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Sean and I headed up to Roger’s Pass on Monday trying to catch a perfect day. The stability had improved miraculously from the weeks before when size 4 avalanches were ripping across the road making it difficult to keep the highway open for more than a few hours at a time. It had warmed so much and then froze again locking down the week layers. The weather was meant to be mild and bluebird. We met Ross, our old roomate, up there. We were a half hour late, he was hung over, and it was minus 25 degrees, but still we mustered up the psych to make high goals for ourselves. A healthy 6,000 foot climb and excellent 40 degree ski descent of Roger’s Peak somehow morphed into an attempt at the North couloir of Swiss. This is a gem of the range. A continuous descent all the way to the valley complete with a steep climb up a SE couloir and no-falls skiing.

We had a bit of a problem though, we were not sure which couloir on Swiss led to the entrance to the North shot we were heading for. We tried calling friends and searching on the map, but we were truly left guessing by the time we reached the base.

But we climbed with heart. We kicked steps through the glassy crust all the way laughing about how great it was that we did not have to ski down this in such condition. The north side would be much better.

I trudged up the final steps. Staying far away from the cornice overhanging the steep north side, I scrambled up on some rocks on the right.

“We’re too far right!” I yelled down. Still undefeated, Ross climbed up the opposite side, looking for a way in- but it was all steep rock below. We lingered, discussing rappelling in with our 30 meter rope, traversing into the couloir, or just anything. But alas, it was hopeless. We, through lack of planning, were fated to skiing glass with little pebbles of ice on it. ICK! There is always a bright side though: the sun was still shining, and the slope was not about to slide.

Turns out, after doing my “homework,” that the correct ascent is published on Greg Hill’s website in perfect clarity. It was the couloir just to the left of the one we climbed.

We did not ski the gnar, but we definitely found some good snow on the way down. And now, next time we have 6,000+ feet of approaching in us, we will know the way.

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