Rock Climbing – Ice Climbing – Ski Mountaineering
On April 20th I skied the "McGown Triple", linking the Little McGown Couloir, "50 Classic" North Couloir, and KLB Chute for a 4,500 foot day of excellent steep spring skiing on McGown Peak. If I wasn't a McDonald's hater, I would call it the McTriple. Perhaps it has an official name.
On Saturday April 19th, Bobbi Clemmer and I skied the Northeast Face of Mystery Mountain in Idaho's revered Sawtooth Range. We spent three days in the Sawtooths - my first ski trip outside the Tetons in many years.
On Saturday April 13th I had the pleasure of skiing the classic East Face of The Jaw with Bobbi Clemmer, Bailey Haus and Carl Osterburg. That's right, Carl's back on the blog. Upon exiting we tagged the North Couloir of Symmetry Spire, a really neat, relatively tight and seldom skied hallway funneling into Hanging Canyon.
Come April, May, and June in North America, reliable weather forecasts for ski mountaineering are fickle, and the parameters for good ski conditions tighten. Here's my strategy for planning a great day out.
The Northeast Face of Mount Woodring is an unassuming, yet intricate and at times rather severe, 3,000 foot ski descent tucked away in the deep recesses of Leigh Canyon.
On April 3rd we skied the Southwest Couloir on Mount Moran in deep powder conditions. With 4,500 feet of consistently pitched fall-line skiing, nearly 6,000 feet in full, this colossal couloir is Teton royalty.
The Otterbody Snowfield is a 1,700 foot fairy tale ski mountaineering descent, 7,000 feet in full, on the East Face of the Grand Teton. On March 30th, 2025, I had the pleasure of descending the route with Hayden Evans and Julian Winston.
The Eagle Scout (a.k.a. Mack-Tyson) pillar is the premier single pitch ice climb of the Teton Range, with "more than 100 feet of vertical or overhanging climbing" and a grade ranging from WI5- to WI6R. Having not climbed the Eagle Scout in two years, I thought I would add some notes from the perspective of a better ice climber.
Hidden Haven (WI4, II) is a unique four pitch ice adventure, ascending a tight slot canyon feature in Parowan Canyon, Utah. Bobbi Clemmer and I climbed the route on our way home from Joshua Tree - January 28th, 2025.
On March 8th, 2025, Bobbi Clemmer and and I climbed Bingo World (WI5-6), one Hyalite Canyon's most difficult, notorious and ephemeral freestanding pillars. The route is known to form about twice a decade.
Ten Thousand Too Far 