2009.05.10 MOUNT SNEFFELS - SNAKE COULIOR

After an unsuccessful attempt on Mount Sneffels last May due to significant avalanche danger, I was incredibly excited to get back this year for another try. Chris, J, Brandon and I backpacked into the gorgeous Blaine Basin beneath the north face of Sneffels where we set up base-camp for the weekend.

Packing in with heavy loads (Photo: Chris C):

Skinning for some turns on Saturday afternoon (Photo: Brandon C):

Camp in Blaine Basin with Snake couloir slightly visible on right side of Sneffels' north face:

The Snake couloir on the north face of Mount Sneffels, is a deeply insert aestethic line that cannot be viewed in full from any one angle. The steepness of the couloir is consistently 40 degrees with some steeper sections approaching and exceeding ~50 degrees. We started bootpacking up the couloir, each taking turns through snow conditions varying from icy hardpack to unconsolidated recycled powder.

Myself leading the bootpack through the couloir's choke (Photo: Chris C):

Brandon, J, and myself climbing the upper section of the couloir, notice the cornice below where the couloir sharply turns (Photo: Chris C):

We reached the top of the couloir around 11 am, but still had 100 feet of technical climbing up a 5.6 pitch to reach the summit. Brandon and J bravely free climbed the snow/rock, while Chris and I chose to rope up for safety's sake.

J climbing the final pitch (Photo: Brandon C):

Mount Sneffels' summit (14,150 feet), my 42nd Colorado 14er with Wilson group in far background (Photo: Brandon C):

Now came the fun part....the skiing! Brandon decided the steepness and snow conditions of the Snake couloir were beyond his comfort zone, so he descended to the Lavender Col and met us later in Blaine Basin. Meanwhile, we rappelled back into the Snake couloir, clicked into our skis in a precarious position, and cautiously made our first turns down the couloir. Rappelling off the summit (Photo: Chris C):

Making my first turns in the couloir. Our camp is at the crest of the U-shaped area at treeline (Photo: J W):

During the ascent, we were a bit concerned about the quality of skiing to be had in the couloir. However, the sun did its work and softened up the snow just enough. There was even some great turns through recycled powder that put a smile on my face.

Myself skiing the upper couloir (Photo: J W):

Chris tele's down the lower section above the choke:

J makes jump-turns:

The choke proved interesting as we were forced to slide-slip down through a choppy hardpack that snowboarders had throughly scraped off the previous day. We all breathed a sigh of relief when exiting the no-fall zone of the couloir and enjoyed skiing spring corn snow back to camp.

Chris takes a break on the ski back to camp:

Skiing and hiking with full packs back through soft, unsupportive snow back to the trailhead is never enjoyable. However, the extra effort is worth every pound after a weekend of excellent climbing and skiing a classic peak like Mount Sneffels.

Crossing streams on the pack out, content with the weekend's success (Photo: Brandon C):

2009.05.02 CULEBRA PEAK NORTH FACE SKI DESCENT

Of all the peaks above 14,000 feet in Colorado, Culebra Peak in the Sangre de Cristo range by far holds the most history with records dating back to 1694. Unfortunately, this remote peak also carries quite a bit of controversy as it lies on private land. Access to Culebra Peak has varied over the years, but the current owners of the Cielo Vista Ranch have welcomed hikers (for a moderate fee) since the summer of 2004. Gaining permission for a winter/spring climb of Culebra is rare but it appears that with the increasing popularity of 14er ski descents, the owners are becoming more receptive to the idea. Joe negotiated with the ranch owners for a spring trip when the relatively unexplored north face would be prime for a potential ski descent. Despite brutal winds, white-out conditions, and little information on the route down the north face, we headed down into the unknown/unseen. An excellent ski descent was only briefly interrupted by a ~30 feet rock band that required some careful downclimbing. Here's a few pictures from the day:

Culebra Peak from the north (Photo: Caleb W):

Skinning up the west bowl in worsening conditions (Photo: Joe B):

Hiking the ridge in blizzard conditions (Photo: Caleb W):

Jarrett sporting some ice rime (Photo: Joe B):

On the summit of my 41st Colorado 14er (Photo: Caleb W):

Caleb skis into the unknown on the north face (Photo: Jarrett L):

Jarrett making smooth turns (Photo: Joe B):

Myself downclimbing a rocky section that interrupted our ski descent (Photo: Joe B):

To learn more about the history of Culebra Peak, check out the SummitPost page: http://www.summitpost.org/mountain/rock/151463/culebra-peak.html

For a detailed account of the day and extensive photographic documentation, check out Joe's excellent and thorough trip report: http://14ers.com/php14ers/tripreport.php?trip=5854&cpgm=tripmain