Skier Ryan Faye Makes Incredible Save On 'The Fingers' At Palisades Tahoe

Palisades Tahoe, CA reported 90+ inches of new snow from a four day storm that made national headlines. The resort reopened on March 4, 2024, and skier Ryan Faye took to Engerbretson's, a cliff drop on 'The Fingers'.

Unfortunately for Faye, the wind-affected snow had other plans. See his incredible save below, and keep scrolling for our short conversation about the incident.

I had the pleasure of standing in line and riding the KT-22 lift with Faye before the video above was filmed.

He was initially undecided as we chatted about the first line each of us wanted to ski on what we hoped was going to be an all-time powder day. I was headed for 'West Face' to milk some long unfettered turns, but Faye remained indecisive.

KT-22 opened around 9:30AM, and despite our best efforts, many over-zealous and borderline obnoxious skiers edged their way in front of us. No matter.

We loaded the 20th-or-so chair of the morning and were treated to a fantastic view of Noah Gaffney and others taking the first hits of the morning on 'The Fingers'.

The apron below 'The Fingers' seemed deep, but it was clear that the strong winds had dramatically compacted the snow. 90 inches of fresh was skiing more like 6-10 inches.

I left Faye at the top of KT-22 with plans to meet back at the bottom for another lap or two. I figured the former Freeride World Tour podium finisher was going to ski something bigger and gnarlier than I would ever dream of, and while I wanted to follow, I knew my physical therapist would be disappointed if I attempted my first hit on 'The Fingers' with a still-healing partially torn ACL.

My run on 'West Face' was fun, but the wind-affected snow was evident. I wondered how Faye had fared on 'The Fingers' once I reached the bottom of KT. When I didn't see him, I knew something was up.

I eventually caught up with Faye after seeing the clip of his incredible save on Engerbretson's that you just watched. Check out our quick Q&A below.

What led you to choose Engerbretson's for your first run of the day?

"We waited in line for about an hour and half that morning KT22 to open, and the Fingers just looked glorious as the light broke through the cloud layer. The prominent skier's left cliff, Main Air, was my first choice, but since we were further back in line I knew it would get bombed out fairly quickly. There's another line to the skier's right called Engerbretson's, which has a good-sized fall line air that takes a decent amount of snow to fill in properly - it was looking beautiful that day."

What did you observe when riding up the chair and watching the first hits of the morning on The Fingers?

"We were about 30 chairs back from opening, so we had a perfect front row view of the first skiers bombing down the Fingers. As predicted, there were several takers on Main Air with varying degrees of success- but we watched Noah Gaffney ski the Engerbretson's air so fluidly it looked like something out of an MSP movie."

What was going through your head when you realized the slab had broken off?

"There wasn't any snow movement while watching Noah ski the line, so a wind slab was the last thing on my mind. Of course, I should have been more aware of the possibility - the Fingers have an incredible rollover effect leading into some steep terrain that often slides."

How much control of your speed/direction did you have once the slab broke?

"I was about 3 turns from the cliff takeoff when the wind slab broke to my upper left. Not a huge slab by any means, but enough to briefly sweep my feet out from under me. I quickly stood back up but immediately knew there was 0 chance of self-arrest, my best chance at minimizing injury was pointing myself away from the rocks that line the left and right of the Engerbretson's cliff. In other words, just pointing 'em downhill and popping off my intended takeoff with about double the speed I had planned for."

What injuries (if any) did you sustain in the fall?

"Luckily the landing was soft and I was able to backslap my way to safety. 0 bodily harm, but I did lose a pole in the slough pile that followed me off the cliff. Guessing I won't find that pole till next July!"

Did you continue to ski for the rest of the morning/day?

"I was able to borrow a pair of rental poles and grab a couple more runs before the crowds scared me off and I headed into work. All in all, a great ski day with a touch of sketchiness to keep things interesting!"

Is there anybody you want to shout out?

"Always gotta shoutout Mom & Dad! And always my family, friends, & wonderful girlfriend Claire for supporting my sometimes questionable ski behavior on the hill. Also, shoutout to my sponsors: Rossignol Skis, Wildflour Bakery, Flylow Gear, Smith Optics, & Insta360."

Related: 180+mph Winds Damage Chairlift Terminal At California Ski Resort

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