Chair Peak ski descent
05 February 2004
Left: Chair Peak, North Buttress route is on the right
Right: Sunrise looking toward Chair Peak from the Alpental valley, route still on the right
The Northeast Buttress of Chair Peak caught my eye repeatedly during ascents of Snoqualmie Mountain to ski Slot Couloir. With all the snow that's fallen this winter, it looks like it's been smoothed and buffed. Many people were skeptical with my proposal. Jeff's characteristic temerity and bravado were just what I needed.
We reached Alpental at 6:40am. We made a visit to wake Corey and Cyril, but they weren't ready to relinquish their repose. I grabbed one of Corey's radios, made a headlamp enabled stop at Shot 10, and Jeff and I were skinning up the valley at day's first light.
There were some beautiful views of morning alpenglow on Chair Peak. Blue skies beckoned above Source Lake as I pointed out the far reaches of Alpental's lift-served backcountry to Jeff. The high clouds came quickly as we continued skinning, and there was clearly wind blowing snow over the top of Chair Peak.
We managed to skin all the way to the saddle at the base of the Northeast Buttress, since the windpack wasn't too hard for kicking the ski's edge through it. I donned my crampons and harness, and fetched the rope from my pack while Jeff caught me. I only took my Axar ice tool with the hammer, and figured an off hand whippet would do the rest of the job. I started postholing while Jeff finished stowing his skis and tying his end of the rope.
Somehow I had it in my head that the face to the climber's left of the gully at the base of the route might be a good way to finish the ski. I began climbing it and quickly realized it was all thin ice over rock, and I definitely didn't want to ski it. I downclimbed to Jeff and headed for the gully.
The gully was mostly filled with softer snow below the first bulge. That short section below it would have made for good skiing. I placed a screw in the most solid ice I could find above the first bulge, and from there I ran out the rest of what would prove to be the most technical climbing of the day. Jeff was still below the bulge, and I yelled at him after setting a quick belay off a small tree. I was really happy to find that tree so conveniently placed.
Left: Sky leads the crux section of the Northeast Buttress route.
Right: Jeff climbs through the crux section, skiers visible below him.
I saw Corey skinning up the basin as I belayed Jeff. Jeff and I simulclimbed up the snowfield to the next bulge. We talked to Corey on the radio. He was digging a hole for himself at the saddle below the route, to relax and wait out of the wind. The snowpack on the route had cut loose a sizable slab along the whole of its west edge. The surface was predominately old rain crust. The next ice bulge took a good screw, but it was followed by some disturbing steep snow with little hollow spots and trees just below the surface. That didn't last long, and just above it I stomped a platform and made a belay with a picket and my ax.
Left: Sky places an ice screw at the second bulge.
Right: Jeff climbs past the second bulge; Corey is somewhere down there among the trees.
We simulclimbed up the steep snow to the false summit. The hard crust was great for kicking steps, but not good for skiing. Nevertheless, after we topped out I was still considering giving it a try. I don't know why, because the descent gully to the south looked awfully attractive. It was super narrow and somewhat steep, but wide enough for a turn the whole way down. We had fun finishing the climb by surmounting a cornice.
Sky maintains balance after a jump turn on a nasty raincrust high on the Northeast Buttress
I set a belay off another tree for Jeff. The plan was to belay him down the Northeast Buttress, and I would ski down after him. Where necessary, I would belay him and then rappel myself. I was planning to rappel the upper ice bulge and the lowest section. Jeff clipped himself to a tool and a picket, and then I skied down to him. I made two turns and sideslipped quite a bit. The problem was that it was so icy and hard that I could barely control the sideslip. When I got to Jeff, I decided it just wasn't worth skiing the Northeast Buttress. The snow was so icy I couldn't stomp any sort of platform with my skis, but I was able to balance on the downhill ski while I removed the uphill ski and kicked a step with my uphill boot. The rest of the juggling act going from skier to climber was downhill from there.
Given that I wasn't going to ski the Northeast Buttress, Jeff wanted to climb to the false summit again and descend the gully on the south. That did look like a sweet ski, so I was game. I skied down it while Jeff took pictures. The snow was wind-crusted, but not so badly, and it made for a great condition for tight, controlled turns. When the couloir opened I looked over the col, but it didn't occur to me to rappel it, since I was in skier mode. I could almost envision skiing it, but there was a lot of fresh snow on it that looked like it might easily release.
A fun ski descent of Chair Peak!
We continued down to the southwest, which included more interesting skiing. We got stranded above cliffs once, then I found a spot that looked reasonably navigable. Ten minutes of interesting downclimbing later, I was at the top of a snowy slope that eased down to the valley floor. I transformed from climber to skier for the last time of the day while I waited for Jeff, and directed him down what looked like a slightly easier route.
I made a descending traverse to skier's right toward Kaleetan Peak. Then it was time to put the skins on my skis for a short climb to Melakwa Pass. Jeff took a few minutes, and when he arrived I departed for the pass. It was almost dark when I got to the pass, but I could see Snow Lake far below. Jeff seemed to be having trouble, so I yelled to him and found out he was having a skin problem. I skied down to him and gave him some duct tape, but it didn't last. I just wanted to move, so I told him we should put our skis on our packs, then we booted up to the pass. The postholes weren't too bad considering how fresh the snow felt.
When we were both at Melakwa Pass, I used Jeff's phone to call Corey. He was glad to hear from us, and decided to make some hot tea and come meet us with it. The ski down to Snow Lake was awesome, with hoar frost over nice powder and lots of moonlight. Skiing across Snow Lake seemed to take forever.
There was some nasty wind and Snoqualmie Pass-effect death fog coming over the divide. So much for being able to find Corey before Alpental. It didn't take long to boot to the divide, and there were more excellent powder turns in the Alpental valley.
It was half past nine when I reached Alpental, which was quite a bit later than I had planned. Oh well, it all feels like a good memory now. When I saw the Northeast Buttress I thought of skiing it as the Electric Chair. Now I call this the Eclectic Chair, since there was a bit of everything. It was something like an up and over circumnavigation with powder turns and some ice climbing. Sweet.