TR: Avalanche Peak-Rogers Pass-Feb. 2011

Sunday Feb. 20, my friend James Martin and I made plans to ski tour in Rogers Pass. James calls me frequently to go out with him to this zone but I rarely have a chance to go. Sunday was to be our long awaited day together. We both wanted to do something rad and we felt the conditions would probably allow us to get on something steep. James had the idea of Avalanche Peak and I couldn't think of anything better to do so we left Golden at 7am with our goal mostly set on this objective.

Swiss Peaks, Rogers Pass: morning light

The good part about Avalanche Peak is that there isn't a lot of horizontal walking to get to the vertical. I might just be lazy but horizontal skinning really demotivates me in a way that vertical skining doesn't.

We started up the famed NRC Gulley.  I'd actually never been past the gully on a blue day so I was excited to get to the alpine in a spot I'd never been to yet.

James going up NRC

We decided to go straight up the headwall in the alpine, which in retrospect probably wasn't the right call. My mountain senses were ringing as we transitioned from skins to boot pack on the headwall. The avi report said things were mostly good but that finding a 'sweet spot' or fragile spot in the snowpack on shallow and unsupported areas could trigger all the way to the November crust. In the future I will probably never do this headwall again. It perhaps saves you 200 ft of vertical by not going up and over NRC peak but the overhead danger and eerieness of the headwall is not worth it.

James going up NRC Headwall: James going up NRC Headwall

Once we were up at the top of NRC we accessed the glacier on the NE side of Avalanche Peak and proceeded up to the couloir. The snow in this area was really good and we were really tempted to just lap it.

Avalanche Peak Glacier: James nearing the peak

Avalanche Peak Glacier: Tim skinning up

We ate lunch where this backside slope joins the coulior that leads to the high point, which is just under the peak. The views from here were inspiring.

Avalanche Peak Couloir: Lunch time

Rogers Pass: Video Peak, 8812 in foreground.

We cautiously moved out in to the couloir and James had a sweet lead in pretty tight snow to the high point. Turns out the decision to leave crampons, harnesses and rope in the truck was the right call. The boot packing using one ice axe was about as good as you can hope for.

James bootpacking Avalanche Peak Couloir: at the crux

Tim bootpacking Avalanche Peak Couloir: almost at the top

At the top we didn't linger. There's not much space up there and there was a big cornice overhanging the other side.

The descent was a mixed bag of deep pow, icey crust and wind slab. Every turn was different and getting a rhythm wasn't exactly easy. The turns felt steep to me. It's my first Big Line of the season but I thought there were a few at the entrance on a bulge near that top that were at least 55 degrees. For the most part though the couloir is around 40 degrees.

James skiing Avalanche Peak

Avalanche Peak: Tim skiing the couloir

Tim near exit: Avalanche Peak

The treat of the couloir was the intensity. Once we exited on to the sunny slope then came a treat in the form of great snow. We skied total hero snow for several hundred meters to where we once again reunited with the trees.

James exit of Avalanche peak couloir

Avalanche Peak Valley

Avalanche Peak Valley: from the top to the bottom

All in all, this was an outstanding day out. Approximately 1,700 meters in elevation gain (5,500 ft) and blue skies and cold air the whole way.

Arc'teryx Beta FL Jacket

This was also the first full day trip that I used my new Arc'Teyrx Beta FL Active Layer shell. This jacket uses an ultra light weight fabric that's new from Gore-Tex. I can honestly say I'm a believer in this kind of fast and light fabric. For the day, I wore a polypro layer, a Marmot wind shirt and then the Active Shell. I wore this system all day and only put on an insulated jacket during breaks. During moments of high output the shell breaths excellently and I didn't over-heat from high exertion. You really can tell the difference in the Active Shell compared to a Gore-Tex ProShell jacket. It's way lighter and breaths much better. It's also the kind of jacket that you don't take on and off during the day. You do get cold much quicker though, so putting on the insulator during breaks is essential.