[iron]

headed up with hollywood and modern for a mounties trip up SEWS. because of this being the first warm weekend of the year, we opted for the SW couloir instead of the S arete which this particular mounties group likes to climb this time of year. parked at the blue lake trailhead which is under 6ft of snow. modern and i skinned to the base of the couloir on good snow (it was 9:30a when we started). no signs of recent avi debris en route, though there were enough cornices on nearby peaks that released small slides through the day.

there were a couple climbers in the couloir already upon our arrival. one had topped out and was starting a downclimb; the other was preparing to rappel down.

the group brought a lot of pickets to ensure a good learning experience. the slope is reported to be 45-50 degrees at points, but i didn't notice it. if you're comfy on snow, this is easily climbed both up and down. snow was a bit icy for a few feet, but not bad.

the summit offered great views as always. so much snow right now! always good to see new climbers get their first taste of a true alpine (minus hwy 20) view.

on the way down, the group opted to rap the S arete route to get beta for a climb of another group the next day. the whaleback was still caked in snow, which made for an interesting lead. 6 raps later, we were down. 2000ft of smooth boarding (me), skiing (modern), and booting (everyone else), we arrived back at the car.

fill 'er up!

[b00]

iron thanks so much for making this another great trip! :>)

iron on south early winters spire

south early winters spire

modern leading the whaleback

t-man leading the upper part of the sw coulior, its a little steeper than it looks :>)

[puzzlr]

What a cool looking route. Great pictures!

[peltoms]

The couloir at this time of the year looks like the most fun kind of route, interesting, challenging, gorgeous yet reasonable.

[Gimpilator]

Badass!