Vail Mountain removes double-black diamond run ‘The Narrows’ from ski area
Expert terrain eliminated amid a gradual removal of runs in the area surrounding it
VAIL — The run called The Narrows has been removed from the in-bounds terrain available to skiers and snowboarders on Vail Mountain, a spokesperson with the resort has confirmed.
The Narrows was a double-black diamond run which provided connectivity to a large swath of terrain between the Gondola One line, Mill Creek Road and lower Riva Ridge.
The Narrows was accessed via a gate on Gitalong Road near the area currently known as the Avanti Skills Zone.
The Narrows, via the Gitalong Road gate, also provided connectivity to the runs Mudslide and Frontside Chutes via an area that had been cleared of trees under Gondola One.
Much changed area
The larger area surrounding the Avanti Skills Zone is one of the most frequently updated areas of Vail Mountain over the years.
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In 1999, the expert terrain in the area was known as The Chutes, with runs called Been There and Done That also nearby. A run called Bird Baths was listed on the trail map to the skiers’ right of the Avanti Skills Zone, which was then a public Nastar course, where regular skiers or aspiring ski racers could compare their handicap race scores to skiers on Nastar courses in others area of the country.
By 2003, Mudslide, Frontside Chutes and The Narrows had been added to the map, Bird Baths had been removed along with Been There and Done That, and a run called The Pumphouse occupied the area where Been There and Done That were.
The Pumphouse’s gate was located underneath the Gondola One line (then Chair No. 16), providing access to a clearing under Gondola One and a road leading to the Pumphouse run and the pumphouse outbuilding from which the run derives its name.
The area remained largely unchanged until the 2012-13 season, when Chair No. 16 was replaced with Gondola One, requiring the installation of new lift towers in the area. Vail also stopped participating in Nastar in a now-defunct idea called Epic Mix racing that season.
During the 2013-14 season, a large section of terrain in the area between the Pumphouse and The Narrows was marked as closed on the trail map.
Also in 2013-14, the Pumphouse gate was moved from the bottom of Ben’s Face to the bottom of Spruce Face, nudging guests toward the Cady’s Cafe run rather than the cleared area under Gondola One.
In 2016, another cleared area under Gondola One became inaccessible when connectivity was cut off between The Narrows and Frontside Chutes via a new fence line which forced those who entered The Narrows gate to stay to the skiers’ right of Mudslide.
In 2021-22, “The Narrows is no longer a run on Vail Mountain,” Vail spokesperson John Plack told the Vail Daily.
Acreage stats not adjusted
While Plack, despite multiple attempts from the Vail Daily, didn’t offer any explanation as to why The Narrows has been eliminated from the ski area, he did give those seeking extreme terrain in the area some comfort in suggesting that Mudslide and Frontside Chutes are still a welcome part of Vail Mountain.
“The Front Side Chutes and Mudslide are double black runs still available to expert skiers and riders,” Plack confirmed.
But the closing of The Narrows gate has been met in Vail with disappointment, and a side of activism and merchandising.
Local band Your Robot Overlords are selling “Save The Narrows” T-shirts in their Threadless.com store. The “about the design” section of the online shop says, in all caps, “The powers that be closed one of the last great frontside runs this year. Protest with us.”
Dave Pleshaw, the band’s lead singer, has been living in Vail for decades and said he has been watching the closures take place in the area since the days of the Been There, Done That runs.
“It’s a shame that Vail closed The Narrows without any explanation,” Pleshaw said. “It’s always been one of my pow day favorites when everybody flocks to the back.”
Pleshaw also pointed out that Vail, over the years, has not adjusted its terrain total on the map when the closures have taken place. The 2010 map without the closed terrain indicated, and the 2014 map with the large section of closed terrain outlined, both show Vail’s total acreage to be 5,289. When Vail opened its Golden Peak expansion in the 2019-20 season, the resort adjusted its total acreage to 5,317. With the closing of The Narrows this season, the total remains at 5,317.
Plack didn’t offer any comment about acreage adjustments on Vail Mountain.
“That’s strange, right?” Pleshaw said. “Vail still claiming the same acreage with all those closures.”
UPDATE: Vail Mountain spokesperson John Plack provided the following statement following the publication of this story.
“The Narrows is a challenging run that takes quite a bit of snow coverage. And while it’s still available when conditions permit, the decision was made to remove it from the trail map this season. That does not mean the run is permanently closed.
“Like any area on the mountain, Ski Patrol can close the terrain when conditions are not conducive to skiing or riding.”