
This video was experimental from the start and is edited differently than any of my other content. It just happened to get popular. If this isn't your style, I'm sorry you didn't like it, but leaving rude comments isn't doing your generation any favors. I just don't understand some of these people these days. Think about the human on the other side of the screen. Is this the legacy you want to leave?
Hey there! Thank you for watching!
Before you post something snarky about my nerves or skiing form, please remember:
1. This was my first time hitting anything remotely close to this steep in my life and I was absolutely terrified.
2. Despite what it looks like in the video, you couldn't see the "ground" (where you'd be making contact) from where I was standing.
3. I was already exhausted from the hike up and the high altitude.
4. I wasn't sure how to handle the main drop-in, since I intended on taking the easier route in but couldn't find it.
5. I'm just a guy and I know there's plenty of room for improvement in my form, even on stuff I'm comfortable with.
6. This was my second time (ever) skiing at a resort not on the East Coast.
Thank you for your understanding and have a good day!
And it is the "easier" of the chutes on the Palisades! Good job. I'll never forget my first time spring '94. A huge year just like this one. Well done. I hear myself in your voice. Once you get r done . Start adding GNAR points to your belt... I'm watching as I type. ... your voice is not laughable... I rembered that feeling. Look at you go go go!!!
Love the chat with the guy at 03:00
Polite, good pointers, and a calm presence. Makes all the difference sometimes.
You handled the skiing fine. The jitters were what held you back. Just like Corbets. The fear of dropping in stops most, not their skiing ability
Yeah, I'd like to think that if the same drop-in is there next year I'd be able to do it again without hesitation
Hi folks! If you want to skip to the drop-in, it's at 5:30. If you would prefer to watch this video without music, there's a link at the bottom of the description.
Great job
Admiring from the UK
The nice thing about that chute was that it was really wide and you could let your skis run a little before turning..
Keep up the stoke man! Good conditions, not the best so a fall could have meant a nasty slide. Well done!
Appreciate it dude!
Awesome video bro
Hell yeah man your a good skiier don’t forget that even in these situations.. that’s what makes it all happen is believing
Really nice. Don’t know how you have these views with this quality.
The more you think the harder you fall.
I thinks it’s just one of those things were once you start going down then you feel brave and confident.
I took my group of 9-11 year old Big Mountain kids down that. It's more of a mental effing than it is hard to ski. 😅
Yep! It's over in 10 seconds.
Is this facing the Siberia chair? I do like how people are giving you pointers on how to drop in.
Yep! The hike up is from Siberia and it's probably the most visible of the Palisades chutes from the lift.
And yeah, I probably wouldn't have been able to do this without any pointers.
@@Bram4Real You hiked up the back of the Palisades and not over from HeadWall? I'll have to try that this winter.
@@samsappleton8381 Yeah I'm pretty sure the "reverse traverse" (as it was labeled) from Headwall was closed but I didn't even know about it until I saw the sign at the top haha
WOOHOO !
@1:44 Have you been working out legs in the off-season?
I had been doing some off-season training with my college's ski team but they had stopped in early December, so I was probably a bit out of shape. I imagine most of whatever loss of physical strength shows up in this video was because of the altitude and nerves since this was my first time attempting anything that steep.
I’m pretty sure this is at Squaw
Yeah, they changed their name last year so I just started calling them that.
I’m a little surprised those guys were even on the Palisades with that intermediate level of skill. Good thing they all stuck to National.
Eh, I wouldn't be too hard on them. I'll give the snowboarder the benefit of the doubt because I think he caught an edge right on the drop-in. The skier(s) were all better than me or at least more experienced with Palisades conditions than I was. Skiing outside of the East Coast has really been a wake-up call for me and put a hard check on my perception of skiing ability. And the difficulty difference between National and any of the other chutes is so absurd that I'd say that's all they planned on doing anyways.
holy cannoli
Next job kid. I’ve skied that room 45 years in a row now and this will be my 46 season… If we get any snow… Lol.
Thanks! I imagine it’s a lot easier the second time. I think the East Coast has been hogging all the winter weather so far this season, not all of it snow…
Um that snowboarder just went straight down lol
Yeah felt kinda bad, he stuck around to give me some pointers and then got caught on an edge right after the drop-in
@@Bram4Real Yes, not his best run.
Looks easy.