Skiing Rawhide Gulch at Great Divide.gif)
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| Another
View from the Summit at Great Divide Ski Area |
Rawhide Gulch is a very large and beautiful bowl that sits
on the southern edge of the ski area. It can only be accessed
from the Mt. Belmont summit. This bowl is very sizable and
contains a huge mix of terrain. In particular, Rawhide Gulch
has some beautiful open skiing terrain for both intermediate
and advanced skiers (there is no beginner terrain in Rawhide
Gulch).
See
Rawhide Gulch Close Up Map : (large
image)
As the
bowl is so open, you can pretty much ski anywhere you want
back in Rawhide Gulch, weaving from one “trail” to
the next. When skiing down in Rawhide Gulch you’ll
encounter open bowl terrain, a ton of gladed terrain, some
rocks and cliffs (always be aware of where you are skiing,
especially during low snow levels) as well as a few more
traditional ski runs that are hemmed in by thicker woods.
The
terrain in Rawhide Gulch is serviced by one chairlift,
the Rawhide Gulch double chair. This chairlift does not
take
you back up to the summit of Mt. Belmont, however. Instead,
this chair deposits you a bit above and away from the base
area. From there, it’s just a short ski run down to
the Mt. Belmont chair – which is what you use to get
back up to the summit.
While
the Rawhide Gulch area contains the nicest and widest variety
of intermediate and advanced terrain at Great Divide,
because this bowl faces to the southeast, it has the unfortunate
tendency to lose snow faster than the rest of the mountain
does. As such, during low snow years, it isn’t uncommon
for Rawhide Gulch to be a bit “bare” in spots.
The whole bowl itself won’t be bare, but parts of it
will be. Thus, exercise care when skiing down Rawhide Gulch
during low snow years.
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| Looking
up Towards the Summit at Great Divide Ski Area |
Overall,
the Rawhide Gulch area is truly “the place” to
go during good snow. It is also the prime spot for skiers
and snowboarders who are in search of “open bowl” skiing – as
the wide open spaces of Rawhide Gulch allow skiers and boarders
to find their own way down – and generally in uncrowded
conditions, too.
Note - the reason there are no pictures of Rawhide Gulch
area on this page is because this section was closed on the
day I went there with my camera - of course! I had previously
skied back there but didn't take my camera as I never though
of doing a web page about it. Oh well, hopefully I'll have
better luck next time I visit great Divide.
 
Next Page : Skiing
the "Wild West" at Great Divide Ski Area
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