Our line follows the ridge coming at the camera straight down from the summit to the cleanest couloir which drops off to the left. It is also considered one of the better and easier to access back-country ski descents in the state. The North Gullies are for advanced skiers, with a steep, narrow chute that has few escape options. Tour objectives are numerous and include such classics as the Cristo Couloir . 5: 2022-05-12.
Easily accessible from Salt Lake City, the terrain varies from mellow meadow skipping to steep technical couloirs.
Mount Superior, South Face:
It was Larry's birthday, and a good day on skis is a great way to celebrate another full circle around the sun We had originally intended to ski something in the Gore Range. Difficult Ski Touring Distance 2 km Ascent 2 m Descent 946 m
Box Creek Couloir (class 2+/moderate snow)- This mellow to moderate snow climb on the east face of Colorado's tallest mountain provides the most challenging way to climb Mt. S3- Mt. Ned Randolph- Monte Cristo Chute, Utah. Friday, July 1, 2022. The North Face of Shuksan, towering 5000 ft above the Baker Ski Area, is undoubtedly one of the greatest spots in the North Cascades. One of the longer classic lines in upper Little Cottonwood Canyon with a rappel thrown in to spice things up. 21 sep 2002 Mt Baker, Coleman-Deming ski with Jason and Josh Hummel, WA. Route felt good all the way up, no need for snow shoes. Distance 1.8 km Ascent 0 m Descent 972 m Duration 0-1 hrs Low Point 2.4 km High Point 3.4 km Gradient 53 The ski out was fun though a bit chopped up.
So I resort to taking tons of photos of the surrounding peaks, and of the start of the groups ski down. The "Monte Cristo" Couloir, or Cristo Couloir, is a long popular 40 degree South facing Spring line off of Quandary Peak. Elk Range 217. Quandary's north face boast even more difficult, if obscure, climbs. Too much snow. 36 Mount Lindsey-North Couloir 207. We climbed up just to the west of the Cristo Couloir - a popular snow climb and ski descent in the spring.
#22 Cristo Couloir Unclassified Updated: 2017-09-26 Cristo Couloir, Quandary Peak, is a 2,575 ft couloir located on Quandary Peak that stretches from the Blue Lake Dam to the summit at 14,265 ft. The Monte Cristo, or just Cristo for short, is an easy to moderate couloir and widely considered to be one of Colorado's premier snow routes. Backcountry guru Fritz Sperry covers each route in depth with his . I've climbed Cristo Couloir and Dragons Tail numerous times and can't recall any technical class 5 sections. Monte Cristo Couloir in Little Cottonwood Canyon. Some pitches are steeper around 35 degrees, but the overall couloir is huge with many possibilities. I hadn't specifically trained for Shasta, aside from one day of skinning up a groomed run at Loveland Ski Area and a last-minute climb and ski of the Cristo Couloir on Colorado's Quandary Peak . Rank Date Peak Elevation Range Route 101 9/14/13 Niagara Pk 13,807 ft San Juan east ridge 102 9/14/13 American Pk 13,806 ft San Juan west ridge from Jones Mtn 103 9/4/11 Trinity Pk 13,805 ft San Juan Trinity Traverse 104 9/3/11 Arrow Pk 13,803 ft San Juan northeast face 105 9/24/19 "Castleabra" 13,803 ft Elk west face 106 10/6/19 Organ. . . But just to the west, there was an obvious 2000 ft splitter couloir, straight as a ruler. Backcountry Skiing and Ski Touring: Rocky Mountain Guides ski tours in the Dillon Ranger District as well as in the South Platte Ranger District. Yesterday we finally got to ski the Cristo Couloir off the south side of the summit. Colorado ski alpinism is characterized by many high altitude ski options. It is a popular ski mountaineering descent in the spring climbing season (April through June, depending on weather and snow conditions).
We were able to ski straight off the summit, and headed back down the ridge . The couloir was safe enough but definitely a bit demoralizing as it was littered with scree. The descent offers a long gully ski followed by a wide basin down to the lake. Thus, it was easy to rate route difficulty based on slope angle alone, as is done with the S System (see end of this page).
Quandary Peak - Cristo Couloir by ryanbadtke: 04/19/2014. Route: East Ridge Posted On: 2022-05-12, By: takelifeoutside Info: Started out at 7am, conditions still require spikes. ski descent - Cristo Couloir: 1999-04-20: Mount Lincoln: 14286: ski descent - Cameron Amphitheatre: 1999-04-27: Mount Democrat: 14148: ski descent - West Face: 1999-05-13: Mount Bross: 14172: solo ski descent - Moose Gulch: 1999-05-22: Mount Bierstadt: 14060: solo ski descent- West Ridge: 1999-05-24: Sunshine Peak: 14001: solo ski descent to . Ski Descent of the Cristo Couloir by Dan Allen: 05/18/2014.
Farther east down the ridge from the summit is a narrower couloir that Chris Davenport descended in January, 2006, as part of his Ski the 14ers project. Iconic Rocky Mountain skiing among 14,000-foot peaks is only an hour and a half drive away from Denver. Cristo Couloir SKI LINE. The road was melted out to within about 200 yards .
Adams SW Chutes, Mt. The project is to ski 92 ski descents listed in "The Chuting Gallery" by backcountry ski expert Andrew McLean.. To do this Mike will have to overcome many challenges like Fear, mother nature, and the social norm of working a 9-5. 12. Most or all of these trips have been with skis in the springtime, but we've always ridden the same line (northeast bowls) down.
Cristo is a popular spring climb and backcountry ski descent once the snow is consolidated and somewhat avalanche safe but it is prime avalanche terrain during winter conditions, and these men were not the first to get caught in a slide here.
Included a pic of Cristo couloir I got by accident because there happened to be goats in the way. Now I'm really jealous, as I can see that it will be a fun descent down the Cristo for them. Narrow chutes, vast open faces and thousands of well-defined avalanche . Audubon, Crooked Couloir, 1999 Mt. This picture is Quandary, which lies just South of Breckenridge, taken from the Monte Cristo trailhead. The great part of skiing the Pearl is you get a real big mountain descent that goes at very manageable 45 degrees in a beautiful high alpine setting. I recommend everybody make at least 1 trip here as soon as they can. We soon topped out to find Greg lounging at the notch. Virtual 360 Pacific Peak Fletcher Mountain Atlantic Peak Crystal Peak If he fails, his dream of turning Backcountry Ski Mountaineering into a career will be exchanged for working at the resort. First descent SW Ridge Peak 12,200 in the Alaska Range. His book includes some of our favorites like The Pfifferhorns NW couloir, The East couloir on Kessler, and Monte Cristo's Edge of the World to Directissimo. The couloir is about 2,500ft of decent and drops you right to the bottom of the mountain near the reservoir.
ski descent - Cristo Couloir: 1999-04-20: Mount Lincoln: 14286: ski descent - Cameron Amphitheatre: 1999-04-27: Mount Democrat: 14148: ski descent - West Face: 1999-05-13: Mount Bross: 14172: solo ski descent - Moose Gulch: 1999-05-22: Mount Bierstadt: 14060: solo ski descent- West Ridge: 1999-05-24: Sunshine Peak: 14001: solo ski descent to . Trip Report. Curt Haire, Travis Hammond. We played Pachinko again yesterday. Info: Ski descent of Quandary today. Baker Backcountry. Rank, elevation, date and route skied, and partners are all included. Shasta Avalanche Gulch, Quandary Peak Cristo Couloir Finisher, Run Rabbit Run 100-mile, Hellbender 100, Bighorn Trail Run 100
The North Couloir, AKA Quandary Couloir, is also an expert-only line. 31 Savage Peak-Savage Couloir 180.
. . "String Theory".
Sometime list winter, I was browsing Caltopo and its new high definition elevation data when a ski line literally jumped off the map to me. tagged: Summit County, Tenmile Range . The Monte Cristo Seven.
Date Skied: 4/20/06: Route: Landry Line: Other Descents: Video Version
0.6 mi 1.0 km -643 ft Descent -195.96 m Descent.
I'll look into Queens Way. Columns can be sorted with the arrows at the top and links to trip reports from each day are also included (off-site link) where one is available.
(via Cristo Couloir) 13 May 2001 - by Rob Mullen.
In Utah, Lauren began to learn to rock climb, unlocking a whole new swath . Quandary Peak is home to four well-established ski routes: the East Bowl, Cristo Couloir, the North Gullies and the North Couloir. Quandary Peak - Cristo Couloir by ryanbadtke: 04/19/2014. Mt.
Specifically Bancroft East Ridge comes to mind, but I'd like to do others too.
These are great lists, but I will be covering the 5 that I believe are the most "Classic" Ski Mountaineering objectives in the Wasatch. April. March 1989 Sangre de Cristo mountains, Colorado. Natalie and I were fighting our own battles in that couloir due to climbing in ski boots on loose, steep scree. March 1989 Sangre de Cristo mountains, Colorado. Mount Rainier Backcountry. As far as Dawson could ascertain, all remaining peaks had been skied at one time or another before he got to them. Thank you for reading this trip on the Big Chiwaukum Couloir. Under suitable conditions, the Cristo Couloir makes an excellent glissade or expert ski descent. Peaks marked with an asterisk are his known first summit ski-descents of six peaks: Little Bear Peak, Crestone Peak, Capitol Peak, La Plata Peak, South Maroon Peak, Snowmass Mountain. At more than 265,000 acres, "Rocky" is full of them.
If you choose the south side couloirs, be .
Vesper Peak is a popular spring tour, ascending the eastern slabs to the summit. Mid-descent on Memorial 5, borderline late for work. With fifty-four peaks over 14,000 feet and over 600 summits over 13,000 feet the list of potential classics is big. You park at 10,900' and the summit is only 3300' and 3 miles above you.
New route.
. At the upper . On the summit we find the 2 ski teams waiting for snow conditions to improve. Of course drifting and snow fall totals can alter this range slightly.
Start as for the North Mount Elbert trail and veer onto the face from around treeline. Belford: Northwest Couloir. Sneffels and then dog-legs to the left for the final push to the top.
I left the house at
Difficult Ski Touring Distance 3.5 km Ascent 18 m Descent 1.1 km 4.2 km away God's Lawnmower This is the huge avalanche path that's visible from the road on the N slope of Kessler Peak. Backcountry Skiing Mount Timpanogos Cold Fusion & Grunge Couloirs are two of the most awesome ski experiences in the Wasatch. If you want to see more ski tours within the Stevens Pass Backcountry check out this link. I'm looking for ideas for fun routes that have some easy class 5 with a nice ski descent in Colorado to do this winter/spring. Towering 14,000-foot peaks, steep chutes, moderate glade skiing, it's all there in one of the most scenic national parks on the continent. The Central Wasatch better known as Little Cottonwood and Big Cottonwood canyon offers up some of the finest backcountry skiing in the lower 48. Homie powered up this route in just 1h25m, but Derek was feeling the angle and, in his words, "got his butt kicked." Between the Continental Divide, the Gore Range and the Ten Mile Range, we will find the best tour and conditions for you. 6.5 mi . The Cristo rings in at an impressive 2,575' long (almost 1/2 a mile) and averages between 30-34in pitch. It has a rich history of steep ski descents and classic alpine climbs.
the Highway 20 corridor. "Rocky," as locals call it, hides dozens of stashes, most of them technical and challenging, so hiring a local guide increases your chances of finding the goods on the right day.
05 :31 hrs . . Pro skier Cody Townsend skied it last year, bringing it .
Read more By now all 54 "Fourteeners" in Colorado have been skied, many by extreme lines, but this route, situated 10 miles back in the Maroon Bells Wilderness, still reigns as a king-daddy descent .
The first third of the Snake Couloir goes straight up the side of Mt. Cristo Couloir is actually closer to one mile in length with elevation gain of over 2,000 ft . Doug Cook wrote: Last year, May 27, 2000 I did the Cristo Couloir for the first time. This will prepare you for such lines as The Cristo Couloir on Quandary Peak. The Pearl Couloir is an amazing and aesthetic line beginning from a saddle just below the peak of Catherdral, elevation 13,944 feet. There are no major population centers nearby and no ski resorts located anywhere in the range though a nice heliskiing outfit, https://www.helicopterskiing.com , flies people out to some big lines in the range and some of their knowledgeable guides were willing to talk to me when I called to . Lauren Macklin. Ski Touring in Wasatch Backcountry. Quandary Peak Ski Descent . Ski descents of Middle Sister, Diamond Peak, Mount St. Helens, Oregon, 1995 Colorado ski descents, from 1997 onward: Quandary Peak, South Face (Cristo Couloir), 1997 Buffalo Mt (near Silverthorne), ENE (Silver) Couloir, 1997 Torreys Peak, NE Face, 1997 James Peak, Starlight Couloir, 1998 Mt. The other slopes of the peak are steep and appeal to expert backountry skiers, such as the Cristo Couloir ski mountaineering route.