Wednesday, April 20, 2011

S Couloir

Last week Bryan proposed the idea of heading out to the S Couloir on Ptarmigan Peak. It seemed like the stability and weather was going to be good, and that there was going to be enough snow. I hadn't ever felt like I could ski the S Couloir because it was a big steep don't fall line. But this winter I have been getting out and skiing a lot and I've been feeling really confident on my skis. Despite that I still borrowed a friend's whippet (a ski pole with an ice axe on the top for self arresting) so that if I fell I wouldn't go sliding over the cliffs at the bottom.

So last Saturday Bryan, Ian, Danielle and I meet up at the Glenn Alps trail head and skied up Powerline Pass to the North face of Ptarmigan Peak. After driving across Anchorage to one of the most popular trail heads and skiing for 75 minutes to the base of the S Couloir we were blown away to find out that we were the first ones to go out there to ski since the last snow fall; the couloir was completely untracked. As it turned out the powder was perfectly consistant from the top to the bottom. It was some of the best skiing I've had this season, and definitely the best run I've ever done.

To top everything off Bryan, Ian and I went back to their place, carried the couch out onto the deck and lounged on the deck drinking Coronas and eating halibut fajitas. It was the perfect spring day.

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