Colorado ski alpinism is characterized by many high altitude ski options. These are great lists, but I will be covering the 5 that I believe are the most "Classic" Ski Mountaineering objectives in the Wasatch. Cristo Couloir is a popular, wide-open couloir on the south face of Quandary and is arguably one of the best backcountry ski descents in Colorado. the Highway 20 corridor. Route: Cristo Couloir: Other Descents: none: . Quandary Peak has good road access all winter long. Cristo Couloir is actually closer to one mile in length with elevation gain of over 2,000 ft . It is a popular ski mountaineering descent in the spring climbing season. Backcountry guru Fritz Sperry covers each route in depth with his . Larry Hall of Grand Junction makes turns surrounded by jagged rocks in the Cristo Couloir, a ski line of 3,150 vertical feet from the summit of Quandary Peak (14,265 feet). 20 jul 2002 Glacier Peak, Sitkum Glacier with Amar Andalkar, WA. 38 Snowmass Mountain-East Face 219 A stash is a sought-after untouched pocket of powder. Quandary's north face boast even more difficult, if obscure, climbs. Cristo Couloir SKI LINE. Route felt good all the way up, no need for snow shoes. RECOMMENDED ROUTE Ski Touring Difficult.

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 . Mid-descent on Memorial 5, borderline late for work. This 14,265 foot summit is the 12th tallest mountain in the state and lies in Summit County. . If you want to see more ski tours within the Stevens Pass Backcountry check out this link. The "Monte Cristo" Couloir, or Cristo Couloir, is a long popular 40 degree South facing Spring line off of Quandary Peak. The couloir can be skied by hiking up Quandary's standard route and coming off the summit or the couloir itself can be climbed directly to the summit in about three hours. Included a pic of Cristo couloir I got by accident because there happened to be goats in the way. Recently, one particular line, the NW Couloir, has been gaining widespread attention. Our experienced, AIARE-trained guides will take you to find the hidden powder stashes and big lines that you've always dreamed of. S3- Mt. Date Skied: 4/20/06: Route: Landry Line: Other Descents: Video Version (via Cristo Couloir) 13 May 2001 - by Rob Mullen. Cadet Peak (7186 ft) Columbia Peak (7172 ft) Del Campo Peak (6610 ft) . Homie powered up this route in just 1h25m, but Derek was feeling the angle and, in his words, "got his butt kicked." Mount Holy Cross, Cross Couloir - Absorka Range, MT. "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. Instructor and guide December 2010 to Current American Avalanche Institute . I've climbed Cristo Couloir and Dragons Tail numerous times and can't recall any technical class 5 sections. Mt. Easy access, a consistent pitch, great summit, and probably for one more week a summit to car ski descent. 37 Little Bear Peak-Hourglass Couloir 212. Find Nearby Zones *All Mapped Areas are Approximations. Historical note about slope angles: In the formative days of extreme skiing it was all about slope angle, as most descents were done on open slopes or wider couloirs where angle was the determining factor of difficulty. Mount Superior, South Face: The Mount Wilson Massiff. Start as for the North Mount Elbert trail and veer onto the face from around treeline. After traversing South for about 150 feet, we found our line of choice: a series of gullies that leads into a tighter rock band, back into the open face, through another rock band, and . Vesper Peak is a popular spring tour, ascending the eastern slabs to the summit. Specifically Bancroft East Ridge comes to mind, but I'd like to do others too. But, again, the Cristo Couloir remained on the list, begging to be checked off. The couloir is about 2,500ft of decent and drops you right to the bottom of the mountain near the reservoir. 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. Quandary Peak Ski Descent . Belford: Northwest Couloir. . 6.5 mi .

Ski Descent of the Cristo Couloir by Dan Allen: 05/18/2014. But just to the west, there was an obvious 2000 ft splitter couloir, straight as a ruler. I left the house at Once at the top of the couloir, there are several ways to the summit. Sometime this spring, Chris Davenportski mountaineer, film star, perpetual-motion machinewill ski up and then down Huerfano Peak, a 13,838-foot summit in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains of .

Yesterday we finally got to ski the Cristo Couloir off the south side of the summit. Most or all of these trips have been with skis in the springtime, but we've always ridden the same line (northeast bowls) down. The bottom of the couloir was casual aside from an ice step that was about 8 feet tall and beyond my ability to huck on carbon skis in stiff conditions. Sangre de Cristo Range 200. Friday, July 1, 2022. 33 Huron Peak-East Face 191. This route gains 2400 feet in just over a mile. The Pearl Couloir is an amazing and aesthetic line beginning from a saddle just below the peak of Catherdral, elevation 13,944 feet. A bullying wind propelled jaunty, white-crested waves across the water, sieved through my fleece jacket and chilled my damp skin. Fortunately for those who like to claim ski descents (myself included) you can ski the majority of fourteeners from the exact summit, while you can ski the few exceptions from a summit ridge or . Quandary Peak - Cristo Couloir by ryanbadtke: 04/19/2014. This also makes for a good, steep ski descent. 21 sep 2002 Mt Baker, Coleman-Deming ski with Jason and Josh Hummel, WA. 0.6 mi 1.0 km -643 ft Descent -195.96 m Descent. Dragontail Peak. 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. Baker Backcountry. 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. Our line follows the ridge coming at the camera straight down from the summit to the cleanest couloir which drops off to the left. About the descent: After letting the sun bake the snow for about a half hour, the cold firm wind buff turned into mashed potatoes. March 1989 Sangre de Cristo mountains, Colorado. Rank, elevation, date and route skied, and partners are all included.

Peaks: Quandary Peak (sorted/filed as Quandary) . . So I resort to taking tons of photos of the surrounding peaks, and of the start of the groups ski down. 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. Snow only covered a small portion of the couloir and it was a bit unconsolidated at that. A bullying wind propelled jaunty, white-crested waves across the water, sieved through my fleece jacket and chilled my damp skin. Easily accessible from Salt Lake City, the terrain varies from mellow meadow skipping to steep technical couloirs. There will be some added mileage from the summer route and the route to the summit follows the . The ascent can be accomplished by an experienced mountaineer in 3-5 hours and the ski descent in 1-2 hours. Its status as an introduction to 14er skiing is widely accepted for three reasons ease of access, a straightforward and safe route of ascent, and multiple options for ski descents. "String Theory". Despite it's heinous looking traverse out the bottom, I headed out this morning to ski the Lightning Bolt Couloir. Sherman (14,036) Mosquito South Slopes Jon Osterbrock, Ben Conners Yes 3/22/09 Torreys Peak (14,267) Front Dead Dog Couloir . We altered the original WURL, preferring major ski descents like Superior South Face over traversing Patsy Marly, and completely avoided Alta (because they aren't friendly to skiers). 35 Horn Peak-East Face 202. 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. Thank you for reading this trip on the Big Chiwaukum Couloir. Mount Stimson, Southwest Face . 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). 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. 1998. . Listed below are all of the Colorado 13er and 14er ski descents I've made. 5 hrs car to car. We were gunning for a ski version of the WURL, a line drawn by Jared, that we then drew in our minds, and then drew with our tracks. Quandary Peak - Cristo Couloir - ski/snowboard descent 6/1/2015 480 views Jun 6, 2015 3 Dislike Share Skiing Fiddler 725 subscribers Andy Reiner and Molly Krumholz ascend and descend the Cristo. Tour objectives are numerous and include such classics as the Cristo Couloir . If he fails, his dream of turning Backcountry Ski Mountaineering into a career will be exchanged for working at the resort. Virtual 360 Pacific Peak Fletcher Mountain Atlantic Peak Crystal Peak It is a popular ski mountaineering descent in the spring climbing season (April through June, depending on weather and snow conditions). Difficult. 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. With 4 inches of fresh snow and a nonexistent wind, we thought we'd have perfect conditions for a safe powder descent of this famous . After a brief headlamp stroll to timberline, I stopped for a food and water break at quarter-mile-long South Colony lake. boggled American minds with the first ski descent of Pyramid Peak's East Face in the Elk Range, near Aspen. 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. Of course drifting and snow fall totals can alter this range slightly. Inter Glacier Climb & Ski Descent via Glacier Basin . Read more Lauren Macklin. An Absurd Obsession, the north face of Blanca Peak. 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. Some pitches are steeper around 35 degrees, but the overall couloir is huge with many possibilities. Now I'm really jealous, as I can see that it will be a fun descent down the Cristo for them. After a brief headlamp stroll to timberline, I stopped for a food and water break at quarter-mile-long South Colony lake.

Under suitable conditions, the Cristo Couloir makes an excellent glissade or expert ski descent. Colorado, Chaffee County . Ski Descent of the Cristo Couloir by Dan Allen: 05/18/2014. Cristo Couloir: Ted, Matt Hannon: Trip Report . . The Central Wasatch better known as Little Cottonwood and Big Cottonwood canyon offers up some of the finest backcountry skiing in the lower 48. . I'll look into Queens Way. No TR. 30 min break for lunch . Ned Randolph- Monte Cristo Chute, Utah. +. The couloir was safe enough but definitely a bit demoralizing as it was littered with scree. Lauren found her drive to play in the mountains at an early age, where she spent her winters ski racing in the White Mountains of New Hampshire. 7. Monte Cristo Couloir in Little Cottonwood Canyon. As far as Dawson could ascertain, all remaining peaks had been skied at one time or another before he got to them. New route.

Natalie and I were fighting our own battles in that couloir due to climbing in ski boots on loose, steep scree. Ski Touring in Wasatch Backcountry. Apocalypse Couloir, Middle Teton, Moran and many other backcountry ski descents in Grand Teton National Park. Shasta Avalanche Gulch, Quandary Peak Cristo Couloir Finisher, Run Rabbit Run 100-mile, Hellbender 100, Bighorn Trail Run 100 Backcountry Skiing and Ski Touring: Rocky Mountain Guides ski tours in the Dillon Ranger District as well as in the South Platte Ranger District. This will prepare you for such lines as The Cristo Couloir on Quandary Peak. For much of my mountaineering life I have been obsessed with the north face of Blanca Peak in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains in southern Colorado. After college, she immediately moved to Utah to gain access to a larger mountain range, with a deeper snowpack. Highlights Quandary Peak is the highest Colorado 14er in the Tenmile Range, a northern extension of the Mosquito Range. We climbed up just to the west of the Cristo Couloir - a popular snow climb and ski descent in the spring. The Lightning Bolt Couloir on Cardiac Ridge On booting up the lookers left chute (Thunderstruck) I realized I was a bit too late. The North Couloir, AKA Quandary Couloir, is also an expert-only line. Route: SE Face to OB Couloir: Other Descents: Reached 13,000 on the Cole Couloir 2/2/05. Toll, SE Face, 2000 Monte Cristo Direct Alta & Snowbird Salt Lake City Wasatch Backcountry. 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. It has a rich history of steep ski descents and classic alpine climbs. 5: 2022-05-12. .

and for a full and text only list of all Trip Reports Click . Cristo couloir is normally climbed in spring - early summer when the snow pack has consolidated into a stable mass, and the avalanche danger is low. Here is an excellent description for the "Inwood Arete" route up the northeast face boats four pitches of 5.0-5.4 slabbing, followed by some exciting class 3 scrambling. Trip Report. The "Monte Cristo" Couloir, or Cristo Couloir, is a long popular 40 degree South facing Spring line off of Quandary Peak. 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. Read more First descent SW Ridge Peak 12,200 in the Alaska Range. 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 . 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. Elbert. From the summit we watched a few others head over to the headwall of Monte Cristo to ski the directissimo line, another descent I've been really wanting to do. Description: My personal favorite 14er ski descent. Summit: Lundin Peak (ascent via South CouloirWest Ridge; descent via East RidgeSouth Couloir) Approximate Stats: 10 miles traveled; 3400 feet gained & lost; 4.8 hours up; 2.4 hours down. 32 Mount of the Holy Cross-Cross Couloir 185. A sketchy dryski traverse to skier's right bypassed it across some rock slabs. Mount Rainier Backcountry. Argenta - W Couloir A big fun run off of Kessler Peak with some great chute and trees skiing involved. This intro to couloirs and descents will teach you how to jump turn, how to control your speed, and how to confidently ski tougher lines. 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 . The North Face of Shuksan, towering 5000 ft above the Baker Ski Area, is undoubtedly one of the greatest spots in the North Cascades. The ski out was fun though a bit chopped up. At the upper . 34 Ice Mountain-Refrigerator Couloir 196. The road was melted out to within about 200 yards . Our objective was to climb the east ridge, a mellow tour to the top, and then ski the Cristo Couloir which drops off the summit. March 1989 Sangre de Cristo mountains, Colorado. A chronological list of ski descents (and trip reports) of peaks over 10,000 ft in elevation 2009 Date Peak/Elevation Range Ski Route Group Trip Report 2/28/09 Grays Peak (14,270) Front Northeast Slopes Ryan Scollard, Stuart Clark, Ben Conners Yes 3/15/09 Mt. 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 North Gullies are for advanced skiers, with a steep, narrow chute that has few escape options. Traversed Colorado's Sangre de Cristo Range and Wyoming's Wind River Range on foot; Bicycled across America; Ran 26.2 miles 52 times in one year; Favorite ski descents: Mt. 02 feb 2003 Mt Shuksan, Fisher Chimneys descent with Ben Manfredi, WA. 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. Email from Haire to Lowell Skoog. At more than 265,000 acres, "Rocky" is full of them. 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 . Terminal Cancer is a strikingly narrow ski chute located in the remote Ruby Mountains of Nevada. The section after the dog-leg gets a bit steeper until the base of the final pitch to the summit. Snoqualmie Pass Backcountry. Sneffels and then dog-legs to the left for the final push to the top. Difficult Ski Touring Distance 2 km Ascent 2 m Descent 946 m April. The descent offers a long gully ski followed by a wide basin down to the lake. Lit pink by the dawn, a train of cuticle . Doug Cook wrote: Last year, May 27, 2000 I did the Cristo Couloir for the first time. Pro skier Cody Townsend skied it last year, bringing it .

Info: Ski descent of Quandary today. Mount Hunter, West Ridge/ Ramen Couloir (4th ski descent, only ascent of the season) Mount Frances, East Ridge. (avalanche Read More 05 :31 hrs . Between the Continental Divide, the Gore Range and the Ten Mile Range, we will find the best tour and conditions for you. Narrow string of ice/mixed right of Gerber/Sink, joins the latter around Ball Bearing Ampitheater. We soon topped out to find Greg lounging at the notch. Belford offers a good option for spring backcountry skiing. #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. Route: East Ridge Posted On: 2022-05-12, By: takelifeoutside Info: Started out at 7am, conditions still require spikes. You park at 10,900' and the summit is only 3300' and 3 miles above you. 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. The first third of the Snake Couloir goes straight up the side of Mt. But, my ideas were on the long side of a day and Larry was battling quite the cold. 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. From Redstone Colorado, where I was l

36 Mount Lindsey-North Couloir 207. by Nick Danger. If you choose the south side couloirs, be . The other slopes of the peak are steep and appeal to expert backountry skiers, such as the Cristo Couloir ski mountaineering route. Adams SW Chutes, Mt. Iconic Rocky Mountain skiing among 14,000-foot peaks is only an hour and a half drive away from Denver. From March through June, this is one of the best destinations for backcountry riding in Colorado. Email from Crawshaw to Lowell Skoog. It is also considered one of the better and easier to access back-country ski descents in the state. . This picture is Quandary, which lies just South of Breckenridge, taken from the Monte Cristo trailhead. Slush at bottom and you could ski all of the way out 4mi 10h 30m May 4, 2019 Choss Connoisseur. Narrow chutes, vast open faces and thousands of well-defined avalanche . 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. On the summit we find the 2 ski teams waiting for snow conditions to improve. Quandary Peak is home to four well-established ski routes: the East Bowl, Cristo Couloir, the North Gullies and the North Couloir. For example, most people who ski North Maroon Peak start with a short downclimb, and you have to rappel into the Dogleg Couloir on Mount Sneffels. Mt. One of the longer classic lines in upper Little Cottonwood Canyon with a rappel thrown in to spice things up. Timpanogos is so massive and rugged that it truly stands out from any of the other backcountry ski descents around. With fifty-four peaks over 14,000 feet and over 600 summits over 13,000 feet the list of potential classics is big. Monday March 20, 2017 10:04am. 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 . Contact: Nat Patridge - 307-690-1769. When you tip at windmills, sometimes the windmill wins. The Monte Cristo Seven. Quandary Peak - Cristo Couloir by ryanbadtke: 04/19/2014. 0 Audubon, Crooked Couloir, 1999 Mt.

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 Too much snow.

31 Savage Peak-Savage Couloir 180. For ease of access to a fourteen thousand foot peak, Quandary is tough to beat. Baronette Mountain, North Couloir (complete free descent) - Glacier National Park, MT. 12. Brecken, CO. I recommend everybody make at least 1 trip here as soon as they can. Crystal Mountain Backcountry. 1347.9724 ft .