Fail-Safe Trees is located just to the west of
Scrub,
above
Lower Creek Trail,
to the east of
North Chute
and crosses
Fail Safe.
It's a short, south-facing tree run. On warmer days, in bright sun, the snow can get heavy quickly here because of the south-facing aspect. In the lower sections,
which face more directly into the southern sky, you need to be careful looking for rocks, logs and stumps. But, it's a fun run, and the run all the way from the
top of
Chairlift 4.,
taking
Mercury.
to Fail Safe Trees is a favorite of mine. Mercury's a cruiser that won't tire you out too much, and the pitch gradually steepens as the
trees gradually thicken in the transition from Mercury to Fail Safe Trees.
The willows you see in the video can generally be skied over fairly safely - they look worse than they are. However, due the direct south face and steep pitch,
Fail-Safe trees catches the full sun and there are a few more solid obstacles that stick out on all but the best snow years. However, Fail Safe Trees can be a good
place to ski early in the day on icy spring mornings - the snow will soften there first.