Cody came down from Montana to visit and we headed out to Cameron Pass hoping to ski the Nokhu Couloirs. We were skinning by 8:30 and did the 3-mile approach at a relaxed pace. The approach is a bit long, but it felt easy until the last half-mile or so. Avalanche danger was suspect, so we were pleased to see a group of two skiers skinning up to the North Sister couloir ahead of us. In order to not skin under them, we put in a new skin track aiming for the Middle Sister. We found a safe place to dig a pit and were nervous to see that the wind slab formed earlier that week (100 mph winds!) was still reactive. We decided not to boot up the Middle Sister and instead to wait until the other skiers finished and to repeat their ascent/descent of the North Sister.
After waiting for about 15 mins., they skied out and we started up. The bootpack was hard work, but we eventually topped out to excellent views of the Never Summer Range. The weather could not have been better, with bluebird skies, temps in the mid-30s, and no wind. The skiing was really fun, with firm grippy snow at the top and excellent soft snow towards the bottom. It ended up being the steepest and narrowest couloir I’ve ever skied, and I had to try my luck with jump turns on my 108 mm powder skis. Luckily, neither of us fell! Unfortunately, we were both too tired to ski another, so we skied and pushed the three miles out to the car. The ski out is quick, but the snow was variable with very sticky stretches interspersed in fast powder.
That was an excellent day, and I had a blast touring with Cody! The chute was gnarly but manageable, and the weather could not have been better! Hopefully I can return some day to ski the remaining 5 excellent chutes in the cirque.
Details:
Trailhead – Lake Agnes Winter Trhd.
Vertical Gain – 2,700′
Snowpack – Rated Moderate, ECTP12 on a fresh wind slab.
The Skientist 