The Pfieferhorn, a.k.a. The Little Matterhorn has been on my list for years. A few years back I looked up some photos of people climbing it and descending the north west couloir. It seemed so gnarly. The line had a rappel half way through that is normally 40-50 feet early season. On a good snow year it gets a lot smaller.
Not knowing what to expect I grabbed 60 meters of rope and we started our ascent at 5:30 a.m. The sun hit early, the cloud cover kept the temperature down. We eventually cleared the treeline and hit the ridge that would lead us to the summit.
It was mellow skinning up until we were making the final push. Clouds moved in as we were almost to the summit. There were no breaks in the clouds. We sat on the summit waiting and deciding our way back down. The NW couloir seemed a little sketchy with no visibility. That was when SLCSHERPA and crew turned up. Those dudes are gnarly. They made us feel confident and we dropped in. Tony went first. The snow was manageable, but we rode with our ice axes for the first little bit. Parker went to the rappel anchors to film our descent. The cliff was completely gone. This is one of the deepest snow years I have ever seen.
I slipped out right at the choke blowing my shot, but tony got a good little pop off of the roller. The snow was great out on the apron and we all had a good time ripping it. It was one of the coolest zones I have ever been in, I hope to go back on a day when we can actually see.
Not knowing what to expect I grabbed 60 meters of rope and we started our ascent at 5:30 a.m. The sun hit early, the cloud cover kept the temperature down. We eventually cleared the treeline and hit the ridge that would lead us to the summit.
It was mellow skinning up until we were making the final push. Clouds moved in as we were almost to the summit. There were no breaks in the clouds. We sat on the summit waiting and deciding our way back down. The NW couloir seemed a little sketchy with no visibility. That was when SLCSHERPA and crew turned up. Those dudes are gnarly. They made us feel confident and we dropped in. Tony went first. The snow was manageable, but we rode with our ice axes for the first little bit. Parker went to the rappel anchors to film our descent. The cliff was completely gone. This is one of the deepest snow years I have ever seen.
I slipped out right at the choke blowing my shot, but tony got a good little pop off of the roller. The snow was great out on the apron and we all had a good time ripping it. It was one of the coolest zones I have ever been in, I hope to go back on a day when we can actually see.
Red Pine Lake
The Summit... What a view....
Parker and Tony in the couloir.
The apron
The way out.
By the time we were done we were so beyond tired. I need to learn to go lighter.
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