Tag Archives: Bradley/Taggart

Dike Couloir

February 5, 2015 Rene Leave a comment

Location: GTNP, Garnet Canyon, Teepee Glacier, Glacier Gulch
Elevation, Gain/Loss: 11,165’, 5,545’ gain/loss
Distance: 8 miles RT
Difficulty: 3 stars
Time: 5-6 hours

Trip Report:

Date: 1/31/2015 Snow Condition: Powder, Packed Powder, some sun crust on the way up Garnet Canyon. Soft dense snow on the lower east face of Disappointment Peak.

After a few small storms brought a 6″ inches of snow to the mountains and a couple awful days skiing around the resort, I decided it was time to get into the park. North facing aspects seemed to be skiing the best over the past couple days, so I mulled over a few options and decided on the Dike Couloir near Teepee Glacier.

Zelie and I were a little late to start, leaving the truck right at 10am, but it was supposed to be cool and sunny through the day and felt fine about the departure time. We left Bradley/Taggart trailhead and proceeded towards Bradley Lake, out to the right along the normal track to Garnet Canyon. At the point along the moraine between the two lakes that the track either goes straight (to Shadow) or down to the right, we dropped right and made our way to Bradley Lake.

Beautiful view of the Grand from Bradley Lake.

We made quick work of the up into Garnet Canyon and were in the Meadows enjoying the beauty of the canyon in 2hrs. We saw a few guys booting up the “summer trail” to our right on their way to the Red Sentinel, a couple people going for the West Hourglass and later two guys on top of the col between the Ellingwood Couloir and Middle Teton Glacier. People were teeing off in Garnet and we were hoping not to run into to many tracks on our run. We decided the easiest way up was the skin track to the left of Spaulding Falls. At this point, the canyon was alive with spindrift flying off the mountain summits, as the sun crept above Nez Perce.

Zelie working her way up Garnet Canyon. — Zelie working her way up Garnet Canyon with the Middle Teton looming.

The South Fork of Garnet Canyon with Cloudveil Dome and Nez Perce in the background.

We worked our way up the steep skin track, eventually switching over to bootpack mode just above the falls. We continued up and to the right, eventually coming to boulder field, exposed by the constant wind that comes through the canyon. We saw the two guys from earlier, struggling into the South Sentinel, on their way to the Red Sentinel to our right, and continued to work our way up to our objective. We eventually came out into Teepee Glacier at around 4hrs and were pretty excited that the majority of the work was done. We switched over to skin mode for one last minor push, but paused to take a look around the seldom viewed corner of the canyon.

Middle Teton Glacier and the East Face of the Middle.

We worked our way up and to the right, eventually finding the entry into the Dike Couloir. It looked a little thin up top, but we imagined it was all filled in down low.

Top of the Black Dike Couloir. — Top of the Dike Couloir.

We hung out in the sun for a bit, until the newly developed northerly wind began to be too much. We geared up and started to make our way down. After a couple side slips, we worked our way through the upper section and had some fun turns down to the rollover. Here we could see that the couloir had been HACKED. I couldn’t believe how many tracks were in the run…it reminded me of a Granite Canyon run two weeks into a dry cycle. Regardless, we were able to find some fun, fluffy turns on the sides of the couloir and made our way down in a few sections.

Fun turns in the heart of the Dike Couloir.

Looking down the bottom half of the couloir. — Looking down the bottom half of the couloir, with Zelie slaying pow.

The skiing was surprisingly fun, with plenty of powder to go around. We made our way down into Glacier Gulch, turning before dropping down to Delta Lake to admire the scenery.

The Grand, Owen and a shoulder of Teewinot looming large in Glacier Gulch.

Overall, the couloir is only about 1000′ of vertical, but some of the best part of skiing in this zone is the fun terrain that you get to ski down to Bradley Lake. We made our way down and across Delta Lake, then traversed right and found some fun snow to work with all the way down to a point where we started to go right around the base of Disappointment Peak and to the moraine to the right (north) of Bradley Lake. Apparently, you can just ski down to the valley floor and work your way to the right, eventually finding the parking lot as well, but we opted for the skin track out. We crossed Bradley Lake and made quick work of the out, taking our boots off at around 6hrs. If was a great day to get out into the park and another fun ski with the lady!

Backcountry Skiing, Trip Report

4 Hour Couloir

January 10, 2015 Rene 2 Comments

Location: GTNP, Shadow Peak, Avalanche Canyon
Elevation, Gain/Loss: 9877’, 3,673’ gain/loss
Distance: 6 miles RT
Difficulty: 3 stars
Time: 4-5 hours

Trip Report:

Date: 12/31/2014 Snow Condition: Powder, Sun Affected Soft Snow

We had experienced an amazing holiday week in Jackson, with a huge storm cycle bringing upwards to 4 feet of snow to the area in around 10 days. The turns around JHMR were pretty unbelievable during that time, but the lines were also a little unbelievable, so getting out into the park for a New Years Eve ski seemed like the right thing to do. With some nasty north/northeast winds trailing the system, most aspects were fairly wind affected, so we thought a south facing shot might have the best chance at skiing well. Hank, B.Close and I decided on the 4 Hour Couloir, off Shadow Peak. None of us had skied it before, but we all were excited for the relatively easy approach for a 2100′ couloir. The approach is very simple. You follow the normal route up Shadow Peak, but just as it benches out and you are about to go up the northeast facing “bowl” that is the skiers summit, look left. There is an obvious “col” which is the entry point to the 4 Hour Couloir. We made pretty good time up to beginning of the ski, leaving the truck around 9:45am and reaching the couloir in 2hrs 30min. We enjoyed the views and warmth of the inverted sun on our skin for a bit before we decided to drop in. While sitting here, we did notice a massive crown on the East face of the Grand. It looked to have a depth of 6-8ft and ran the length of the entire face, directly above the Otter Body.

The Grand, with a massive crown across it's East face. (Unfortunately, the crown is not visible) — The Grand, with a massive crown across it’s East face. (Unfortunately, the crown is not visible)

While we were getting ready, a group of three came upon us from above. They had a similar idea for the day and after a quick chat, they took off down the couloir and we slowly got ready, wanting to give them plenty of time to ski the line. After about 15 minutes, we decided they must be out of harms way and got moving. The first few turns were a little heavy, with the sun and inverted temperatures doing a bit of damage on the snow, but quickly we found some dry powder snow.

Close making his way down the upper portion of the couloir.

Once into the couloir, the snow was surprisingly good, with dense powder in most places. We skied it in 4 sections, but could have easily done it in two if we were concerned about the snow stability. Mostly, we were just having fun skiing a beautiful couloir in the relative warmth of an inverted day and didn’t feel the need to rush the experience.

Hank skiing from the halfway point of the 4 Hour Couloir.

Turkey Chute off 25 Short across Avalanche Canyon.

We continued down, making some great turns and really opening it up as the couloir starts to widen near the bottom. The snow towards the bottom was some of the best, dense and chalky – which was a nice finish to the great day.

B.Close mid turn (or straight-lining?) towards the bottom

Looking up into the 4 Hour Couloir from Avalanche Canyon. The couloir goes up to the right.

After finishing the run, we were greeted with a debris pile from an avalanche that had probably occurred sometime during the last storm cycle. After making it through all the land mines, we slowly worked our way out of Avalanche Canyon. I say slowly because the inversion had created snow temperates so low that we were basically walking out, not skiing. Along the “walk” out, we ran into the group of three who had skied the couloir before us. They emphatically informed us that they had come across an adolescent black bear 400′ into the couloir. They said it was hanging out above them in a treed area before it truly tightened into a couloir. We were shocked, simultaneously glad and a little jealous that they had gone first. Add bears encounters to the long list of dangers that backcountry skiers face! We continued out at a “blistering” pace, finally crossing Taggart Lake and making it back to the truck in 4hrs 30min. We enjoyed some laughs and quickly made our way to Dornan’s for a few beverages to start the New Years festivities.

Backcountry Skiing, Trip Report

Northeast “Couloir” off Mount Wister

December 18, 2014 Rene Leave a comment

Location: GTNP, Mount Wister
Elevation, Gain/Loss: 10,854’, 4,652’ gain/loss
Distance: 8 miles RT
Difficulty: 3+ stars
Time: 5-7 hours

Trip Report:

Date: 12/17/2014
Snow Condition: Powder, Packed Powder, Light Breakable Crust 12″ under consolidated Powder

A wave of anxiety rushed over me as I stared down the large “couloir” Dane and I had just bootpacked up. The wind had been whipping over the ridge from the south during most of the climb and we began to wonder if the avalanche conditions were as safe as we thought. The run rolled over to a 40 degrees slope from the col, into a mild pinch, then mellowing to a 30 degree run out 800′ to the bottom. After a few quick ski cuts, our nerves were replaced with elation as we skied deep powder 1200′ to the bottom of the cirque.

We started the day around 8am, leaving Bradley/Taggart and heading towards Avalanche Canyon. After spending the previous day skiing Turkey Chute, we knew there was coverage in the canyon and had spotted a skin track heading below The Nugget and up to Lake Taminah. The morning was very pleasant and the skin track proved to be quite enjoyable through the densely treed canyon.

We made our way past 4 Hour Couloir and through the small trees that are scattered around the fork of Avalanche Canyon. The skin track worked its way right into the North Fork, eventually up a steep slot in the prominent rock band before reaching Lake Taminah. As we got out onto the lake, the wind came rushing through the canyon and we immediately needed to layer up for the rest of the trip. Working our way across the lake, we saw the “couloir” that we wanted to ski in the distance on our left. We were slightly disappointed that the East Face of Wister was in the clouds, which meant we would not get an opportunity to see if it was skiable. We worked our way up into the cirque, through some deep snow that we were getting excited to ski on our way down. It took us 3hours and 15minutes to get into the cirque. Here, we took a little break and geared up for the climb. We skinned up the first third of the run to some rocks that were still exposed and then had to switch over to bootpack mode.

From here, the booting was relatively easy, considering it was powder the whole way up. It consolidated well with each step, rarely giving out and sending us back down to our starting point. This was a nice surprise and we made quick work of the climb to the col of Mount Wister. It took us around 4 1/2 hours to get to this point, gaining 4,652′ to an elevation of 10,854′, so we felt pretty good about our pace. We got ready to ski and after a brief discussion and a few ski cuts, we were set to rip.

The snow was pretty fantastic up high, deep and playful, with the light sluff giving you the sense that you were gliding down the run. We skied through the pinch and pulled off to our right under some rocks to decide with way to proceed down. Here, we got a glimpse of the East Face of Mount Wister (11,490′) and decided it would need some more snow to make it a worthy ski. We skied down to the right, trying to miss the exposed rocks in the middle of the run, making pow turns one after the other. After making it through the rocks, we cruised down to the bottom of the cirque, each beaming with joy.

The Northeast " Couloir off Wister. — The Northeast ” Couloir off Wister.

With the more challenging part of the ski done, we made our way down and across the lake, linking some fun turns together in the surprise powder field.

After the lake, we made our way down to the fork of Avalanche Canyon, finding more powder and more smiles all the way to the traverse out. We made it back to the truck and our waiting beverage in just over 6 hours, each overjoyed about the day. Once again, GTNP did not disappoint.

Backcountry Skiing, Trip Report

Turkey Chute

December 17, 2014 Rene 5 Comments

Location: GTNP, 25 Short
Elevation, Gain/Loss: 9975’, 3,573’ gain/loss
Distance: 6 miles RT
Difficulty: 3 stars
Time: 4-5 hours

Trip Report:

Date: 12/16/2014
Snow Condition: Chalky, Powder, “Bouncy Snow”

Skiing at JHMR can be a blast, with lift accessed powder fields in every direction, but after a week of high pressure and 6 inches of light snow on a crusty layer, I was yearning to get back into the park. We were not sure what the conditions would be like, but after a few runs in Granite during the past couple of days, we decided on something north facing. Dane, Trist, Casper and I chatted over coffee on the ride up to GTNP and settled on Turkey Chute off 25 Short. It has a relatively easy approach, with a fun 2200′ shot down to the canyon floor. I was also excited to get into Avalanche Canyon to see what the out was like and how the snow was holding up in the canyon.

The skin up 25 Short is still a little jumbled, with ski tracks crossing the skin track and numerous options up the mellow face. We made it onto the skin track (lookers right ridge of the main gully) we were attempting to find after a few moments of uncertainty due to all the options, but once on the track, we made great time. At times, the skin track was a little slick, but most of the time the new dusting gave us great grip and we were on the summit in just over 2 hours.

Once there, we skinned south along the ridge towards 10,696, under an outcropping of rock to our right (Casper’s Cliff?). Turkey Chute is just south of this on the right, detectable by a large boulder at the entrance of the couloir. We passed the large boulder at first, because the thin coverage caused us to cross the ridge much lower than usual. We quickly realized this and made our way back to the rock outcropping and Turkey Chute.

View from the large boulder at the entrance to Turkey Shoot. — View from the large boulder at the entrance to Turkey Chute.

Once at the entrance, we got into ski mode and began the downclimb into the couloir. Looking down into the run, we noticed it was a little wind effected, but were confidant that the lower half was holding some fluffy snow. We progressed down to a snowy area where we could put on our skis and got ready to rip the chute.

2014-12-16 12.16.20 — Dane and Tristan downclimbing the entrance to Turkey Chute.

We skied down the steeper (35+ degree) section in groups of two. Once down to the mellower apron, we gave each other some room and enjoyed some great “hippie” turns. We were impressed with the snow, all wishing for deep turns the whole way down, but satisfied with chalky powder up top and deeper snow down low.

2014-12-16 12.22.19 — Dane finishing the upper section of the run.

At the bottom of the apron, we worked our way right to a small, fun shot down to the traverse out to Taggart Lake. The snow was a little thin in here, but we made the most of it and had our share of powder turns in this north facing, protected pocket of Avalanche Canyon.

The traverse was not as bad as we expected. It defiantly had some blind corners, small drops and fast sections, but there was good coverage all the way to the lake. Once at the lake, we delayered and made quick work of the push across Taggart and to the trailhead.

The total trip took us just under 4 hours, which was much faster than other trips to Turkey Chute. It was a fun day in the park and got us all thinking about another line we want to attempt in the coming weeks, the Nugget Line.

Backcountry Skiing, Trip Report

Sliver Couloir

December 11, 2014 Rene Leave a comment

Location: GTNP, Nez Perce Peak
Tags: Backcountry Skiing, Ski Mountaineering
Elevation, Gain/Loss: 11,178’, 5,128’ gain/loss
Distance: 5.5 miles RT
Difficulty: 4 stars
Time: 6-8 hours

Trip Report:

Date: 12/10/2014
Snow Condition: Hardpacked, Breakable Crust, Chalky, Sun affected (corn like)

After a week long hiatus from the park, I finally made time to go out for a ski. Dane, Noah and I decided on the Sliver Couloir, off Nez Perce Peak. It is a good early season warmup, with a relatively easy approach and straightforward decent. We started from Bradley/Taggart around 7:45am and were greeted with a mild inversion that made the first 20 minutes pretty uncomfortable. Once we warmed up, and gained some elevation, the day became very pleasant.

2014-12-10 08.05.24 — The morning sun hits the Tetons

We had decided on approaching the Sliver from Shadow Peak, instead of Garnett Canyon because: Bradley Lake was still not crossable and it seems to be the fastest approach to the Sliver. Some people like booting up the access couloir above the “Platforms” in Garnett, but after doing that a few years ago, I swore off that approach once and for all. So, we made our way out and to the right, finding the moraine between Bradley and Taggart Lakes quickly. We continued on the moraine for a bit, making sure not to dump right on the skin track down to Bradley Lake and Garnett Canyon. We were at the base of Shadow Peak in around an hour and after a painless skin up (sometimes Shadow’s track can be awful), we were on top of Shadow Peak starring at the Sliver Couloir.

From Shadow, we downclimbed a mild rocky stretch to our left and made our way to the west facing couloir that takes you into the basin of Nez Perce and the entry to the Sliver. The snow was chalky and fun all the way down the 500′ pitch, keeping speed toward the end to cross the basin, towards the Sliver. Once in the basin, we were greeted by a frozen bootpack that looked to go to the top of the Sliver. This was a nice surprise, even though it felt a little like cheating. Nevertheless, we got into bootpack mode and started the 1800′ climb to the top of the couloir. It was relatively easy on the up, only finding trouble where the sun had warmed the snow enough to create failures in the bootpack. It took us an hour to climb up the couloir, and around 4 hours total from the trailhead. With the climbing done, we delicately kicked out a platform in the 45 degree slope to click into our skis and ready ourselves for the ski. We skied it in two sections from the top. The snow was not great in the upper half, consisting of breakable crust, wind affected hardback and sun affected slush. We all made some cautious jump turns down the steep, tight upper section to our meeting point in the middle of the couloir.

Dane making the most of the upper section.

The bottom half of the couloir had been warming in the sun for a bit, so it was a lot more predictable and fun. We skied down from our meeting point one at a time, making some decent turns and finding much softer snow to work with than at the top. The bottom part of the run is ascetically appealing, giving it an elevator feeling. The walls are tight, but the slope is moderate (about 35 degrees), so you can really get into a flow and let loose. We each had a great run down to the bottom of the couloir, pulling out to the right above some cliffs to soak in the sun and take a little break.

Noah working his way down the bottom half.

We rested for a bit and contemplated booting up the west facing couloir we had skied down earlier to get back on top of Shadow, but decided against it. We skied down to our left, picking our way through boulders until we found some chutes that took us into the northern basin of Shadow. We traversed southeast and eventually found ourselves on the east side of Shadow Peak. Here, we found some great snow in the trees and corn-like skiing in the sun. We worked our way all the way down until we were back at the skin track on the moraine. We gingerly made our way down the moraine, being careful not to get tangled in the many downed trees.

Noah making his way off the moraine with Shadow in the background. — Noah making his way down the moraine with Shadow in the background.

Once out in the open and off the moraine, we quickly made our way back to the Bradley/Taggart trailhead and the celebratory beverage Noah had brought for each of us. All in all, it was a very fun day and had only taken us 6 hours roundtrip. Looks like there is some snow in the forecast for the weekend, so hopefully we can make it out for another adventure soon.

OutdoorBeta

Tag Archives: Bradley/Taggart

Dike Couloir

Trip Report:

4 Hour Couloir

Trip Report:

Northeast “Couloir” off Mount Wister

Trip Report:

Turkey Chute

Trip Report:

Sliver Couloir

Trip Report:

Adventure Lives Here