TR: 5 guys, 1 slot

With a ridge of high pressure holding strong through most of February, the month of January, which brought powder in spades had become a distant memory. The avalanche rose teased green at the highest altitudes, and ideas were being slung around like a high school whore. Our regular poker Wednesday, last week, began the discussion between jbski and I, of skiing more serious lines and taking advantage of the window that was presented. Friday came, and we hatched a plan to ski an aesthetic line that's been on my hitlist for a while now - 'What Big Eyes' couloir off of Red Peak. A few members of the @shredwithboyzclub, a bunch of rowdy audacious punks from CU with a penchant for getting BN in the name of GNAR, joined us. It was time to see just how many guys we could cram into one narrow slot.

All photos copyright Grayson Tamberi.

We left the trailhead at a ripe time of 6am, guns blazing, and our fingers crossed on the promise of steep powder, but with a long road ahead.

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Copyright Grayson Tamberi

Our eyes drifted towards other seductive slots.

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Copyright Grayson Tamberi

With the route-finding nailed we emerged from the trees with the summit in sight, but with a few additional chutes on our minds.

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Copyright Grayson Tamberi

The Gores certainly have a ruggedness that seems out of place in the normal rockpiles one associate's with Colorado.

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Copyright Grayson Tamberi

From the top of the line, the promise of powder dwindled. The rope and harnesses we brought for belayed ski cuts were a cruel joke. As we downclimbed into the belly of the beast, we kicked small rocks that bounced right off the surface of the snow. The skiing would be sporty, to say the least.

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Copyright Grayson Tamberi

Dodging sharks was the first obstacle.

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Copyright Grayson Tamberi

About one turn in 10 had enough snow left behind from the winds to make it almost look like powder.

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Copyright Grayson Tamberi

Controlled turns was the name of the game as the first crux appeared - less than a ski's width between a chockstone and the wall required some fancy negotiation.

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Copyright Grayson Tamberi

Below the crux, I had plenty of time to witness exactly how a deeply inset couloir could achieve such a wind-hammered state. Rotor winds would blow through notches in the walls, hit the opposite wall and generate large updrafts, blowing the snow up and out of the couloir.

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Copyright Grayson Tamberi

The couloir snakes its way through the high rock walls, reminding you that one slip would likely be fatal in such firm conditions. A human pinball would be the result.

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Copyright Grayson Tamberi

The line only gets more impressive as you wind your way down the hallways of rock for 1800 feet of vertical.

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Copyright Grayson Tamberi

The aesthetics of this couloir are unlike any other I've skied, and only get better as you approach the apron. Unfortunately the photos end here.

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Copyright Grayson Tamberi

The apron of the couloir was a sheet of windboard with chunks ripped out. It was almost volcanic looking, except for the surface being snow (can you even call it that?). The return to the trailhead wasn't so bad at the start, with plenty of short pitches of powder to ski before hitting the long flat mileage at the end. We avoided the creek drainages at every possible moment, hoping to avoid the nasty bushwacking and log-rolling that the Gores often bring to the table. At the very end of the trip, when all energy was exhausted, the warm weather required negotiation of heinous trap-door slush. One turn and you would sink to your waist, requiring copious amounts of pole-whacking to free your skis (how many GNAR points do we get?). We arrived at the cars, just short of 5pm, with a GPS route that said 17 miles and 4500'. It must be Beer:30 somewhere.

Thanks for posting! Nice line!
Copyright Grayson Tamberi

I enjoyed looking at this,
Not a great skiing story, but a great adventure.

Well Done.

Very well written and worth the tale, even if it didn't go as hoped.

Well done TR.

Nice work...Do I hear the sound of Brandt's voice? "Hands in front"

Sorry you guys got skunked on snow. And I apologize for the advice on rope and harness but when we were there last April it was filled in with a cornice on the whole skiers left entrance. And we were ski cutting the top with 15" of snow so we were glad to have it. Hopefully you guys can go back with better snow.

Copyright Basic Photography[emoji769]

I totally expected this to be about DD's mom

Sweet...

What TH did you start from? That is a long day, even with shit snow. Just curious.