Grunge Couloir

The Grunge Couloir is one of those lines that I seem to think about a lot and I am not sure why. It might be because every time I have tried to do it, things haven't worked out. Schedule conflicts, snow conditions, weather, and timing never seem to fall into place.

Josh and I ran into a few snags so our 3:45 a.m. start didn't quite happen. We started up the closed road on our bikes in the dark. We were both in a sleep deprived fog and it took a little bit for us to get into a rhythm. Arriving at the base of the ascent into Wooly Hole, I decided to follow the snow thinking it would save us some time. Turns out I was wrong. We ended up in some pretty fun terrain, but we lost a lot of time.

After climbing our way through a chute we named "Death Cookie Couloir" we popped out in Wooly Hole. The sun was already out and heating the cornices that hung over the Grunge. It was only 7:30 a.m. but I knew we weren't going to make it. It was getting hot fast and by 8:30 the snow was already starting to corn up. We hit the base of the couloir around 9:30 a.m. and watched as rocks began to tumble off of the face. We were too late.

The Grunge turned me away again. The entire month of April was filled with days that would have been perfect. The only problem was that they were weekdays. Someday soon I will tick this line off of my list. Just turns out that it wasn't this season.

Photo Credit: Josh Snow

 

Photo Credit: Josh Snow

This is right after I swallowed a bug... I wasn't happy. It was a big bug.

Lone Peak Cirque

 

I fumbled my pack together before crashing into bed around 1 a.m. Saturday. Three short hours later I was up and on my way to meet Forrest and Caroline. The moon kept the trail lit as we started our way up Bells Canyon. We bobbed and weaved our way through the thick vegetation and eventually hit snow. 

As I unpacked my split board I noticed my heel strap wasn't connected... I had lost a bolt. Thanks to a few Voile straps my day wasn't over. The frozen snow made skinning easy and with a lone coyote yipping away in the background the North East face of Lone Peak came into view. We skinned out of the mountains shadow and the towering face was nearly blinding in the early morning light. Pictures can't really do it justice. 

We continued to the base of the North East Couloir. The temperature seemed to be climbing faster than we were. Before long we were halfway up the chute and about to climb out over some exposure. We had noticed a few wet sloughs and after some debate decided to pull the plug. 

We rode to the base of another couloir that was on a different aspect and that didn't have any exposure. Not knowing if the chute has another name we decided to call it "consolation prize". Forrest was able to put it into a gear that I don't have and he kicked in a solid boot pack to the summit ridge. We topped out and took a break. We talked about going for the summit, but decided against it due to time constraints. 

We dropped in and had a nice long ride to the summit valley. I was a little timid on my makeshift binding, but ended the set up worked out pretty well. We were all amping when we regrouped, we talked about how awesome that was and how much we wanted to just stay up there. We didn't realize that getting out of Bells would be almost as difficult as getting in. 

The trip out was a mix of fun and torture. That area is full of so much amazing terrain, but then we would find ourselves in thick trees, long sections of flat, thigh deep slush, etc... as we fought our way back to the car we all seemed to forget how amazing everything was up high. I don't think I have ever been more dehydrated. 

It took a good night of sleep to help me remember how awesome the tour was. There were quite a few things we could have done to make the tour easier on ourselves, but that is the point of exploration. It was good to just be out with two great people. Forrest and Caroline make a great couple and it is always a treat when I get to hang out with them in the mountains. It was fun to check out a side of the Wasatch none of us had been to. 

 

Silver Fork

After a couple weeks of warm temps the snow was completely shot. Dawn patrols were done. Waking up early to go scrape your way down some bulletproof ice usually doesn't sound appetizing at 5 in the morning. Thankfully you can always count on some amazingly deep days in March and April. 

When we saw this storm moving in we made plans to get out for a good morning tour. Josh, Chase, and I hit the trail early and made good time. We dropped in to Silver Fork and got some really good snow. Good conversation always makes a skin track seem shorter. There really is no better way to start a day.