Home > Trip Reports > January 19, 2013, Columbia Peak, West Face Descent

January 19, 2013, Columbia Peak, West Face Descent

1/19/13
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Posted by scott_rinck on 1/25/13 2:19am
Like many, I've long been captivated by John Scurlock's photo of the west face of Columbia Peak.  Previous attempts have been aborted due to stability or coverage issues, but last Saturday the conditions were ripe and in the company of Brian Fletcher, Erik Svege and Eric Wehrly, I was able to climb and ski this glorious line.

Brian and I left Seattle at 3am on Friday.  We covered the ground between Deer Creek and Monte Cristo with the help of headlamps and a brave snowmobile.  The two Erics were already in the Monte Cristo area and had started out slightly ahead of us.  Brian and I opted for a longer but more gradual approach by climbing west out of the Seventysix Creek drainage and gaining the west ridge of Columbia early, while Erik and Eric climbed the lower northwest face of Columbia hoping for a good look at the N. Couloir summit route. 

Eventually we all ended up on the summit in time for the snow to be nearly ideal for a long and exposed descent such as this.  After bagging the summit, we started our ski descent about 50' below the actual high point which was unskiable in it's current state as a pile of loose rock and rime.  We were able to ski continuously through all of the rock bands in the upper face and continued on that aspect until around 5600 feet where we turned the corner to the north and an exit via Seventysix creek and Monte Cristo.

Visit my page for more photos and a video of the adventure:  http://blog.scottrinck.com/freshies/freshies-columbia-peak-sw-face/


The video segment where you point'em over the rocks and let them ride was particularly nice.  Strong work.

WOW! Super impressive. And killer weather! Nicely done 

Awesome trip! Great B&W's. Thanks for sharing!

That is a really cool thing.
Well deserved "Party ski"!

Very fine video, Scott! Fine way to spend a sunny day!

Sheeeit.

This is proabably the best piece of content I've seen in the last couple of years on TAY.

You guys killed it.

you guys are badass

Wow, great trip Scott and company -- awesome video too.

Love this one:

Well done, that's a pretty heavy looking line! Did you see Jason Hummel and party out there? I'm pretty sure that's about when they were in the Columbia Peak vicinity. Hummel's FB page has a couple sweet shots from their trip.

Wow!  I hope ya'll had a safety meeting beforehand.  Great pics!  Thanks for sharing.

Thanks for posting for the mere mortals lurking here!

Nice work dude! I'm jealous!

Thanks for the TR and great pics (I'm getting into B&W lately too). When Jeff Rich and I skied it a couple years ago it was one of the best descents of my life - we also enjoyed perfect conditions and a gorgeous sunset from the summit, although we had to climb down through the rocks at the constriction which wasn't filled in.

How did you guys get your snowmobiles over the river on your way to Monte Cristo?

Jim,

Thanks.  I've seen a lot of your photography out there as well.  You've definitely covered the Cascades far and wide!

I enjoyed your trip report from your Columbia adventure.  Different time of year, similar level of spectacularity.  What a peak.

The sled made a narrow crossing in some very shallow water well below the main log crossing.

author=zwinters link=topic=27174.msg114551#msg114551 date=1359166933]
Did you see Jason Hummel and party out there? I'm pretty sure that's about when they were in the Columbia Peak vicinity.


we saw them hit the summit, but i bet they were too busy dealing with loose hand holds and steep transitions to notice the little specks watching them from the ridge below!  nice work guys!

author=zwinters link=topic=27174.msg114551#msg114551 date=1359166933]
Well done, that's a pretty heavy looking line! Did you see Jason Hummel and party out there? I'm pretty sure that's about when they were in the Columbia Peak vicinity. Hummel's FB page has a couple sweet shots from their trip.

Yeah, half of our party (Erik Svege and Eric Wehrly) ran into them on the shoulder of Columbia.  Brian Fletcher and I were nearly at the summit when they were in the vicinity so we missed the opportunity to say hi.  Anyhow, it was great to see another crew of adventurers in such an epic spot with perfect conditions.

I loved the video.  Keep it up! 

"That's a cool thing"  <-- understatement :)

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2013-01-25 10:19:08