Rock Climbing – Ice Climbing – Ski Mountaineering
On Friday May 31st I skied the North and South Faces of Mount Bannon in a pleasant eight hour yo-yo tour from Darby Canyon. The 1,000 foot North Face is a loose West Teton "classic" with some steeper than expected pitches and a free-ride feel.
On May 20th, 2024, I made the third descent of the "Buck Triple", linking the Bubble Fun, Newc and Northwest Couloirs for a near 8,000 foot day of tremendous steep skiing on the north face of Buck Mountain. From what I can gather this is the first time the Buck Triple has been completed solo, and the third descent in total.
On May 16th I spontaneously skied the relatively unknown Southwest Couloir on Mount Woodring after bailing from a different objective. What I found was top quality moderate ski mountaineering adventure on par with the Banana Couloir, Static Peak and Rockchuck Peak. Here's a quick trip report.
The Alpine Peanut remains motivated to earn her turns well into May. The weekend of May 11th and 12th we skied the East Face of Rockchuck Peak and one of her season projects, the South Face of Taylor Mountain, in perfect corn!
Hayden Evans and I "skied" the Koven Couloir after bailing on a different higher objective. It skied very poorly, as I always assumed it would after having climbed it many times over the past few years. Also, a few reflections on late season ski mountaineering on north facing aspects, and the volatility of spring storm systems.
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.
On April 24th, 2024 I rose early and kept an open solo itinerary that resulted in a link-up of routes on the Dike Pinnacle, South Teton and Wanda Pinnacle. All three routes had been on my radar for years, and it was especially meaningful to link them in a single logical push.
On our third attempt over two seasons Reed Finlay and I finally made a successful ski descent of Mount Wister's Northwest Couloir. The line may be be small and obscure, but packs a mighty punch.
On April 14th I did an unexpected link-up, including a rare summit ski descent of Fairshare Tower's Northeast Ridge, and the Sentinel (not Red Sentinel) and Tallboy Couloirs, some 7000 feet of excellent spring skiing.
The West Couloir of Teewinot Mountain is a stellar 5000 foot technical ski adventure on the dark side of the Owen-Teewinot Cirque. On April 11th, 2024, Mike Parri and I caught this elusive line in excellent, nearly ski-through, spring powder conditions.
Ten Thousand Too Far 