Athletes pioneered creative new lines through the face; ranging from airs, to rock-rides, to straight-lines with airs, to crashes that lasted the entire length of the venue, and many in-between. Crowds gasped in fear and cheered in awe as they watched the madness from the top of Fernie’s Face-Lift, where they sipped stomach-turning beverages in preparation for a night of celebration.

Why all the hype??? Well, the Lizard headwall, located above Lizard bowl’s boundary, is a permanently closed zone, and has rarely been skied during daytime hours during the past decade. March 28th, ’03 allowed us to ski the face in the daylight, with: good stability, patrol standing by, a crowd of rippers cheering, and a posse of sick skiers throwing down gnarly lines.

The headwall, which can be seen from town illuminated by the morning sun, has a history dating back to the early 1980’s, when some radical Al guy decided the face looked like a good time … I couldn’t agree more. Al skinned around into Currie bowl, then up Polar peak, and crept along the ridge to ski the soon to be popular “Heikos” run. Without the Timber and White Pass lifts, this was a long trip, which he quickly repeated, and led many in his tracks. Greg’s, another straight-forward run, was skied next, and Ripp’n Richard Lockland soon attached his name to the off angle line starting from Polar peak. These three lines became popular for the local skiers willing to make the long tour, and capable of skiing the steep 1200 vertical feet. During this era, permanent closures were not yet an issue, and anyone could ski the headwall at will.

According to Robin Siggers, Mountain Manager at FAR who himself lapped the headwall, the installation of the Face-Lift was the beginning of the end for day use of this area. From the Face-Lift, people started boot packing straight up Heiko’s run, thus eliminating the long approach into Currie bowl and over Polar Peak. Inevitably, ignorant gorbs followed in educated local’s footprints leading to the top of the wall, which predictably ended in dangerous descents involving the classic ski toss, followed by attempts to climb down. Some poor decisions were made by a couple of the boys who set off some small slabs, sweeping them down their lines. Soon, pressure from the resort personal forced ski patrol to introduce the PERMANENT CLOSURE! sign; with which I have a love/hate relationship. From this point until the Fernie Freeskiing competition, the area had rarely been skied during operating hours. Once patrol has cashed out, skiers are able to boot pack Polar Peak, traverse the ridge, and ski down through low, flat light.

During the last 5 years, with the progression of freeskiing, more committing lines have been thrown down; including Benny’s Beeline, beginning with a 40 foot air into a long, steep, narrow chute that doglegs half-way down, performed once and only once mid-day by Ben Stokie. Other serious lines, which have been pioneered recently include 8 Ball, Curve Ball, JIJO’s (Jump In, Jump Out), Wes’s, the Spine Tingler, and many unnamed variations of lines skied during the competition.

Despite the success of the “after hours – extreme team” during the past decade, patrol is still not willing to deal with the liability involved in opening this area during operating hours; the main problem being the inability to perform a quick rescue if required. If you fall on the headwall, chances are good you’ll tumble and slide over all cliff bands and stop in the bowl, which is still a difficult rescue. This was the case when the first skier of day three fell when dropping in during the competition, hit all major airs, and slid out the bottom unscathed. Freeskiers are familiar with these risks, but the general population lacks a respect and understanding of boundaries and closures, resulting in a skeptical patrol.

Aside: The big red stop-sign-style CLOSED for avalanche danger signs mean patrol is not satisfied with the snow stability and these areas have high avalanche danger. STAY OUT of these areas!!! They will be safely open soon enough. The small CLOSED signs, which are permanent closures due to dangerous terrain, should not be skied during any avalanche danger, nor should they be skied by anyone who is unwilling to fully commit to the line. This means you deal with the consequences of your decision – eg. Archie spraining both ankles after airing 55 feet to a hard landing, then having patrol pinch his pass for two weeks – You get caught twice, and your pass is gone for the season – you air 55 to hard twice and risk becoming a statistic. Area boundarie signs mean you are on your own to evaluate your risks, which patrol does not control. People do not understand this responsibility, and consequently make poor decisions, which have resulted in unnecessary injuries and even death.

Certain resorts have “extreme” zones, such as Big Sky, Bridger Bowl, and Sunshine’s Delerium Dive, where a gate system opens for riders equipped with transceivers, avalanche rescue gear and a buddy, thus providing a sort of a gorb filter into the gnarly terrain. Although there are ways of diverting rescue responsibility from patrols, and filtering out all but the elite, Fernie’s lack of lift access to the headwall disables patrol control, which is undoubtedly difficult to forego. As a lift to Polar Peak is obviously not an option, the Lizard Headwall is reserved for the After Hours – Extreme Team to ski in the low light hours after 4:20.