Late Season Ski Objectives Around Home
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