TR: Ice Mountain (6 June 2010)
(Last Updated On: )
Ice Mountain has been on my list for quite some time. After accomplishing my latest fourteener targets Memorial Day weekend, I set my sights on some other goals, and the Refrigerator couloir on Ice was one high on my list.
Photo courtesty of Jarrett Luttrell
It wasn’t hard to persuade Frank, Jarrett Luttrell, Ben Conners, and Matt Kamper to join. As is usual, we started out before dawn, around 4:30 am.
Right off the bat, we had some serious stream crossings to navigate.
Our progress was slowed and complicated further when we lost the trail after another difficult stream crossing, leaving us bushwhacking, hopping over fallen trees, and tromping through slushy snow for hours. Note the looks of joy on everyone’s face 😉
Photo courtesty of Matt Kamper
By the time we finally emerged out of the depths of the dark forest, our feet were so wet. I thought I might get “trench foot” 😉
The warm temperatures had us all worried. And when we finally transitioned on to the snow, we found our concerns to be valid as we continuously post-holed through the mank.
Still, we decided we were there to try, and we weren’t really trying until we reached the bottom of the Refrigerator. I mean, the mountain is called “Ice” and the line is called the “Refrigerator”- the snow MUST be cooler there 😉
When we got to the base of the couloir, the snow was feeling a bit more consolidated. So, we went for it.
Photo courtesty of Matt Kamper
Photo courtesty of Matt Kamper
And before we knew it, we were near the top of the couloir!
Photo courtesty of Matt Kamper
Once we reached the top of the couloir, we still had a bit to go to reach the summit.
As always, the views on top were amazing. Jarrett.
Photo courtesty of Matt Kamper
Me.
Photo courtesty of Matt Kamper
From there, we downclimbed back to the top of the Refrigerator. Jarrett getting psyched for some snowboarding.
Frank, dropping in.
A few shots from our new toy- a helmet cam- which Frank wore during his ski. (We are still working the kinks out on using it)
Ben.
Jarrett.
Me.
The exit of the Refrigerator.
We continued ski down the basin. Matt.
At the bottom of the basin, we decided to take our chances with snow-cover through the slot, leaving a few interesting things for us to contend with.
Photo courtesty of Matt Kamper
Photo courtesty of Matt Kamper
From below, we admired the views.
We were able to find the trail that we had missed on the way up. Though it too required it’s own share of hopping over logs and tromping through slushy snow, it was considerably easier.
Photo courtesty of Matt Kamper
After it connected back to the main trail, it was smooth sailing.
Photo courtesty of Matt Kamper
The boys.
What we thought was going to be a 6-8 hour day quickly turned to a 10+ hour day, demonstrating how conditions, and route finding can really impact your speed. Despite the slog, it was a fun day. I’d gladly go back and ski Ice again, but maybe with a more solid freeze 🙂
Thanks boys for a great day out and for helping me check another one off the wish list!
This is the camera we got:
- Mount Buckskin (17 May 2020) - May 28, 2020
- Horseshoe Ski (14 May 2020) – The mountain whose journey nearly killed me - May 27, 2020
- Sayres X-Rated Ski (10 May 2020) - May 19, 2020
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UnFV-fvgOu0