Lowell_Skoog Posted April 29, 2002 Posted April 29, 2002 A friend reported good ski conditions in the Slot Couloir on Mt Snoqualmie last week. He said, "You could do it in three hours easy." So I headed up Sunday after lunch. Alpental was open and looked crowded. I left the parking lot around 2 pm and skied up the west flank of the peak. I tagged the summit then traversed through scraggly trees to the top of the couloir. (Back in 1985 I climbed this route carrying skis but never went back to ski it. Thanks to Jan Kordel, Steve Martin and Martin Volken for showing the way.) The snow in the gully was lumpy but forgiving on skis. From Thunder Creek basin the Crooked Couloir looked well filled and not so lumpy. The New York Gully had a surprising amount of ice in it. Could April be a good time to climb this route? On the west flank (Phantom Chute) the snow was sticky but not bad. I got back to my car at 4:30 pm, confirming that this trip makes a nice Gilligan ("a three hour tour"). [ 04-29-2002, 02:49 PM: Message edited by: Lowell Skoog ] Quote
Lowell_Skoog Posted April 30, 2002 Author Posted April 30, 2002 No, I guess that wasn't the New York Gully. It was a big honking dihedral just east of the Slot Couloir. Quite a bit of ice in the corner. I don't know if anyone's ever climbed it. Quote
Cpt.Caveman Posted April 30, 2002 Posted April 30, 2002 quote: Originally posted by Lowell Skoog: No, I guess that wasn't the New York Gully. It was a big honking dihedral just east of the Slot Couloir. Quite a bit of ice in the corner. I don't know if anyone's ever climbed it. Got photo? Why dont you climb it? How hard in speculation? Quote
Cpt.Caveman Posted April 30, 2002 Posted April 30, 2002 Got rope or what You bring the whiskey and lots of time. Quote
Lowell_Skoog Posted April 30, 2002 Author Posted April 30, 2002 The angle wasn't vertical, so from an ice climbing perspective it shouldn't be too hard. But it was thin ice over rock, so who knows? It reminded me of those neat pictures that Dan Cauthorn's party took on the east face of Cutthroat Peak a few years back. Up high the angle kicked back and I couldn't see it, but then there were roofs higher, so the exit is an unknown. Quote
Cpt.Caveman Posted April 30, 2002 Posted April 30, 2002 The only thing I can think of is failure by lowering from pitons. How long will it be there a day or 3 weeks> I saw some WI5 this weekend that would last another week HOwever you would have to climb it in the midnight hours...... Speculation is BS but it helps Quote
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.