Report from May 13, 2024

Yesterday we were in search of corn. Recently, our hit rate was 1:4 in finding corn up high so odds have not been in our favor as of late. The Lamarck Basin had corn before the big May-storm, while the Kindergarten Chute zone didn’t have corn, the North Couloir of Mount Gibbs was powder and ice, and Mount Humphreys was all kinds of messed up. So to be honest, we were prepared for anything really.

11,575′ Gilcrest Peak

“North Couloirs”

Sierra Nevada Mountains, CA

• Summit (actually a ridgeline):  10,300 feet
• Car:  7,800 feet
• Vertical From Car:  2,500 feet 
• Vertical skied:  2,300 feet
  
• Max Pitch:  40+º in West Couloir
• Average Pitch:  35º
• Aspect:  North
• Distance:  3-miles round trip
• Time From Car to Summit:  2 hours
• Car to Car Time: 3 hours 
• Recommended Equipment:  crampons, ice axe x2

Our strategy was to ski something in the lower elevations and further east, away from the Pacific Crest where it would have snowed less.

Our choice was Gilcrest Peak directly above Lundy Lake.

We rolled in late letting the corn set up.

At 10 a.m. we started hiking.

After only 15 minutes of strolling up a dirt road, we were at the base of the chute.

The chute’s snow came directly down onto the road.

This was the most gentle approach yet…

We started booting up.

I didn’t realize it was a 2,300-vertical-foot chute!

We all put our heads down, took no breaks, and moved well.

We were on top of the chute 1 hour and 40 minutes later.

We took a quick break and semi-soaked in the views.

Thunderclouds had us moving quickly. Fox went first, then Greggy, Dobbs, and yours truly went last. To be honest, my strategy was to let them go first and groom the chute a bit, he he.

The chute was mostly good corn with a few drifts of hot mank from the May 4 storm.

The drifts were deep and sticky and to be feared.

The top section skied well with a lightly textured firm corn.

Once I was properly in the chute, the angle steepened, the corn spiced up, and the skiing became wild fun.

I let ’em rip and found a fierce rhythm.

I was blasting along until I hit the first hot mank section…

… it damn near ripped my skis off.

I stopped, caught my breath, and got ready for the next zone.

The chute tightened and steepened and delivered a few options for skinny squeak-throughs on the right.

The light was tenuous as thunderclouds annoyingly formed above me and danced with the sun.

I hit one more hot mank spot in a critical section and grunted like a wild boar as I fought through the stickiness.

I narrowly missed a rock, got back into the good snow, and pointed it down the skinniest part of the chute.

After that final choke, the angle lessened and I glided right onto the road and gave Dobbs a quick fist bump.

I was relieved to have survived the chute and that I only had 15 minutes of hiking to get to the car.

Kinda funny that our easiest ski mountaineering jaunt this month also held the best snow and skiing!

Hopefully the corn starts climbing up our favorite big peaks so we can get some work done this week.

Thanks so much, California!

Photos in Chronological Order