Super Couloir 3.30.13

The West side of Crested Butte’s Ruby Range is, in my estimation, the finest skiing in the Crested Butte area. The combination of amazing terrain, prodigious snowfall, and big (at least for CO) vertical are the reasons I say this. However, while access from the East side of the range is often relatively straightforward, skiing down the West faces leaves you in no-man’s land, far from trailheads and separated (in many cases) from Kebler Pass road by the Dark Canyon. So, skiing down this side usually means that you will have to climb back up whatever you’ve just skied- with all the inherent timing and safety issues that that entails.

One of the more popular lines on the West side is known as the Super Couloir, and that’s where we headed last weekend along with Scott Yost. First, some of the terrain:

I got to drop in first. The Super Couloir is actually pretty low-angle, though still very aesthetic.

Scott:

Brittany:

Frank;

Lots of turns to be had in this one. Scott:

Brittany:

Frank:

Scott. Check out all the terrain above him. Word to the wise- not every line goes cleanly…

A look back at the super couloir:

We decided to skin up another way to explore some more terrain, some of these icy constrictions looked fun in the right conditions.

Fun skintrack, either way…

We might have to take a look at this terrain in a better snow year- looks like fun pow skiing…

Quick note on snow conditions… things on West facing routes like this one are still very transitional- no longer winter, but not full springtime yet, either. Keep paying attention. Also, we headed up Whetstone early this morning and found a lot of trap-door crusts- and had to turn around. The thicker snowpacks of Irwin and Paradise Divide are better bets right now…

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Frank Konsella

Frank loves snow more than anything... except his wife.  He ensures his food is digested properly by chewing it 32 times before swallowing.He is a full-time real estate agent serving Crested Butte and Gunnison and would be honored to send you his monthly newsletter.

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