Home > Trip Reports > May 1 Dragontail and Colchuck Pow

May 1 Dragontail and Colchuck Pow

5/15/09
WA Cascades East Slopes Central
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Posted by Kyle Miller on 5/6/09 7:08am
After hearing that mission ridge got over a foot of fresh snow earlier in the week I decided to switch plans from corn skiing to Pow skiing. What ever it was it had to be North facing and high in elevation and the awnser came in the form of Colchuck glacier. It seemed as though this area had/has more stable weather then other places in the range (maybe because its in Stuarts rainshadow). The road took us to about a mile before the trailhead and from there its hiking on patchy snow for about two miles before putting on skins. While its sketch/ a balancing act skinning all the way to colchuck from here can be done. Once we got to the lake it was a relatively easy skin all the way to the col. Which delivered a 2500 vert line of foot deep cascadian mank.

Scott dropping in off the summit of Dragontail (photo by Jeff)

Scott enjoying the may pow


If I was looking for powder/stable weather colchuck would be the place to go.
Niiice...

Got any pictures looking over toward Aasgard and Colchuck Balanced Rock?

Here is a photo of Argonaut, Stuart and Colchuck

Hopefully this helps

Sorry Im only allowed 3 pics so here is a link to more

Nice photos -- I was just looking for the approach to the west face of CBR, though I expect the route won't be in shape for a while yet.


Nice pics Kyle and good job sniffing out the pow.  Was the Scott with you our own Ale Capone? 
I'll bet you guys liked the trail down.  When I was out there everything was bulletproof and the trail treacherous.  Off trail was not an option for us with all of the deadfall and low snowcover.  I can just see you skiing down with your skins on.  Good ski practice for when you decide to get serious about the ski mountaineering thing.  ;)

Did you find you axe?

Yes that would be Ale Capone.
We followed some tracks down off trail and did some rather brutal bushwhacking but managed to get back on trail around 4,000 feet.

Nope no Ice axe but luckily I have another one  ;).
By the way your Alaska trip is looking rather sick.

Thanks Salal -- that approach gully would be much more fun with snow, but it looks like the face is still going to be wet for a while...

Thanks for the awesome pics Kyle! way to find the pow. Man Stuart sure is a cool looking mtn.

Just curious, did you try some direct bushwhack route out from Colchuck Lake?  Wondering what caused the epic bushwhack fest.

Yeah something of that source  ;).

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may-1-dragontail-and-colchuck-pow
Kyle Miller
2009-05-06 14:08:52