TR: Bloody Couloir CA 04-28-07

**romanandrey** · 05-05-2007, 07:28 PM

Hasn't been much for me to write about in the Sierra this year, but I did get to visit Bloody Couloir for a little Bike-n-Ski:

I won't go into the biking side of the tour, other than to say I received an excellent education.

(tip: get a 4wd or hitch a ride up Laurel Lakes Road)

Any way you look at it, Bloody is a gorgeous mountain.

This is the view that greets skiers and snowboarders as they exit Highway 395 on their way to Mammoth:

Two large rock pillars divide Bloody Couloir into two main sections.

Climber's left is the primary ski route, broad and moderate, good clean fun.

That shady right gully, however, is steeper and generally more menacing, and an excellent option for those seeking a little extra spice with their Sierra steeps.

Here's looking up at the crux of the couloir (to right of the upper Pillar) from near the midsection of the climb:

Turns out Bloody Couloir is actually pretty darn steep!

Who knew?

Once I reached the summit, I had to pause to admire the view of next-door neighbor and local rock star, Red Slate Couloir:

That one definitely goes on my list for next year.

Till then, I'll just have to settle with skiing Bloody:

Full TR and extended Bicycle Reportage here:

Bloody Couloir Bike-n-Ski

**upallnight** · 05-05-2007, 07:53 PM

nice!

gotta love the multi-sport access.

red slate is definitely a fun ski. the double-fall-line up top is the tricky part.

have you hit anything on laurel itself? it's got at least one worthy line (which is an awful rock climb in the summer).

**Alpine Dreams** · 05-05-2007, 08:00 PM

Killer, keep up the strong work.

**hairy** · 05-05-2007, 08:02 PM

bloody will be super duper best all year tomorrow...

**hairy** · 05-05-2007, 08:04 PM

saw those tracks from the freeway...beautiful....

**gimpy** · 05-05-2007, 08:43 PM

fun read. thanx for sharing it. that view of red slate from up there was enough to put it at the very top of the to-do list and now its done. my one bloody experience was of shitty snow as well. in fact it was prolly some of the shittiest snow shingles i've ever skied. and next time i hit it it'll be in someone else's truck. that road completely cooked my brakes and warped my rotors. best thing about that day was the view of red slate and the ensuing obsession to nail it down. now nailing bloody in good snow from someone else's rig is right up there

G · 05-05-2007, 08:50 PM

very nice.

**Sierra Cement** · 05-05-2007, 08:54 PM

Nice work Roman! Biking up Laurel Lakes road without all of that weight would be a chore....with the weight....wow. Top of Bloody looks really nice still. For whatever reason it seems to be holding onto a healthy snowpack better than lots of other similar lines this year.

Red Slate is probably the finest couloir I've ever skied. With good snow in Convict canyon, it's very doable as a day trip. Gimpy and I did it just over a year ago. I read that 666'er is thinking about Bloody next weekend. Once he scopes Red Slate from the top he'll covet that line too, and his metamorphisis into bcskier666 will continue....What the hell, here's a few shots of it from last year:

Sorry, I kind of got carried away there.

UAN - Laurel has two worthy lines (at least) - Mendenhall (gnarly rock climb) and the pinner.

**tarkman1** · 05-05-2007, 08:56 PM

Are you one of those guys who decided to ride the bike up and down the gnarly road just to make it more interesting? Great line. I'm glad to see you hit it.

Hmmm...a stealth mission on Bloody while this mayhem erupted

**gimpy** · 05-05-2007, 09:08 PM

jus for the record, 666 was in on the bloody day i referred to cept his rig totally slayed that road. some computerized automatic down shifting gizmo or sunthin like that. i'm sure it'll be better snow then our last visit.

**hairy** · 05-05-2007, 09:11 PM

Originally Posted by Sierra Cement

Nice work Roman! Biking up Laurel Lakes road without all of that weight would be a chore....with the weight....wow. Top of Bloody looks really nice still. For whatever reason it seems to be holding onto a healthy snowpack better than lots of other similar lines this year.

Red Slate is probably the finest couloir I've ever skied. With good snow in Convict canyon, it's very doable as a day trip. Gimpy and I did it just over a year ago. I read that 666'er is thinking about Bloody next weekend. Once he scopes Red Slate from the top he'll covet that line too, and his metamorphisis into bcskier666 will continue....What the hell, here's a few shots of it from last year:

Sorry, I kind of got carried away there.

UAN - Laurel has two worthy lines (at least) - Mendenhall (gnarly rock climb) and the pinner.

Beatiful pics...thanx!....Laurel has at least two more...the far right hander, which is the first gully crossing above the junipers...and the Chris Keith and Pete Lowry Gully just to the lookers right of the mendenhall...there is also the fouth class chute in the sevehas between pinner and mendenhall...as for red slate, the direct north slot is shown perfectly in your shot for all to see...thanx!

**IridePow** · 05-05-2007, 09:13 PM

nice line!!!

**gimpy** · 05-05-2007, 09:27 PM

well now that we've gotten this thread off-topic i gotta query for hairy.

is that n slot you're referring to off the summit or from the nw face feeding right into the top of the couloir proper? we skied the upper nw face and then traversed left into the slot so i thought that was the direct n slot. but in the pic you're referring to it seems as though you're talking bout that shot from the top into the couloir which never presented itself to us from the summit but it sure looks doable from that pic.

**upallnight** · 05-05-2007, 09:52 PM

i've only skied the one line off the summit of laurel (commonly called the mendenhall for the descent, but known as the NE gully for climbers), but, yes, there are a bunch of other lines.

all the others that i've seen (it's been a few years since i've been there) seem to start below the summit.

i got stormed off the NE gully (climbing) a few times.

**hairy** · 05-05-2007, 10:52 PM

Originally Posted by gimpy

well now that we've gotten this thread off-topic i gotta query for hairy.

is that n slot you're referring to off the summit or from the nw face feeding right into the top of the couloir proper? we skied the upper nw face and then traversed left into the slot so i thought that was the direct n slot. but in the pic you're referring to it seems as though you're talking bout that shot from the top into the couloir which never presented itself to us from the summit but it sure looks doable from that pic.

when you are on the summit, walk toward bloody about 150 feet and down a bit and you will find this...the summit is a rocky look down into the diagon alley, the direct north cooler slot is a bit left...past the first one to the second one as shown in the pic.....how bout those two coolers down to mcge pass....you had to see them when you were at the top of the diagon alley

**Sierra Cement** · 05-05-2007, 10:59 PM

gimpy -
I don't think that Direct North Slot was skiable that day....I think it's seen here on the right side of the pic.

**hairy** · 05-05-2007, 11:02 PM

it's the climbers route...

**hairy** · 05-05-2007, 11:09 PM

Originally Posted by Sierra Cement

gimpy -
I don't think that Direct North Slot was skiable that day....I think it's seen here on the right side of the pic.

right side of this pic...

**hairy** · 05-05-2007, 11:12 PM

Originally Posted by gimpy

well now that we've gotten this thread off-topic i gotta query for hairy.

is that n slot you're referring to off the summit or from the nw face feeding right into the top of the couloir proper? we skied the upper nw face and then traversed left into the slot so i thought that was the direct n slot. but in the pic you're referring to it seems as though you're talking bout that shot from the top into the couloir which never presented itself to us from the summit but it sure looks doable from that pic.

it's off topic cuz bloody is all dirt below...long friggin walk...red slate was the best pic he posted from bloody...call it evolution and move along

**Sierra Cement** · 05-05-2007, 11:20 PM

This may be an even more clear shot of that entry. That's a burly one Hairy!

If we are talking about the same thing, I did give that line some consideration (briefly) while looking over the ridge down towards the traverse. Is this part of that direct entry line, on the left of this picture?

Although Toby and I took advantage of a very sweet filled in direct entry off of the NW face, I still have some unfinished business with that upper face. Is Diagon Ally the new locals-coined Harry Potter name for the NE Couloir?

**hairy** · 05-05-2007, 11:30 PM

you can see the top of the north cooler in this shot on the ridge directly below in a line with the melted rocky area on the far side of constance lake....the direct slot is sloping up and left from there....compare the rocky point at the top of the cooler...for the record, the north cooler is only the lower portion as shown by glacier on maps, the upper slopes offer exits to the summit from the cooler...as for burly, Plake and his crew did it that way in winter...as did the first descensionists....what is burly that I have been scoping, is the north face direct, diagon alley to the first slot then down and right...no traverse left, no cooler...all face, or how you say, burly...names are whatever...moynier has his, I have mine, everybody has their own.....

**romanandrey** · 05-06-2007, 08:37 AM

Originally Posted by Sierra Cement

Top of Bloody looks really nice still. For whatever reason it seems to be holding onto a healthy snowpack better than lots of other similar lines this year.

Yeah, the snow (once it consolidates) will make for good skiing for a while on Bloody--if you can get to it.

Thanks for reminding me how much snow was on Red Slate. I remember seeing those shots last year--good stuff!

Give me a buzz if you decide to go back, direct north or otherwise. I'm usually good for a few photos and occasional comic relief.

**gimpy** · 05-06-2007, 10:45 AM

bcd, who occasionally posts here, rode the n face direct last year. or was it 2 yrs ago.

**Dhelihiker** · 05-10-2007, 11:46 AM

Classic coolness

**skier666** · 05-10-2007, 01:48 PM

Sorry TahoeCement but I'm off to Mammy to burn the rust of my edges....

No Red Slate view for you. You, and gimpy for that matter, can meet us at the Sonora Pass parking lot at 7:00 am or so on Saturday. Don't think its been skied since you guys saw our tracks....IT WILL BE GOOD!

SR 108
[CENTRAL CALIFORNIA & SIERRA NEVADA]
IS CLOSED FROM 26.4 MI EAST OF STRAWBERRY TO 5.3 MI WEST OF THE
JCT OF US 395 /SONORA PASS/ (TUOLUMNE,MONO CO's) 24 HRS A DAY 7 DAYS A WEEK
THRU 5/11/07 - DUE TO CONSTRUCTION - MOTORISTS ARE ADVISED TO USE AN ALTERNATE
ROUTE

[EASTERN SIERRA NEVADA]
IS CLOSED FROM 26.4 MI EAST OF STRAWBERRY TO 5.3 MI WEST OF THE
JCT OF US 395 /SONORA PASS/ (TUOLUMNE,MONO CO's) 24 HRS A DAY 7 DAYS A WEEK
THRU 5/11/07 - DUE TO CONSTRUCTION - MOTORISTS ARE ADVISED TO USE AN ALTERNATE
ROUTE