14 Attachment(s)
Skiing the Cave Couloir (Middle Teton) for my 60th
Yesterday, TGR posted an article and video of Owen Leeper skiing Powder on the Middle Teton on August 28th. Exactly 2 weeks earlier I was at the base of the Middle Teton, skiing the Cave Couloir on my 60th birthday. Now I'm wishing that my birthday had been 2 weeks later! :D
Anyway, he had fresh powder and I had dirty snow, sun cups and big runnels. What I didn't have to worry about was kicking off a slab avalanche, like he did.
The "Cave" was not my initial objective, but my partners ended up bailing and so I went with it because it is in full sight, and earshot of dozens, maybe even 100+ people that would be on the trail that day. I would have opted for the Teepee glacier on the Grand and finishing on the Dike Couloir below Disappointment peak if my partners had been there.
Here is the photo/video TR
Attachment 245878
Attachment 245879
Headed out of the Lupine Meadows parking lot at 6:30 AM, just before sunrise.
Attachment 245880
This fat boy is packing it on for a long winter. He makes me look skinny!
Attachment 245881
This view never gets old for me. On of my favorite pieces of scenery. For those of you not familiar with the Tetons, this is shot from the trail as you "turn the corner" into Garnet Canyon. You've been trudging up a never-ending series of switchbacks on a well-worn trail, the pitch flattens out a bit, you come around a bend, and BAM; this is your view. You now start to get a sense of how "grand" this place really is.
In this photo my target, the Cave Couloir snowfield comes into view!
Attachment 245864
This shot shows Disappointment peak. The Dike Couloir is just over the summit on the north side of Disappointment. The view of the Grand to the left is hidden in this photo by the large cliff that forms the east base of the Middle.
Attachment 245865
This is a shot down Garnett Canyon from about 3/4 of the way up the "Cave". The interesting thing about this photo is the shot of "The Meadows". The Meadows is entirely buried by the lower snowfield that you see. I have never seen that much snow covering the Meadows this late in the year, (August 14th). Even during the huge snow year in 2011, I was here on the day before my birthday and the area was totally snow free. Based on the debris that I saw out on the snowfield, I'm speculating that perhaps one or more huge avalanches may have hit the area harder than usual. ???
Attachment 245866
Nearing the top of the rollover. From here, it is an easy saunter up to my starting point at the tip of the snowfield.
Attachment 245867
Looking to my south at Cloud veil Dome. I had, at one point, entertained the idea of climbing up and hitting that snowfield in the notch just to the east of the peak and then picking my way over here to the "Cave". However, I didn't really start early enough and I did NOT want to be late for the BBQ that I knew the fam was preparing back in Wilson. Anyway the pickins seemed a bit thin, and I'm kind of lazy sometimes.
Attachment 245868
Ok, NOW I can see the top. It's not really that big of a climb, (somewhere between 4-4500 vertical), but it's the middle of the summer, it's smoky and I'm not in really good climbing shape this year. The Ellingwood Couloir is just around the corner, ahead to the right. And the ridgeline to the left on the skyline is the South Teton.
Attachment 245869
A look at the "Z", or Zoro snowfield before I had down. I guess if I was real "committed", I could give that one a go one of these times. Fortunately for me, I don't think I'll ever get that committed!
GoPro footage of skiing the Cave Couloir
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T7csRu7vrRU
Attachment 245873
Well, that was fun. Total skiing vertical is right around 1000 feet. So, now it was time to transition to shorts and hiking gear.
Attachment 245874
Another view back up the canyon as I head down. This provides a closeup view of what the Meadows looked like that day.
Attachment 245875
This is a closeup shot of the "Platforms", the large boulder field that you hit shortly after entering Garnet Canyon. This shot is on the way down. When you are coming thru here with a day pack, or even a climbing pack, it isn't really a big deal. But with skis on and short legs like I have, it definitely presents some challenges. I much prefer this section of the canyon in the middle of winter or early spring, when you just ski right over all of this.
Attachment 245876
My goal for the decade of my "sixties" is to hit this area and get turns in every year on my birthday. It's my own little way of trying to defy old-age for as long as possible. When I get to 70, I'll reevaluate and see if I'm ready for another 10!!!
