Late Season Ski Objectives Around Home
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North Cascades Couloir Skiing This past spring, late season snow came in heavy to the Pacific Northwest. February and March were stormy and delivered many days of deep powder skiing. I had been away ski guiding in Alaska for much of that time, but I hypothesized that the late season storms would lead to higher peaks holding snow late into the spring. With that in mind, I headed deep into the North Cascades in May to ski a rad couloir in a zone that does not see many skiers. The skin in was classic spring time mush and, as my partner and I skied into the basin below the mountain, the snowpack seemed very wet. We had been worried that the snow might be too wet but as we explored a little higher the snowpack became consolidated and supportive—perfect for steep skiing on sun-softened corn snow. We went to bed psyched to climb and ski this 3000 ft couloir at over 50 degrees. The next day, we headed up the mountain, mostly front-pointing in crampons. The higher we got, the more firm the surf