Suicide Chute, aka “Country Lane,” is one of the most classic, roadside couloirs in all of Utah. This perfectly straight, rock-walled hallway splits the western edge of Mount Superior in two. It’s easily visible from Alta, which makes it a line that is on every Wasatch skier’s bucket list.
Although the name Suicide Chute conjures images of death, in reality this line is relatively easy compared to other couloirs in the Central Wasatch. It’s wide enough to make easy turns, and the slope angle never gets higher than 40 degrees. As a result, its other name is “Country Lane,” which I think is a much more appropriate moniker. The other aspect that makes Suicide Chute so easy is the access. Perhaps no other major ski line is so simple to reach from a major road.
To ski or snowboard Suicide Chute, drive up Little Cottonwood Canyon Road (HWY 210) and park in one of the spaces above the Chickadee Lift at Snowbird. Walk up the road for a few hundred yards until you’re at the bottom of Mount Superior’s lower apron. Skin up the apron, trending left (west) to the bottom of the chute. When you reach the lower opening, strap your skis to your back and boot-pack right up the thing to the top. If the snow is hard or icy, you’ll need crampons and an ice ax or Whippet. Once on the saddle, you also have the option of skiing Homicide Chute on the other side. See Andrew McLean’s excellent “Chuting Gallery” book for more on that line.
If Suicide is still your plan, point those tips and enjoy the over 1.000-foot run through the chute and down Superior’s apron to the road. You’ll then know why this is one of the most classic backcountry lines in the Wasatch!
Suicide Chute is skiable all season. For a winter tour, be extra careful about snowpack stability, especially when skinning up the apron as you’ll be exposed to Superior’s massive south face. A pre-dawn start is recommended in mid-winter. Spring is perhaps the most popular time to experience Suicide as the snow lasts well into summer during some years, and the east-facing aspect makes perfect corn snow.
So if you scope out Suicide Chute from Alta and think it looks too crazy, remember, it’s not as impossible as it looks from a distance. If you have the skiing skills and you’re there on the right day, in the right conditions, you’ll start calling it “Country Lane” as well.