Wild_Bill Posted February 21, 2011 Share Posted February 21, 2011 (edited) Trip: Dragon Tail - Triple Couloirs Attempt Date: 2/20/2011 Trip Report: Attempted to climb Triple Couloirs on Sunday. Made it to the top of the First Couloir (hidden couloir) before we turned around. Essentially, it was a snow slog. So much for the neve conditions of a few weeks ago. The entire couloir (and what appeared to be the rest of the route as well) was full of very unconsolidated waist deep snow. We were planning on Option 2 in the Selected Climbs book, so for our future reference, we decided to go to where we could see past the ice runnels (further up the 1st couloir) before we turned around. The ice runnels looked thin and mostly snow to my eye. Beyond the ice runnels (if one were to bypass them as we intended) was more seemingly bottomless unconsolidated snow. I should also mention that at the very base there was a fun short WI3 step to access hidden couloir if one climbs from the left. Though unconsolidated, there were no weird layers or threats of slabs- just sloughing. Actually, this would be GREAT conditions if one wanted to attempt skiing the route. We talked with another party who attempted the NE Buttress Couloir on Colchuck, and they said they pretty much found the same if not deeper snow conditions (up to their chests up high). They also mentioned that from the vantage of their high point, they thought the cornice up high might be a formidable obstacle. Gear Notes: Pickets, a couple screws for the ice down low, maybe a sled Approach Notes: Great boot pack to the lake. We brought snowshoes, but not necessary until it snows again. Actually, with the exception of a few short sections, skinning would be a better way to go, especially for the downhill advantage. From the approach notes on other trip reports that had better climbing conditions, I wonder if it's possible to surmise that if it's good skinning conditions down low, it's also good skiing conditions up high... but not necessarily good climbing conditions. Edited February 22, 2011 by Wild_Bill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mountainsloth Posted February 22, 2011 Share Posted February 22, 2011 love the last photo. seems to be a skiing week, thanks for the info. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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.