COALPIT

The goal was to ski the Coalpit Headwall and exit out the Coalpit Gulch drainage. Sweet plan. None of the crew had ever skied the line before. For those who don't know, the headwall is partly shadowy face right of the sunny ridgeline and left of the huge cliffs mostly in shade. You can just see a sliver of the headwall in the picture below.


As far as the approach was concerned we had choices. We chose to depart from the whitepine trailhead (The bridge over the creek at this trailhead is pictured in an early posting) and climb up through Maybird Gulch. Then we skied into the hogum fork and climbed up this chute called the hypodermic needle. Basically the most direct way up that mountain pictured above.

This is the crew skinning up the hypo.
Above is the view from near the top of the hypo back up LCC. We are all pretty lucky to live in this canyon. All the rest of you might be suckers! Unless you make dope clothes and love it!! But if pow riding is your thing and this is not where you are... well let's just say, you might be blowing it.
And here we are skinning up the final summit ridge. This shit was mighty scary because of the exposure and whatnot. It was pretty high up. and steep. and windy. and hour six.
LG is a kook. But he takes a fine photograph!Here is the crew up on top. We made it and we skied the shit out the headwall of that Coalpit. It was the raddest ski of my little life, that is for sure. The snow was buttery smooth and the shredding was phenomenal. Man that may just be what the whole thing is all about. The feelings and emotions of being up there and climbing that much and shredding that fun of a line elevated the experience of ski riding with friends to a whole other level of interacting with earth mother's surface. Hype that shit son!!!

The next odjective - Phiefferhorn - Northwest Couloir. Right off the top of that rocky one...