The Slot

When Conor and I arrived in Seattle, we went to King's in Ballard with the White brothers to have a few brewskis and catch up. Mike told me he had skied the Slot Clouloir this year, the impetus being his REI coworker Loren coming into work one day exclaiming, "I skied the Slot! I skied the Slot!!" Mike lit up talking about the cliffs of the slot and how it's one of the most aesthetic lines of his life. Conor and I were sucked in. I knew the general area of where it was but was not sure at all. I've only heard how hidden it is. Mike had to work the next day but Ryan was free and would be our guide.  

We met at the Alpental lot in the morn and, after days of surfing and not using my legs, combined with Loren's, "I skied the Slot! I skied the Slot!!" reverberating in my head, I was amped to just run up the mountain to look for it.  Almost two hours later, Cam, Ryan, Conor and I reached the ridge to peer into the Snot Couloir, the entrance of which might have been possible to ski without rappelling into it.  But we kept going up, me being very nervous about the avalanche conditions of the slope we were on.  Then, in the lead, I looked to my left for no reason and, though the trees, I saw the Slot right next to me.  It really is hidden!

We were very unsure of what the snow would be like inside this north facing socked in couloir.  The top looked like a sheet of ice.  I didn't want to be the first to go so Mulroy stepped up.  He snowboarded across the top with his ice ax handy, jumping up and down to try to get anything to move, but the slope wasn't going anywhere.  Then he rode down to the dogleg under a cliff to wait for us to go one at a time.  Cam had not skied much this season, being more of a climber, and was nervous at the steep and icy entrance.  He said, "I mean I'll give it a shot but . . . jesus."

After the dogleg the snow turned to powder and huge cliffs engulfed us.  We went down hollering of course.

The Slot Couloir on Snoqualmie

Looking down the Snot Couloir

Cam's "Happy Mother's Day" picture

The entrance of the Slot

The opening at the dogleg

Ryan White hauling ass out of the constriction

Conor Mulroy

Cam

Conor and Cam below the exit

The Snot

And the Slot

The cliffs through which the Slot passes

The South Sister, OR

"Where are you guys from?" asked a Bend resident in the Mt. Bachelor parking lot.

"Jackson, Wyoming."

"Where are you heading?"

"We're thinking about the South Sister."

"Does anybody know you're going up there?"

"Nope."

"Well, what if something goes wrong?"

"We'll make it out.  If we don't, Darwinism.  We deserve it."

"Shit you guys are hard core."

We're not actually.  We just didn't have any plans and were winging it.  After the conversation I called my mom and told her to call for help if she didn't hear from me in a couple days.  I forgot to tell her what mountain and what route, but it wouldn't have mattered since she'd forget anyway.  I called her the next day after we got turned around by weather, to say we were OK, but she had already forgotten the whole thing anyway.  You'd think a mom would be really good at remembering things like safety and sons.

The South Sister, S Face

Broke Top Mountain, W Face

Mt. Bachelor, NW Face

Hanging Canyon, North Couloirs

Last day of April, 650 inches this season, a record amount here in Jackson, WY, and more is on the way for awhile. It certainly is the never-ending winter.

Hanging Canyon in center, the proposed line, Symmetry Couloir, on the left

Hanging Canyon with The Jaw at the terminus, and Mt. Saint John on the right

Conor Mulroy setting his funky split-board skin track

The first chute of the day

The view of the Cathedral Group from the top of the couloir

The second chute, a bit steep near the top

The north side of Teewinot. Travis and I skied one of the chutes a month previously.

The Cathedral Group in the early morning light

The Spooky Face on Nez Perce, do you see the alien looking face near the top of the peak?

Timing is the most difficult part about spring skiing. It varies so much due to the power of the sun in the morning and if any clouds will delay its effect. One day the time to start skiing may be 7:30 am and the next not till noon or later. Peter and I were lucky for the morning clouds on Static, delaying the start till 10am. But today, as we were skinning up Hanging Canyon, the snow felt perfect at 7am. We knew we were going to be late.

We didn't do the line we wanted. It was east facing so it was too late. We would have had to get a start at midnight to be on time for that. But the way into Hanging Canyon was safe even in the warmest conditions, so we weren't worried about coming back out the way we came in. So, with time on our side, we bootpacked up north facing couloirs that were not affected by the sun or heat like everything else was. Everything that was affected was avalanching, and every few minutes we'd hear a "crack!" and we'd crank our heads around to watch one come down.

Static Peak

Death Canyon

N Face of Albright

W Face of Wimpy's Knob

The Ford & Stettner Couloirs, SE Face, and Otterbody on the Grand 

The Grand over Cloudveil Dome and Nez Perce

Peter looking over the edge, a 2,000 foot drop off

N Face of Prospectors in Death Canyon

South Face of Buck

Lynne Wolfe and crew descend N face of Albright under the west Face of Wimpy's

The Southeast Bowl of Static, the route Peter and I took

Peter on the SE Bowl

Four Grizzly Bears seen on the way out