Star Peak and Doctor Evil Couloir 6.3.16

(Last Updated On: June 16, 2016)

Star Peak has long been one of my favorite local mountains. Its distinctive pyramid is highly visible from Highway 135 between Gunnison and Crested Butte. Unfortunately, accessing Star Peak isn’t that easy, with only a short window available when there is still snow down low in Cement Creek but the snow is safe up high. I’ve only skied it once, though we were able to follow the sun and ski both the east face and the west face on the same day. Meanwhile, the peak is also quite distinctive from the Aspen side of the Elks, and Brittany hadn’t skied it yet so we drove over to the land of the rich and famous where Jordan joined us as well.

Yes, we’ve reached that time of year when things get a little ridiculous:
Star Peak approach

Thankfully, conditions improved considerably once we got above treeline, although we were dealing with a pretty marginal freeze. Star Peak is still hidden behind this subpeak:
skinning under star peak

castle creek skiing

First up was the booter towards the subpeak. Jordan:
star peak climb


After the booter, more skinning, with Castle and cathedral in the distance:
summiting star peak

Star is a great peak because it has a lot of choices. We skied the NE face, which was nice since all three of us had yet to ski it. My first turn:
skiing star peak

Jordan:
jordan white skiing star peak

Brittany:
ne face star peak ski

Next up, we got to the top of the Doctor Evil couloir. It’s a cool name, and makes tons of sense with the nearby rock outcrop that looks like an extended pinkie finger, but it’s just a connector couloir. Jordan:
skiing dr evil couloir

Frank:
doctor evil couloir aspen backcountry skiing

Brittany:
Doctor Evil couloir

The best snow of the day was in the apron of Doctor Evil. Brittany:
aspen backcountry skiing

We didn’t have the greatest conditions on Star, and we weren’t able to finish the day on the nearby Ribcage ridge because the snow was way too warm at that point, but it was still a fun day. And it’s another adventure that we get to remember every time we look at Star from Highway 135.

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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Summary
Star Peak 6.3.16
Article Name
Star Peak 6.3.16
Description
June trip report for an ascent of Star Peak and ski descent of the Northeast face and Doctor Evil couloir.
Author
14erskiers.com

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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