Trip Report
Report from May 18, 2023
Brought to you by Mono County Tourism
Chasing Connery Lundin down “Wineglass Couloir” yesterday was a blast!
Yesterday, we went for a fun chute after scaring ourselves a bit on Tuesday’s very steep “Pete’s Dream.”
Wineglass Couloir is 2,800 vertical feet!
It also isn’t freezing at night, so Wineglass Couloir’s NW aspect was perfect.
This line has been on my hit list for a long time.
We party skied down the entire line, and it was a blast.
We had an all-time crew up there yesterday: Connery Lundin, Teton Brown, and Greggy.
SHORT VIDEO of WINEGLASS COULOIR
McGee Creek – “Wineglass Couloir”
- Summit (actually a ridge): 11,500′
- Car: 7,600′
- Vertical From Car: 3,900′
- Vertical skied: 2,800′
- Max Pitch: 35º
- Avg Pitch: 32º
- Aspect: Northwest
- Distance: 7.8-miles round trip
- Time From Car to Top of Wineglass Couloir: 4 hours
- Car to Car Time: 7 hours (spent one hour+ on the summit)
- Recommended Equipment: Skins, crampons, ski crampons
We drove to the McGee Creek Campground before hitting a huge snow drift yesterday.
From there, we walked in our boots for 1.7 miles, then skinned a short way until we got to the base of the couloir.
We crossed a fresh bear track – which was very cool.
Booting up the stem of the Wineglass was a bit softer than we’d hoped for, but we ground it out.
Once in the cup of the Wineglass, we were able to switch back to skins and zig-zag up to the headwall.
Back to boots and crampons for the headwall, and it felt like it took forever.
The final climb to the top was on crumbly rock.
The summit views of Esha were epic.
Esha looked badass from that perspective.
We weren’t planning on skiing on Esha this season (we’ve skied it in the past), but it might be back on the list after seeing it from that angle…
We chilled on top for an hour and let the snow soften up.
We dropped in as a mob.
Connery took the lead and left us in the dust.
The snow up high was just right but a bit more textured than ideal.
I found a smooth strip on the skier’s right and milked it.
The middle of the glass held perfect, smooth corn snow.
We were a little anxious about the stem of the Wineglass as it was pretty funky on the hike up.
But it skied great!
I followed Connery down the stem; it was smooth down the middle and so much fun.
I skied it top to bottom and absolutely loved it!
We battled an aspen grove on skis to stay high and ski down to the stables.
From there, it was boot walking about 1.2 miles back to the car.
Terrific day capped off with burritos at the Latin Market and the last 15-minutes of Karate Kid.
Thanks, California!
SPRING 2023 REPORTS
- 5/17/23:Trip Report: 10,908′ Carson Peak, CA – 45º Steep “Pete’s Dream”
- 5/5/15/23: Trip Report: 11,812′ Mt. Laurel, CA – 3,500-Vertical-Foot “Pinner Couloir”
- 5/10/23: Trip Report: 13,005′ Mt. Morgan, CA – Nevahbe Ridge Gullies
PHOTOS IN CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER
