057 | James Peak . Super Star Couloir

I won't waste your time this week with unnecessary fluff, so I'll cut to the chase to bring you a very sick descent down Super Star Couloir off James Peak. This was something I had been eying ever since my first visit to the area on May 3rd of this year. Just last week, I was joined with JC and Bernardo for a 2nd attempt that ultimately failed but netted us a hairy ride down Sky Pilot. As cliche as it may be, third time's a charm.

A look at James Peak with the prominent Super Star Couloir on the far looker's right side (photo taken 5/03/08):





To accompany the pictures, have a listen to Swollen Members' "Grind":






► Skiing recap of the week:

Friday night, I traveled up to Boulder to spend the night at Bernardo's apartment so that we could get an early start on the morning. The night was spent watching several ski movies along with a very hearty pasta dinner which proved very effective. In bed by 10 PM.

Rise and shine at 3 AM.

Followed by pasta for breakfast of course.

We're on the road shortly after 4 AM and with the crazy Italian behind the wheel, we shaved off at least 20 minutes and promptly met up with Carl at the St. Mary's exit off I-70. Up Old Fall River Road we went.

Contrary to the previous two trips to the area, we decided to approach the glacier directly from the east and just north of Fox Mountain. Normal route = red line in the picture below. The route chosen on Saturday is colored blue. Somewhere between "Mary's" and "Glacier" I fell about 150 feet into some trees and rocks. The slope was fairly steep and very icy considering it was just before six in the morning. Luckily, I wasn't hurt too badly, but the fall caused some equipment problems which delayed me almost an hour and push me behind Bernardo and Carl some 30 minutes. I did have crampons with me, but the fall occurred before I thought better of it.




I hiked all the way up and made it to the entrance of Starlight in under 3 hours from the bottom of St. Mary's Glacier. There I saw Bernardo and Carl atop the entrance to Super Star pondering how they plan on entering the couloir.


The view from the southeast ridge:




Closeup of Bernardo and Carl:






Bernardo beginning the downclimb on a slope that was 60-70 degrees. His forehead, nose, mouth, chest, stomach, and balls were touching the snow surface all at the same time --- that should give you a good idea of how steep it was:




In this picture, you can see Carl with the camera out capturing the downclimb:




These are his pictures:








Now Carl gives it a try:




Bernardo getting his skis on:




Another camera angle from the bottom of the couloir looking up:




Bernardo near the top;




A little further down:




Carl strapping into his skis:







Carl begins his descent:





It took them 15-20 minutes to downclimb into the couloir and another ten minutes to actually ski it. Bernardo sideslipped the first 30 feet before being able to jumpturn his way down.

Speaking of the descent, he recalled, "The snow was incredibly heavy and sticky and I couldn‘t get a good swing going for a jumpturn, then the snow started sliding underneath me and pulled me down somewhat. After that, I managed to get the jump turns going and got out of the real sticky stuff. Most of what looks like side slipping towards the top of the couloir was scratched off by the small wet slides we kept releasing. In any case, it was an AWESOME line."



I soon met them at the bottom after skiing down Starlight Couloir which approaches 50 degrees at the very top before averaging out to 46 degrees for 600 vertical feet. It eventually mellows out even further for an additional couple hundred feet below. The snow in the couloir was excellent for this time of the year. I was indeed an hour away from prime conditions, but it felt very good and was a ton of fun to ski. Each turn produced a lot of slough but not too much to get you worried. It was tight inside and was probably 15-20 feet on average before opening up in the bottom one-third.


The all-important point to the prize:





We celebrated with a hearty pasta dinner along with some fine wheat beers:







And now the video showing the fine work that was displayed:




Click here to view the above pictures in larger size.




► Quote of the week:


"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover."

- Mark Twain