It's "Wiggle" Season: How Spring Skiing's Best Feature Is Made
Picture this: You’re riding a chairlift on a bright and warm spring day.
From a distance, you spot a deep track carved into the snow that winds, wiggles, and slithers its way down the mountain. A skier’s head bobs up and down as they navigate the slushy track. The sound of hoots and hollers echoes.
The scene described above is all too common at Western ski resorts in March, April, and even May. The phenomenon is called by many names, with ‘wiggle’ and ‘snake run’ being the most common, but these skier- and rider-created tracks are similar wherever they are found.
So, how do skiers and riders create these wiggles? Repetition, of course. As each skier turns on the pre-determined track, snow is carved out. As more skiers ride it, the turns get deeper and arguably more fun.
Tap or click below to watch as California skiers from Kirkwood‘s freeride team create a new wiggle near Chair 10 last week. Keep reading for more.
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The video above shows a new wiggle slowly being carved out by dozens of skiers from Kirkwood’s freeride team. In just a few laps, a noticeable track in the snow starts to take shape. By the end of the day, a full-blown wiggle with overhead walls has been created.
Wiggles are more common at Western ski resorts for a variety of reasons. For one, you can’t create a wiggle on a regularly groomed snow surface. A large, wide-open bowl or face is preferred.
There’s also the matter of snowpack. As mentioned, a wiggle continues to get deeper as skiers and riders descend it. A wiggle created on a thin snowpack won’t last long, which is why many are created on North-facing aspects that tend to hold snow longer.
Palisades Tahoe, for example, is home to multiple wiggles on Shirley Bowl, a North-facing aspect located near the resort’s highest elevation. Even with poor snowfall this season, at least three wiggles have popped up.
I skied the Shirley Bowl wiggles countless times last season thanks to cool spring temperatures and a healthy snowpack. See below for a POV recorded on Memorial Day Weekend last year.
Video: Wiggle Skiing POV, Palisades Tahoe, California (2025)
This year’s wiggle season was short for many western ski resorts due to warm temperatures and poor snowfall, but skiers at places like Alta, Mammoth, Palisades Tahoe, and Kirkwood will be lapping wiggles until the lifts close.
If your resort doesn’t have a wiggle, gather some friends and make one yourself! It doesn’t take long for a track to take shape.
Happy wiggle skiing, friends. Let’s make the most of it.
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