Solitude Backcountry Skiing & Off Piste

The backside of Solitude is home to Honeycomb Canyon. Honeycomb Canyon is a long narrow canyon with a series of chutes and bowls on either side. The terrain ranges from tight trees to narrow chutes to open bowl. Depending on the line selected, skiers can expect relatively short decents of between 600 and 1000 feet before bottoming out onto the cat track.

The terrain on the far side of the canyon (accessed from the Summit Double) is decidedly easier than the terrain on the near side of the canyon (accessed from the Eagle Ridge trail) because it is much more open. The terrain on the far side is generally suitable for strong advanced skiers comfortable making turns on ungroomed snow, but the near side terrain requires the ability to turn in tight trees.

Honeycomb Canyon Access from the Summit Double

The far side of Honeycomb Canyon is reachable by a traverse from the top of the Summit Double chair. The terrain on this side of Honeycomb Canyon is comprised of open bowls with rock outcroppings that separate a series of wide faces into chutes. This side receives direct sunlight for a long portion of the day. As a result, the snow can get wet and heavy, particularly during the spring.

There are six named runs on the far side of the canyon, but in practice the names are really just for the trail map. A skier can traverse out as far as he likes until a line below looks appealing.A skier can select a tight line or avoid the narrow chutes depending on his preference. The lines farthest out are not necesarily the best, however, as the vertical drop of each run decreases as a skier traverses out. The area shown on the map as Prince of Wales (the first truly steep chute a skier comes across traversing out) is our favorite line.

Honeycomb Canyon Access from the Frontside (via the Eagle Ridge trail)

The near side of Honeycomb Canyon is reachable from the Eagle Ridge trail on the front side of the mountain. Unlike the open terrain on the far side of the canyon, this side offers tight shaded tree runs. The two longest decents – Here Be Dragons and Black Forest – must be accessed from the Powderhorn II chair, but the entrance to Navarrone is reachable from the top of the Eagle Express.

Exiting Honeycomb Canyon

The one downside to the canyon’s outstanding terrain is that it cannot be lapped. Every run empties out into a cat track that winds down to the Honeycomb Return quad chair. Skiers can also continue down the cat track on the Honeycome Return trail, but the lift is a faster option and we suggest avoiding the trail in favor of the lift. This arrangement whereby a skier must access the terrain via one lift, but departs via another course means that fewer skiers per day ski the terrain. As a result the snow tends to linger in Honeycomb Canyon the longest.