A short trip report of a unique day summitting Peak 11,840 for my first time and skiing the seductive Southeast Couloir, after bailing from grander objectives due to foul weather.
This day came and went with little significance, almost like a dream. The weather was horrible. The low country didn’t even come close to freezing, and the after finally hitting the freeze line around 10,000 feet I was greeted by a crushing spring storm that sprouted ping-pong ball visibility and and the occasional pulse of bone chattering rock and ice fall from the North Face of the Grand Teton. I had grander plans up Glacial Gulch but quickly pivoted – today was not the day. I dropped my 400 feet of rope, hefty collection of metal and anything else to do with technical ski mountaineering, and pivoted to a quirky objective I’d climbed twice to access lines in the Teewinot-Owen Cirque but never skied directly – the Southeast Couloir of Peak 11,840. 11,840 is the broad highpoint just west of Teewinot Mountain, part of the classic Grand Traverse but hardly ever climbed for its own sake. The Southeast is a striking line hyper visible from the valley floor, with a twisting upper neck that bisects an impressive multi-hundred foot rock buttress, and a lower flank that fans out into three or four different fingers, often filled with low angle ice, that provide passage through a final rocky band. Despite the allure of a latte and early couch session, I decided to make lemonade from lemons and bag a new couloir and summit, even if ski conditions promised to be marginal at best.
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The supportability of the crust gradually improved as I climbed higher – dreadfully deep mank at the bottom, a bit of 50 degree water ice in the crux, a sorta-slabby wind drifted mid-section that had me digging hand pits every 100 feet for a short while (with favorable results) and finally, proper bootpacking on a proper crust in the upper couloir. I reached the summit of 11840 amidst high clouds that provided nice moody views of the range. My descent was made in variable conditions, but luckily no portion of the beast becomes too exposed, or steeper than 45-ish degrees. The jump turns in the upper couloir were the finest, followed by a wind effected middle that tested the rigidity of my relatively soft Black Crows Camox Freebird skis, and pleasantly technical and tight neve and ice skiing through the lowermost crux. Everything below 10,000 feet was soul-crushing slush, but thankfully a firm bed surface prevented any truly isothermal punches.
All things considered, there was nothing glamorous about this day. The approach sucked, the climbing basically sucked and the skiing was marginal, though as the memory fades I’m always happy I got out, rather than sitting at home twiddling my fingers and cracking out on coffee, festering, during a stormy spring day. In good conditions this line has all the components of a classic Teton couloir ski descent, with the added bonuses of a relatively short and straightforward approach, and being absolutely beautiful to admire from afar.
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Ten Thousand Too Far is generously supported by Icelantic Skis from Golden Colorado, Barrels & Bins Natural Market in Driggs Idaho, Range Meal Bars from Bozeman Montana and Black Diamond Equipment.
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DISCLAIMER
Ski mountaineering, rock climbing, ice climbing and all other forms of mountain recreation are inherently dangerous. Should you decide to attempt anything you read about in this article, you are doing so at your own risk! This article is written to the best possible level of accuracy and detail, but I am only human – information could be presented wrong. Furthermore, conditions in the mountains are subject to change at any time. Ten Thousand Too Far and Brandon Wanthal are not liable for any actions or repercussions acted upon or suffered from the result of this article’s reading.
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