Brad Chilton, David Scott and I overnighted about a mile from the trailhead on the 18th of May. In the morning, we headed out under a star studded sky and made slow progress in mushy snow till we were able to pull on our ski boots and start skinning at about 8,800’. From there we made good time until it got too steep for the skis. From there we slogged in crampons up steep breakable crust till we made it to the North East ridge where we got a break from the exhausting crust by climbing on the super exposed edge of windblown cornices draping the immense void of the East face. To complicate things, our bluebird day had deteriorated to occasional snow showers and gusty winds. I was supremely confident however and certainly no stranger to climbing along steep cornices in bullying breezes, so when the whole works came out from under me, I was reduced to staring in cow-eyed stupidity as tons of snow dropped several yards onto a steep ramp at the top of the face. When it hit, the snow covering the ramp avalanched and the whole hullabaloo plunged down the slope for about 120 feet where it slammed into a steep buttress forming the right side of a choke point that spilled over the massive cliff face. The rolling noise dominated even the wind as the snow rocketed out into space. After it was over, I was mesmerized by the scene, 40’ of cornice in front of me and 25’ behind me had sheared off and unzipped right between my feet, taking 12 of my footprints with it. A valuable but embarrassing lesson. I can’t think of a scenario where one can come so close to dying without getting a scratch.
David looks at the summit and our ski line. Here, we had the choice of climbing over rocks in our ski boots or punching up breakable crust. We made our way over to the ridge where the going got much easier.
Brad climbing the North East Ridge just below the site of the cornice collapse
The awesome East face of Devils Bedstead East in the distance. The accident happened a couple hundred feet below the summit on the right side ridge. This photo was taken while on a failed attempt at climbing Brocky peak with Brad in 2007.
