Diamond Peak 5-14-10

A few photos from Friday on Diamond Peak. This was my second try at skiing it; the first time was a few years ago in early March with Steve. We ran into bad conditions on the face and continued on after abandoning the boards pretty low on the ridge. For me, Diamond is one of the safest winter or spring 12er to climb but I always suspected skiing its East face would be the absolute opposite.

On Thursday, my climbing partner had to bail at the last minute and I decided it would be too risky to stick with an East face descent without a lifeline and I was more than a little relieved to set my sights on the South face.

I was able to drive all the way to the trail head and after a short hike, spent a comfortable night on the ridge at 9,300’ The climb to the top wasn’t what I’d expected, a lot of the snow was punchy (sometimes all the way to my waist) and I was pretty worked by the time I hit the top. The weather couldn’t have been better though, mostly sunny and totally windless. I recuperated for about an hour and then set off down the huge and wide open South face. The snow conditions were as good as the weather and I made effortless turns in perfect corn on an aspect that is probably less than 40 degrees. Easily the best ski down any of the 12ers I’ve yet had!


Camp on the ridge below the East face.


Evening light on alluvial ridges below camp

Just below the summit from the East ridge.

On the top.



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Close call on DBE / 5-19-09

The iconic North face of Devil’s Bedstead East is becoming a benchmark for Idaho ski mountaineering. No surprise, it has all the makings; remote, steep, tall and hulking.
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.

This one has been on my “winter list” for a few years now but weather, conditions, laziness and timing have stymied all previous opportunities. This season has been plagued by those same obstacles and although I missed winter by a week, the weather on the approach was far from spring-like.

End of the line. I parked at the turn off to Wildhorse canyon and snowmachined the 10or so miles to the trailhead. This photo really shows my style of riding, always stuck or about to be stuck. It also shows a few of the feeble layers in the snowpack.



Breaking weather. I set up camp in what felt like a safe spot on the lower slopes of the north face. (visibility was only a couple hundred feet) The wind blew a steady 20+ mph but died off as the clouds started to break and then quit completely by midnight. Hyndman peak just visible through the clouds



10 years ago, I trusted the weatherman about as much as an army recruiter but these days forecasting is usually spot on and I wasn’t surprised at all to wake up and see it bluebird.



I got to the summit at 11:00am after a slow and easy 3 hour skin. Zero wind and warm sunshine made it hard pretty to leave the view. This photo shows the true highpoint left on the ridge but there sure as hell aren’t any good ski lines off of it.



I’d hoped to ski down the large gully on the west face but an enormous avalanche had flushed out most of the snow and deposited it in massive pile on the plateau at 9,600’. I checked out a chute on North West face that had a heavy blanket of blown in snow. However, the top 3rd was a rock strewn 55* and the bottom had a definite terrain trap look about it so I settled on eeking my way down the West face through a minefield of boulders in 4” of new snow over hardpack. The turns were effortless even after a long pair of days. Hope that’s not the last powder day of the season!

The Hunt is On! March 2010

So many consecutive 40-ish degree days can only mean Spring is rearing it's ugly head and our days of deep and soft are coming to an end. The powder snob in me has mostly learned to clam up when my non skiing comrades start pissing on about the mud, the new snow, the cold, etc. The hunt is on for those ever dwindling stashes of hold out freshies.
After a relatively wind-free winter, those westerly breezes are saving the day. Here are a few photos of the last 4 days on the Southern tip of the Pioneers.


Monday, conditions were pretty demoralizing on the way up Fly-boy ridge but the stuff blown into Recovery bowl was worth several laps.


We remotely triggered a good portion of the top of this bowl two days earlier and skied through the debris while it was still soft. On the second lap the snow had built up again and we decided to find safer snow. Some time that night it let go again blasted all the way to the bottom. the skiing was still good near the edges on Tuesday


Wednesday, Sticking the landing on Taco

Thursday, Eric Taking a well earned break on lap 7 at the top of Chicken Run. The wind seemed to have no influence on his mood.

Mt. Corruption 5-1-2007

Star trails over Mt. Corruption. (this is an 18 minute exposure)Shot from Ferd's Cabin.














Brad and Brandon descend the ridge back toward camp, The Lost river range dominates the background. Mt. Borah's East ridge climbs the upper left side of the photo.













Camp at 10,400 feet on the South West flank of Corruption.

Corona Arch 10-5-09

Susan and I spent enough time skulking around Moab’s climbing locals to learn a few of their best kept secrets including hidden slot canyons, cool climbs and weird stuff to do when you’re bored. The Corona Arch rappel fit into the last category and although we weren’t bored we couldn’t pass up a chance to see it from the top down.

A short hike over vast terraces of unspoiled sandstone lead to this partially freestanding arch, the opening is 140’ by 105’ and the climb to the top requires an easy but crazily exposed class climb protected by 7 or 8 pitons. We dim-wittedly left our second rope in the truck and I paid the penalty by having to repeat the climb sans cord.


After the rappel, we tied back in and turned the setup into a giant rope swing.

Susan roped up at the top of the class 4 section.

Skiing Hyndman Peak

On January 27, 2008. Steve, Cassie, Eric, Susan and I made the hike into the Pioneer Mountains with the hopes of climbing and Skiing Idaho’s 9th highest peak. An intense winter storm followed us all the way to the trailhead and by the time we got to the yurt, 10” of new snow had fallen, by the next morning more than two feet of new powder put an end to our plans. The avalanche cycle following the storm made travel outside the hut pretty treacherous. We stayed two more nights letting the snow settle and then made our way back out to the truck. On March 18th, we returned and made it to the top on the following day and skied back in weather that once again shut down the mnountains.
Steve and Cassie climbing above the saddle, Old Hyndman Peak in the background.

The Pioneer Yurt at night.

The Fins

The Fins, a scattered collection of limestone ridges located a few miles out of Arco, make for easy access to hard climbing. I mostly thrutch around like a fool and then watch others seemingly defy gravity on nonexistent holds. The two shots below show Steve on the Discovery Wall.

Mt. Shuksan, North Cascades- Washington

Although I’d seen the North Cascades many times, the first time I was really staggered by their grandeur was from the window of an Alaskan Airlines 737 on a trip to Mexico. I set my sights on the (my opinion) most impressive plumb in the range, Mount Shuksan. A year later I made it to the top in deteriorating weather that prevailed for 8 more days and stymied my attempts on two other mountains in the area.
4 tiny climbers make their way across the upper Sulphide Glacier to the summit head wall.

The summit. Although the weather was perfect on top, the thick clouds on the left side of the photo settled in for the next 8 days. I navigated my way back to high camp through thick fog, using the GPS I'd luckily brought along.

Skiing Mt. Borah's North face. 7-23-09

On July 24th, 2009 Brandon Hobbs and I climbed the standard route on the South West side of Mt. Borah. It had been a pretty average winter but I'd noticed the snow was hanging tough on the north face. Dooley and I had climbed the face in 2005 and at the time I'd not considered it as a a possible ski route, the summit couloir is steep and too narrow for any real turns, the upper face has a double fall-line and  and much of the terrain forces you to continually ski left to avoid rocky outcroppings. The other - West side of the mountain looks like much easier skiing but has a good deal double fall-line as well. In general I'd always considered a ski descent off any aspect of the mountain as "not worth the pack-weight to ski-turn ratio" but as I knocked over one 12'er after the next Borah finally got in the way. The hike up that morning on the standard rout's well beaten trail turned out to be easier than I'd hoped for and the weather was perfect.
Skis, boots, 60 meter rope, etc weighed a little more than 50 lbs so the battle was pretty much over when we made it to the top. The skiing below the chute was just what I'd expected, steep and stiff, and leaning left I could link three or four turns and then side hill to the left before making a few more. In the end, I was able to ski all the way to the old snowtell wreckage at the base of the face. The hike out of Rock Creek is always pleasant and there isn't much bushwacking if you know the way. I knew Brandon would be a while making his way down the mountain and then driving over to pick me up so I had plenty of time to realize that although the turns weren't great, the adventure meant a lot.   
Borah's North face from Double Springs Pass Road. The summit couloir, hardly visible in this long shot, splits the summit dome for the first 200' to the upper snow field. I shot this photo in 2007 and that's when the idea of a NF descent really started to hatch. 

Roped skiing down the summit couloir. The first 250’ of the North face is guarded by a couloir choked with ice and rock. In July, the skiable terrain narrows to less than 2’ in the chute and is steep enough to make it impossible, at least for me. Brandon was able to belay me for the first 160’ but after I pulled the rope, I tried to build an ice bollard for a rappel down the final 90’. The ice was too rotten and brittle for anything but a psychological anchor and I wound up burying and leaving a new snow picket instead. Once out of the couloir, I made rickety turns down the steep sun hammered face producing small "point" avalanches that turned frighteningly large by the time they squeezed between cliff bands. This trusty pair of first generation Black Diamond Verdicts has been with me on every other 12-er descent and although I worried the chute would be the end of them they held up just fine, I still ski them today.

Dooley follows up the face in 2005

Carcass Cliff

Carcass Cliff September 2009. Carcass Cliff near the head of Pass Creek narrows holds some potential for good routes and the exposure adds it’s own element, but loose blocks near the top would have to be trundled off to make it somewhat safe.
Susan pulling over the top, Pass Creek road snakes out of the canyon below.

Carcass rock isn't very Conducive to rope health. The rock is razor sharp, which makes for effective foot work, but a fall can easily damage both your rope and your hide.

Skiing Mt. Moran

The Skillet Glacier on Mount Moran in Wyoming; home to a 6,500’ ski descent that many consider to be amongst the greatest skis in the United States. The Skillet has it all - a wild, exposed summit couloir, a gorgeous 4,000 foot bowl below, incredible views of silky lakes and gnarled chutes and spires of the Teton Range.

On June 17th 2008, Brad, Jeff, Luke and I got a 4am start on this one. Luke set a fast pace on the bushwhack section of the hike but everyone kept up because he was the only one who remembered to bring bear-bells. The snow climbing was pretty straight forward and uneventful but after the sun came up it turned into the hottest day I’ve ever had in the hills.

There was a lot of avalanche debris and deep cut runnels brought on by two days of hot weather after a long cool spring. Just before we got to the moraines, I watched an oven sized chunk of ice free fall from 300’ of of a cliff band on the South flank, it started a good sized mush slide that obliterated Jeff and Luke’s tracks. We watched a few more large avalanches come down late in the morning after we’d made it back to the lake.
Moran from Jackson Lake. The descent starts from the narrow but obvious chute left of the summit. Click to enlarge

Brad and I nearing the top

Jeff, Luke and Brad admire the view from a moraine hump half way down the mountain.

Berchtesgaden (Wildhorse lookout)

Wildhorse Fire Lookout on the summit of Wildhorse peak in the White knob mountains was built as one of the "New deal" projects by the Civilian Conservation Corps in 1935. It was manned until 1945.
Access to the lookout requires a 3 mile from Copper basin, a hike we made several times in 2009 while building up a stockpile of food and gear with the intention of using the building as a backcountry ski hut.


Pioneer Mts. over the lookout

Evening in the the lookout

Susan at dawn

BC Skiing: South Paw 2-7-10

Back Country in your own back yard. Can't get much better than that!

"It's those near and dear places that each uf us visit in our own respective backyards that really intrest me. In some ways it's easy to spot big lines on big peaks, but kicking around on the low elevation terrain when conditions are right and that spirit of adventure which always seems to tag along is just cool to me"! Dean Lords
Sunrise over the Great Basin.
Susan skinning toward South Paw 1-31-2010.
Susan at the top of Blizzard ski hill.

South Paw; So nice, you'll ski it twice.