The China Bowl
Two things that you will notice as you look down into the China Bowl are the Dragon’s Teeth Cliffs, and the large flat slope to the skier’s left of the cliffs. This flattened area is one of the spots where you will find a groomed path down through the back bowls. The pitch is relatively mild here and if you want to find an easy path to the bottom in this bowl, it won’t be hard.
The eastern and western sides of this bowl are very different and you’ll see this in the photos below.
Terrain Brief
Combination of mild glades, difficult cliffs, steep open bowl skiing.
China Bowl Stats
- Vertical Rise: Approx 1,535'
- Opened to Public: 1988
China Bowl Opening Schedule. The China Bowl will open late into the morning on powder days. It will open before the Siberia Bowl or the Mongolia Bowls, but long after the front side of the mountain has opened. The Orient Express Lift will close at 3:30.
Dragon's Teeth Cliffs
These cliffs range in size from tiny to medium. There is plenty of skiable room in between some of the teeth, with some cliffs disappearing during heavy snowfall years, so you can pick your poison here from a pretty wide selection.
Eastern Side - The Poppyfields
The Poppyfields are full of intermediate terrain with plenty of gladed tree skiing. The eastern side of the China Bowl is a fun place to explore because the terrain is not too difficult, and the spaced-out pine trees are much different than what you might find on the east coast.
Western Side
This is the steepest part of the China Bowl, so expert skiers who are heading to this bowl to look for fresh snow will usually start their search here. The wind will often build up a cornice at the top of this side of the bowl near the Genghis Khan trail where the Tea Cup Lift reaches the crest of the western side of the bowl.
The photo above was taken while looking down from the Tea Cup Lift on the western side of the bowl. All of the terrain that you see here is fair game. These Back Bowls are enormous and if you look at the size of the people in these photos it can help give you some perspective.
Below: looking up towards the Jade Glade. The Tea Cup Lift can barely be seen at the top of this photo.
The Bottom Funnel
The skiing will generally get a bit rougher as everyone gets funneled together towards the bottom of the bowl. The Sleepy Time Road traverse also intersects with this bowl down here and this adds to the traffic.
Getting to the China Bowl
To get to the China Bowl directly from the front side of the mountain, you will need to take the Sourdough Express (Chair #14). Most skiers will get here via the Sun Up Bowl, either by taking the Sleepytime Time traverse over to the China Bowl or the Sun Up Express (Chair #9) from within the Sun Up Bowl.
The Wapiti Poma Across the Top
This is a one-way Poma lift that moves guests across the top of the China Bowl. This allows skiers and riders to take the Orient Express Lift to the top of the China Bowl and return to the Two Elks Lodge and the front side of the mountain via this surface lift.
The Orient Express Chairlift
This is the chairlift running up through the flattest portion of the bowl. You’ll need to use this lift to access the Mongolia Bowls, as well as the glades on the eastern side of the China Bowl.
If you don’t want to ride the Orient Express Lift out of the China Bowl, you can continue skiing past that loading station and onto the Tea Cup Express. This lift will also give you access to the China Bowl from the top, in addition to the Teacup Bowl, Sun Up Bowl, and the front side of the resort.