Things looked pretty good right from the start. We got going on schedule and were up to the Bear Lake parking lot before 07:00. The weather had been snowy for a couple days, but accumulations had been light. We started out in the sun, but by the time we got out first glimpse of Notchtop the clouds had moved in and it had begun to snow lightly.
We broke above treeline and were treated to a vast panorama of alpine peaks, granite walls, and snowy slopes. We passed a couple small tarns and then climbed a small valley to the cirque into which Notchtop Couloir (as well as many others) emptied.
Bill took the point as we ascended the apron below the couloir proper and headed up out of sight behind a large rock buttress.
By the time I reached the edge of the buttress he was out of sight above. I caught up shortly at a nice little platform next to a cliff which served as an excellent lunch spot. The sun was out and things were warming nicely.
At this point a group of 6 descended the coulior and managed to kick off numerous wet sluffs - the fresh layer of snow was only a few inches thick, but some of the sluffs were significant. Luckily they were fairly slow moving and didn't knock anybody off balance.
The party of 6 talked about how good the descent had been, so we packed up and started booting up the right edge. Steps were easy to kick except for a couple of the steeper sections which had been cleared of the new layer and had the hard old layer exposed. Quite a few kick steps were little more than toe holds in these sections.
The couloir doglegged left, and we headed for a rocky patch above that appeared to ease back. Unfortunately appearances can be deceiving, and we soon found ourselves on steep rock and tundra covered by very little snow. A couple stretches were downright sketchy. Luckily this rocky bit was short and we soon found ourselves on the top of the ridge.
We had a bit more food, then we donned skis and headed to the entrance to the couloir.
The skier's left side had a pretty decent entrance, although it had to have been pushing 55 degrees. Bill hopped in and must've been surprised by the conditions because I soon saw him sliding headfirst lower in the entrance.
He didn't slide long due to the heavy layer of consolidating fresh snow. He quickly got himself up and continued down the main part of the gully.
I gave him a few minutes and then dropped in myself - the heavy fresh snow really threw my skis around and the steepness of several pitches genuinely scared me. I worked my way down fairly slowly to the spot we'd stopped at for lunch and we regrouped before heading down the steep final pitch to the apron. Conditions were really nice lower in the chute and in the apron so we were able to let the skis run. I snapped a few pictures of the sluffs at the exit and we headed back down valley.
All in all a good day in the mountains and a pretty spectcular line to ski. I was completely knackered by the time I got home. Probably the last ski of the year, so I suppose it's time to get on the bike now.
PS: There were a few other parties in the mountains, once of which was ascending a very nice looking couloir opposite Notchtop. Pretty spectacular climbing line:
We broke above treeline and were treated to a vast panorama of alpine peaks, granite walls, and snowy slopes. We passed a couple small tarns and then climbed a small valley to the cirque into which Notchtop Couloir (as well as many others) emptied.
Bill took the point as we ascended the apron below the couloir proper and headed up out of sight behind a large rock buttress.
By the time I reached the edge of the buttress he was out of sight above. I caught up shortly at a nice little platform next to a cliff which served as an excellent lunch spot. The sun was out and things were warming nicely.
At this point a group of 6 descended the coulior and managed to kick off numerous wet sluffs - the fresh layer of snow was only a few inches thick, but some of the sluffs were significant. Luckily they were fairly slow moving and didn't knock anybody off balance.
The party of 6 talked about how good the descent had been, so we packed up and started booting up the right edge. Steps were easy to kick except for a couple of the steeper sections which had been cleared of the new layer and had the hard old layer exposed. Quite a few kick steps were little more than toe holds in these sections.
The couloir doglegged left, and we headed for a rocky patch above that appeared to ease back. Unfortunately appearances can be deceiving, and we soon found ourselves on steep rock and tundra covered by very little snow. A couple stretches were downright sketchy. Luckily this rocky bit was short and we soon found ourselves on the top of the ridge.
We had a bit more food, then we donned skis and headed to the entrance to the couloir.
The skier's left side had a pretty decent entrance, although it had to have been pushing 55 degrees. Bill hopped in and must've been surprised by the conditions because I soon saw him sliding headfirst lower in the entrance.
He didn't slide long due to the heavy layer of consolidating fresh snow. He quickly got himself up and continued down the main part of the gully.
I gave him a few minutes and then dropped in myself - the heavy fresh snow really threw my skis around and the steepness of several pitches genuinely scared me. I worked my way down fairly slowly to the spot we'd stopped at for lunch and we regrouped before heading down the steep final pitch to the apron. Conditions were really nice lower in the chute and in the apron so we were able to let the skis run. I snapped a few pictures of the sluffs at the exit and we headed back down valley.
All in all a good day in the mountains and a pretty spectcular line to ski. I was completely knackered by the time I got home. Probably the last ski of the year, so I suppose it's time to get on the bike now.
PS: There were a few other parties in the mountains, once of which was ascending a very nice looking couloir opposite Notchtop. Pretty spectacular climbing line:
