Report from April 2, 2024

I drove from Tahoe to Utah 2-days ago.

Yesterday, I decided to go for a classic: “The Y Couloir” in Little Cottonwood Canyon.

I’d skied The Y Couloir with Martin & Daryn back in 2019 and loved it.

I haven’t been in Utah for 2 months and I wasn’t familiar with the snowpack but I knew there was new snow and yesterday was the first sunny day.

The Utah Avalanche Center called for MODERATE avalanche danger yesterday (which I think should have been CONSIDERABLE after having seen what I saw out there yesterday).

Skiing Palisades Tahoe yesterday then driving 580-miles in 7 hours and 36 minutes had me tired and I made sure to get 8 hours of sleep which had my hiking by 9am.

Late.

Just as I started up the chute, 2 guys came skiing down and I grilled them.

“Any sluff or avalanches?”

“No. Just some short running sluff.”

“Did you use crampons or ice axe or snowshoes?”

“Snowshoes as it’s thigh deep in spots.”

“Anyone else up there?”

“Yes, one group of 2.”

“How was the snow?”

“Good up high.”

Unfortunately, I’d forgotten my snowshoes but hoped the bootpack would be in.

Just before the first fork in the couloir at about 7,500′, I dodged 2 sluffs bubbling down the chute.

Normally this would be enough to turn me around, but I figured it was just from the humans skiing down above me.

Since I knew people were above me, I had my eyes locked on the chute above and fortunately saw these sluffs coming long before they reached me and easily stepped out of the way.

A skier named Nate and his buddy showed up 15-minutes later.

They said that that sluff was actually an avalanche that started above them when they were close to the top (likely at about 8,500′ and the top is about 9,500′).

It spooked them and they instantly turned around.

They bounced downhill and I was left alone with my thoughts.

The heat of the sun was already knocking constant snowballs down the main chute.

After nearly getting killed with my buddies Tall Carl and Fox in the North Couloir of Mt. Emerson, CA in 2019, I vowed to never climb up a chute that was shedding ice, rock, or snow.

I looked into the alternate chute the continued climber’s left.

Nothing was coming down that chute, it was completely fresh, it was tight, I’d never skied it before, and it looked like a great option.

Studying my photo from the road I could see that this alternate to the Y Couloir ended in a cliff at about 8,400′.

I took the left turn and started wallowing.

Knee-deep at first.

Then thigh-deep.

Then waist-deep.

Then belly-button-deep.

I ended the climb having to dig out the snow in front of me and pass it between my legs.

Once it was dug out, I’d wallow uphill 3 steps then dig again.

It took me 1.5 hours to travel only 700-vertical-feet.

I got to the cliff blocking the chute and started transitioning.

No rest, no food, no water on this climb.

It was time to get out of there.

The sun was knocking snow down everywhere.

It was noon.

I clicked into my skis and grinned.

My uphill track was unrecognizable.

It looked like a moose track or more like the track of a man-sized snowball.

The top turns were splendid.

The snow was deep, dry, and friendly.

My up track was so deep, that crossing it almost threw me off a couple times.

That untracked upper section (The “Y Couloir Alternate) was epic!

My first turn in the lower portion of the “Y Couloir” proper was brutal.

Refrozen avalanche debris that chattered my skis.

Another avalanche had come down since Nate had skied past me.

I’d clearly made the right choice leaving that couloir, but it was also clear that I should have just bailed on the entire project.

I found a sliver of un-avalanche-affected snow just skier’s left of the avalanche debris.

I milked that in one form or another until the next choke where the skiing in the middle of the chute became viable again.

At the bottom choke, I hit the days old frozen avalanche debris and got stopped cold in my tracks.

From there I gaped down the apron utilizing a combination of kick-turns, side-slips, and hop turns.

I, of course, dunked one ski boot in the creek during my crossing.

I literally had to pour about a cup of water outta that boot later…

It felt so good to be in the flats and out of reach of anything that could fall down.

I stripped down to shorts, flipflops, and no shirt and basked in the blazing Utah sun.

I lingered not, however, due to the constant barrage of traffic barrelling downcanyon.

I was content.

I didn’t get the goal I’d come for, but I skied something new and the snow was incredible.

After skiing we went for a walk on the Jordanelle Reservoir in Park City and it was neat.

Thanks, Utah!

Photos