[TR] Dragontail Peak, Enchantments - Triple Couloir 04/04/2025

[CHeaney]

Trip: Dragontail Peak, Enchantments - Triple Couloir

Trip Date: 04/04/2025

Trip Report:

 

During the winter of 2023–24, I was looking for an interesting objective for my annual spring pilgrimage to the Pacific Northwest. I wanted something that required an overnight, some rope work, steep turns, and was seldom descended. I stumbled upon a picture of the north face of Dragontail Peak—immediately, the Triple Couloirs caught my eye. The line perfectly splits the north face in half and consists of three couloirs, each separated by rappels. At its steepest rideable sections, it tops out around 50 degrees.

 

With further research, I discovered it’s a classic alpine climbing route known for thin ice, compact rock, and a remote location deep in the mountains. Then I started looking into whether it had been skied. I found a few reports—maybe five or so—scattered online. That only added to the appeal.

I was pretty psyched about the line and floated the idea of climbing and skiing it to my buddy, Eli. He was down to give it a go, and we got to planning.

We walked into Colchuck Lake from Icicle Road on March 25, 2024. The plan was to stay in the zone for three to four days, with Triple Couloirs as our main objective, and hopefully squeeze in some other riding as well. Being from the Wasatch, neither of us had done many overnight ski trips, so in classic gumby fashion, we carried way too much gear in. Classic.

We were both pretty worked once we got to camp—gotta love that PNW ski approach weirdness. Our weather window had shrunk a bit, with the 26th looking like the best day for Triple C’s. We got up the next morning, headed toward the line, and started climbing. The skiing conditions were fantastic, but the climbing was tough—lots of deep snow. We made it to the Runnels section (home to the most technical climbing on the route), and it was super thin. Our next move was to try the sneak-around variation, but we got shut down by a steep, snowed-up slab. We bailed, but we still scored some amazing turns on the way down.

I knew I was lacking some skills and confidence in that kind of terrain, so I spent the next year developing them, with the goal of returning for another shot at TC.

Fast forward a year, and I was headed to the Northwest again. This time I was on my way to British Columbia for a course and only had a few days for the drive. I figured if the weather looked good, I’d make a stop and head back into Colchuck Lake to give the Triple Couloirs another shot.

After spending the year developing my alpine/ice climbing and rope management, I felt much more dialed this time around. I also decided to approach top-down and with a way lighter pack. I arrived at Colchuck Lake on April 4, 2025, set up camp, then went out for a short ski and snowpack evaluation. I was stoked to find stable snow and even score some great turns on my recon.

That evening I sorted my gear, ate some food, and got some rest. One of the perks of skiing the north side of Dragontail is that it barely gets any sun, so I opted for a chill 7:00 a.m. start. I headed up the Colchuck Glacier on my day-old skin track—thanks, past self! It was a calm, easy cruise to the col between Dragontail and Colchuck Peaks.

At the col, I went to drink some water and realized the filter I’d used for the lake water had completely frozen. Bummer. I dumped it out and accepted that I’d just be eating snow for hydration the rest of the day. Hey, lighter pack!

From the col, I booted up Pandora’s Box (aka the West Couloir). When I reached the ridge, I found myself standing on top of a beautiful face that was begging to be ridden. I’m a sucker, so I dropped in and got a sweet 1,500-foot bonus line before climbing back up to the summit of Dragontail.

Right at the top of the Triple Couloirs, I ran into another solo guy who had just climbed up the route. We were both totally overstoked—he said the snow was great. I put my splitboard together, got my kit dialed, and started the descent.

I always get butterflies at the top of steep lines, but after two turns into the first couloir, they disappeared. It was supportable, boot-top pow. I made continuous turns down the entire upper couloir and reached the first rappel. It went smoothly, and I pulled the rope without issue.

The middle couloir is what dreams are made of—an 800-foot, 50-degree ribbon of snow hanging in the middle of the north face. Conditions were perfect. I hop-turned my way down to the next rappel and made four rappels over the Runnels Pitch before popping out at the top of the final couloir.

The riding stayed consistent down the entire 2,500-foot line. At the final rappel, I pulled the rope one last time, then arced turns all the way back to Colchuck Lake. I was psyched—it felt so good to come back a year later and send it.

The Enchantments have some incredible ski lines, and I can’t wait to go back. The approaches can be... let’s say interesting, but that’s part of the adventure for me. Definitely one of my favorite days in the mountains so far.

On the way out, another skier stopped me and asked if I was the one who ridden TC. Turns out he’d snagged some rad shots on his DSLR. Thanks, man!

 

 

 

Gear Notes:
Splitboard, 60m rad line, beal escaper

Approach Notes:
normal Colchuck lake approach

Edited 1 hour ago by CHeaney
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