The plan was to hit “Big Bad Wolf” Couloir from Willowbrook based on a brief report mentioned in Stan Wagon’s site from a couple years ago. I hadn’t seen much posted about this line anywhere and was intrigued. I knew the snow conditions would be solid, with moderate/low avy danger due to the recent storms, so another Gore slog was in store. After the Silver 2 weeks ago and CC Rider on C, figured I’d keep the momentum going. What I learned was, in a range full of potential ski lines, Red Peak is near the top of that list with regards to diversity, aesthetics and fantastic consistent skiing. Hugh, Jon and I met around 4:30am in Morrison, made it to Willowbrook TH around 6am and were skinning soon after. The first couple miles flew by and we reached the Gore Range Trail junction, where we continued to follow the summer trail, till it made sense to follow Willow Creek in a more direct line to the base of Big Eyes. We were granted a few solid panos of the Willow/Salmon cirques early on in some open marshlands. After 2.5 hours, we popped out of the trees almost directly at the base of Big Eyes Couloir on EE Red and took a prolonged break. Keep reading…
Back in April of 2013, after a ski of the infamous and elusive “What Big Eyes You Have” Couloir off East East Red, Ben and I took notice of a striking cirque to the northwest, which seemed to hold a number of options for ski routes. The most obvious of such routes, from our vantage point, was Graupel Gully on unranked 13er – “Rain Peak”. East Thorne is more or less the monarch of this region, being so visible from any vantage point to the east. Keep reading…
When some ill-timed weather/snow conditions prompted our group to call off some ambitious weekend plans we had for the San Juans, I was not surprised when Brian suggested the Eastern Gores as a consolation. Matt was in, as was his significant other, Gerlinde, who had just returned home from climbing a 20,000+ footer in the Himilayas. Congrats again Gerlinde! We settled on Red Peak B’s South Face, which we believed would provide us a safe, low-angled tour. Read more…
Its always a shame when all the inspiring, endorphin riddled thoughts that bounce around in your head while playing in the mountains seem to fade when you get back to the city and rejoin the daily grind. I sat down to write this report last night after skiing 5 hours of moguls at Mary Jane and combined with the demoralizing realization of a 40 hour work week, I completely lost interest in writing a trip report altogether. Keep reading…
