Six Senses: E.S.P - Breckenridge

SKIING STATS:
Run Name: Six Senses: E.S.P
Location: Breckenridge (Peak 6 Summit)
Rating: ♦EX♦ (Extreme Double Black Diamond)
Lift Taken: Kensho Superchair
Maximum Pitch: 40 degrees
Run Length: 0.2 mi.
Vertical Drop: 571 feet

HIKING STATS:
Hiking Distance: 0.2 mi.
Hiking Vertical: 276 feet
Hiking Time: 20-30 minutes

PERSONAL ENJOYMENT RATING: 10/10

DESCRIPTION:
E.S.P ("Extra Sensory Perception") is an incredible run in The Six Senses area located on Peak 6 at Breckenridge. You can get here by taking the Kensho Superchair and then hiking up a 29-degree slope (which is the average pitch of a regular single black diamond) to the Peak 6 Summit. The hike is absolutely exasperating and brutal given that it's really tough to climb with ski boots while balancing your skis on your shoulder (didn't record the hike as I was worried about the camera getting too cold and dying on me during the run). After a lengthy break at the top of Peak 6, I put on my skis and traversed down the Peak 6 Summit Ridge past Serenity Bowl and into The Six Senses. The Six Senses area arguably contains the toughest lines on the entire mountain (though it's tough to say as The Lake Chutes offer similarly technical lines). E.S.P is probably the best introduction to this area as it's a relatively wide open run with cliffs that are easy to spot (the other two good introduction runs would be Echo and Behold but those aren't, in my opinion, nearly as interesting as ESP). Eventually, you get to a part of the ridge where it starts sloping upwards where you have to remove your skis again to avoid sidestepping up with your skis on. E.S.P is the very last chute and is at the very summit of the ridge before it starts sloping downwards. Typically the run starts off with a decently sized cornice, however on the day of recording there was no cornice to be found (more of a wind-lip). E.S.P starts off very steep and there's a bit of a "choke" towards the middle of the run where the chute narrows a bit. Once you get past this, however, the run opens up a bunch and is super enjoyable.

So enjoyable in fact that I have to say that E.S.P is probably my favorite line I've skied, period. The snow quality was nearly perfect (despite it not being untouched powder): it was in a kind of "soft-packed" condition and there wasn't a single bare patch in the entire chute. While I felt that the Lake Chutes were a bit too short for how much effort it took to get up there, I thought E.S.P was the perfect length and felt rewarding to ski after the amount of effort I put in to get to the chute (I'd say the entire process of hiking + skiing the chute took me about 45 minutes). It was just an experience that left me nearly speechless and completely out of breath at the bottom. While they weren't really required for a chute of this pitch, I thought that my jump-turns improved so much doing this run. I just felt completely in control throughout the entire run (disregarding the very last part where I may have gone a tad too fast) and it really felt like a huge milestone and achievement. E.S.P is very high on my list of the toughest runs I've skied, and although it doesn't quite make the cut as my hardest run of the ski season (my hardest run of the 2021-22 ski season was The "Y" at Heavenly's Mott Canyon), skiing this majestic chute felt like a perfect way to close out the ski season, a testament to everything I'd done to push the limits of my skiing ability this year.

To conclude, I absolutely recommend going out to Breckenridge and skiing this run, it's so worth it. The chute is so grand and the snow quality is truly superb. This run made me fall in love with skiing all over again and it's really sad that it's all the way over in Colorado. Hopefully next year I can return to The Six Senses area and try some even more challenging lines (Contact and Savor perhaps) because if E.S.P was any indicator as to how amazing those other runs are, they must be just as awesome! Favorite run I've skied so far, hands down!

FATMAP LINK: https://fatmap.com/adventure-studio/@...

TIMESTAMPS:
0:00 - Peak 6 Summit + Summit Ridge
0:20 - Entering the Serenity Bowl Gate
0:30 - "Serenity Ridge"
1:26 - Entering the Six Senses Gate
1:42 - "Six Senses Traverse"
2:35 - Standing on top of E.S.P
2:50 - Drop-In
3:00 - Skiing E.S.P Chute
4:15 - Looking back