Peak Mountain Guides Blog

Guide Matt Wade and client Larry Hall just completed a ski descent of the Lavender Couloir on 14,150′ Mt. Sneffels.  This is a classic ski mountaineering trip in the San Juans that includes an exciting roped climb to the summit, a chance to top out on a highly regarded “14′er”, and a beautiful ski descent that begins in a tight couloir and finishes on wide-open rolling terrain nearly 3000′ feet below.  Larry sent us this note after the trip: “Thank you again for the great ski day on Mt. Sneffels.  It will forever be on my list of top ski memories!”

Larry enjoying perfect turns during a ski descent of 14’150′ Mt. Sneffels.

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Our lead guide Matt Wade recently authored an informative and interesting blog post for our long-time supporters, Backcountry Access.  In the post, which follows the activities of a recent Peak Mountain Guides Level 2 Avalanche Course, Matt describes a process for managing avalanche risk in a complex snowpack.  Click the link below to read the story.

Managing Risk in a Complex Snowpack

The road into Yankee Boy Basin opened three weeks ago providing easy access to some of the most classic ski mountaineering objectives in the San Juans.  We have had three trips into this area in the last few weeks and we have found great corn skiing on everything from steep couloirs to wide open faces.  Here are some photos from our most recent ski mountaineering course:

The ultra-classic Church Couloir. After a day of instruction in belaying and ropework we tackled this couloir as our first big ski objective.

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Wow!  What a year in Alaska!  We had several weeks of great snow, good stability, and almost entirely good weather.  We rode big glacier lines and steep ramps with descents approaching 5000 vertical feet!  Following are some photos from our most memorable days of big mountain riding in the ski mountaineering capitol of the world.

Alaska Ski Mountaineering Course 2012

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The Colorado College Outdoor Recreation Club took hut skiing to a new level in February with pillow drops, log hits, and all around incredible skiing! This video is from a Blue Lakes Hut Trip we did with this crew over President’s Day weekend.  A big thanks to guide Mike Bromberg for his artistic talent in compiling this short film.

The big storms of mid-to-late January have produced excellent backcountry skiing and some lively conditions for avalanche courses.  Since January 16th the San Juans have received over 3 feet of snow, most of it coming in “right-side-up” storms that have started warm and finished cold, making the surface snow cold, dry, and soft – which is primo for skiing.  The big load has also tested the snowpack’s strength, creating a perfect learning environment for our avalanche courses.  We’ve been out enjoying the nice skiing as well as the great conditions for avalanche education.  Following are some photos from our recent trips.

Recent storms have produced excellent backcountry skiing.

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We had a great AIARE Level 1 Avalanche Course over New Year’s weekend.  The interesting snowpack conditions made for good learning opportunities and we skied some good snow too!  Following are some photos from the course.

Tyler digs a quick snow profile to evaluate the reactivity of wind slabs.

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Chad and I (Matt) had our first day of the ski season yesterday (11/8). We skied great boot-top powder on North facing terrain in Commodore Basin.  There was 4″ of fluffy new snow capping a substantial 3 foot deep snowpack.  The skiing was very smooth and predictable, and lots of fun!  In fact, it was pretty outstanding for November 8th!  Following are some photos from our day:

Chad riding boot-top powder in upper Commodore Basin on November 8th.

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Guide Matt Wade will be giving a free Avalanche Awareness Clinic at the REI in Grand Junction next Thursday evening (11/3). Participants will learn about avalanche terrain recognition in the backcountry, avalanche types and characteristics, and they will learn how to identify clues to avalanche danger. There will also be an introduction to avalanche rescue using a beacon, shovel, and probe.   Clicking on the image below will direct you to the REI page where you can sign up.  Tune up your avalanche awareness skills with this FREE clinic!

Free Avalanche Awareness Clinic at the REI in Grand Junction on Thursday, November 3rd.

Bruce, Amy, and I had a wonderful day of ski mountaineering on Potosi Peak in the Sneffels Range yesterday.  Our 5-hour round trip climb and ski descent included a climb of the West face of Potosi Peak (finishing on the SE side of the summit pyramid), a ski descent of the North couloir, a short climb back up to the lowest Potosi/Teakettle saddle, and then a final ski descent of an unnamed South facing couloir to the car.  It was an outstanding ski mountaineering tour!

Dropping into the North Couloir of Potosi Peak

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