On the 15th I skied this 2,500’+ line in great condition. After tagging the summit (airy mixed moves on the rimed and sugary summit block) in the early a.m. and soaking in the views, my skis took me from maybe 70’ below the peak on a firm southward traverse along the summit ridge to an icy and discontinuous short S-facing chute. With two tools I down-climbed this, landing near the top of a big patch of snow coming off the summit ridge, exposed to sheer cliffs. From here (c. 7400’) I could ski the rest. The patch offered a nice low-angle warm-up on chalky powder then a firm but softening crust—a relief, as nearly all the climb up seemed impossibly frozen bulletproof. From where the summit ridge patch rolled over the huge drop, I descended skier’s right via a narrow ribbon of snow (about a ski length in width) on a ramp to arrive at the head of the business: over 2,000’ of dreamy, creamy corn, steep-ish (averaging 40+ degrees), with a couple quite steep sections and cruxes including a rock band and a small ‘schrund. These were just skiable (briefly busted out an axe for the first crux), and probably won’t be in that kind of shape for much longer, a couple weeks maybe. There was a little avy debris from earlier in the week, but much of it could be avoided in favor of smooth slopes.
Overall an amazing ski mountaineering experience; felt all the more “out there” as no other souls were seen from the time I left Highway 101, aside from the many bear and cat tracks. The Olympics are no joke—felt like a rugged Cascades trip, as game-on as many higher peaks.
Don’t see many Olympics reports, funny coincidence to see folks ski South Brother the same weekend (nice report!) as I logged on to post this.
A few photos. This one looks up the majority of the business. The line goes to prominent cliff near top and exits up and right on the slanting ribbon/ramp.
From near the summit, looking at the southward ski traverse towards the main line; The Brothers in background.
There’s skiing in these here parts. Mt Olympus left background.
Puget Sound was socked in when I hit the summit, unfortunately.
First crux: above that little tree onto a thin ramp that accesses the goods.
Where the continuous fun began.
Sweet. The next spicy bit is barely visible through the rocks. Tunnel Creek divide is in the background.
More pics here: https://picasaweb.google.com/ewehrly/20 ... directlink
I spied this from Seattle on a Discovery Park run earlier in the week, the east face looking awfully fat with snow. Made a late-week decision to have a go. No partners materialized, so I finally got going late on Friday. Ruled out the Dosewallips (and other approaches) due to their exposure to avy-prone slopes, settling on the relatively safe North Fork of Tunnel Creek approach. Don’t be an idiot like me and try to on-sight this approach during the night with two non-functioning compasses. I suppose a GPS would shine for a night assault or single push—it would be a loooong day.
