I've stared at this couloir nearing a decade - a beautiful winding dance down the improbable North Face of Peak 10,696. I naively kept skiing lower hoping the snow would get better... an exercise in edge control.
Reverence – Second Descent of the North Face of Mount Wister – GTNP, WY (04.04.24)
The North Face of Mount Wister was a visionary ski descent first accomplished by Adam Fabrikant, Billy Haas and Micheal Gardner in the spring of 2023. On April 4th, 2024 I made the second descent, and first solo descent, of this incredible line that will hopefully attract more eyes. This was one of my finest days in the mountains to date.
Threading The Needle – A Stormy Descent of the Bubble Fun Couloir – Buck Mountain – GTNP, WY (03.25.24)
The Bubble Fun Couloir is on the short list of most demanding steep ski descents in the Teton Range - an 1,100 foot masterpiece that holds 50 degrees for hundreds of feet, pushes 60 degrees in hallway width chokes, and hangs dramatically above Avalanche Canyon with an eerie 200+ foot exit cliff. The stuff of dreams - or nightmares.
Totally Western – Painted Lady Couloir – Treasure Mountain – Teton Canyon, WY (02.29.24)
The Painted Lady is a rugged, seldom skied novelty descent on the west face of Treasure Mountain - a 2,200 foot descent that involves a gigantic 230+ foot rappel into a narrow slot, and a mandatory air over an ice fall... or epic butt slide. Something like canyoneering, on skis.
Subalpine Ski Mountaineering – Lost Boys, Treasure Mountain North Face – Teton Canyon, WY (02.25.24)
My second ski descent, first published on 10K2Far, of a unique, seldom skied, 2,500 foot fall-line adventure on the rugged north face of Treasure Mountain, involving a little rope work, with new partner Hayden Evans.
Low Tide Ski Mountaineering – Okie’s Thorn Couloir – GTNP, WY (12.29.23)
On Friday I got out and enjoyed my first GTNP high country ski of the season in Okie's Thorn Couloir, a unique and seldom visited line just northwest of the popular Dike Snowfield.
A Grand Finale – Cowboy Powder in The Ford Couloir – Grand Teton – GTNP, WY (05.27.23)
On May 27th Vinny Gwinn and I climbed and skied the Ford-Stettner route on the Grand Teton, the likely punctuation to another phenomenal ski mountaineering season in the Tetons.
“Stuart Draw Triple” – Skiing Static Peak, Buck Mountain and Peak 10,696 In A Day – GTNP, WY (05.20.23)
Albright, Static and Buck is the classic, but I think this one might be more logical, at least for skiing. A ~7000 vertical foot day, somewhere in the realm of 10-13 miles, on the three peaks that crown the Stuart Draw drainage - one of the best this season.
Transcendence – Northeast Snowfields – Mount Owen – GTNP, WY (05.12.23)
Mount Owen's Northeast Snowfields are a coveted and seminal tick for Teton ski mountaineers - a serious, exposed and committing 2,500 foot descent requiring at least one rappel - a line I've chased for years, and finally had the chance to bag with Vinny Gwinn on May 12th, 2023.
Solo in Quartzite Canyon – North Face Couloir, Peak 10,686 – GTNP, WY (04.22.23)
The North Face of Peak 10,686 is home to one of the most striking ski mountaineering lines north of Mount Moran. A beautiful, meditative, solo day in the north end.