Home > Trip Reports > May 4-5, 2013, Mt. Stuart, Ulrich's Couloir

May 4-5, 2013, Mt. Stuart, Ulrich's Couloir

5/4/13
WA Cascades East Slopes Central
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Posted by skier8484 on 5/5/13 1:49pm
Enjoyed a pleasant two days in the Stuart's, skiing Ulrich's Couloir this morning.  Undeterred by reports of very mushy snow by people skiing out on Saturday we took our time skinning/skiing to where we camped at the base of the Couloir Saturday night. 

Stuart as seen from Ingalls Pass:


A mild evening provided time for much lounging, tobacco pipe smoking and whiskey sipping before we called it a night shortly after sunset. 

The warm weather forecast had our alarms going off before sunrise, and before long we were greeted by a nice sunrise over Ingalls Peak:



The snow in the couloir proper had frozen nicely overnight, making for easy cramponing up to the summit.


We dropped off the top around 9:00 AM where the snow in the sun was really nice, smooth corn:



Generally the snow in the sun was good corn, whereas any shady snow ranged from frozen corn to nasty, rock hard avi debris, but overall conditions were enjoyable all the way back to camp.





https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-3vYD9XuY50M/UYct3vgkXeI/AAAAAAAAFCs/oyL8xl3jQ6M/w540-h813/Ulrichs+Gulley-20.jpg" />

Things were pretty over ripe on our descent from Long's Pass, but not horrible.  We were able to coast ~1.5 miles of the road deproach (I'd guess we parked 3 miles from the trailhead on Saturday) and managed to hitch the rest courtesy of some friendly Bama boys.  Things are melting fast; I'd guess Ulrich's will be skiable for another week or two and the trailhead accessible by normal SUV/trucks in around a week.
Yeah.......nice, nice, very nice
I've been waiting for a cool shot like that so we can have a protracted discussion!

HA! I love the protractor!

And a gorgeous photo too

There you go. It's indisputible. 48° and 3 inches from Camp Schurman.

It felt kinda steep, but not 132° steep.

Love it.  Inspiring.

Wow, that's one of the best shots of the year! Great pic

Indeed, that fourth photo is a KEEPER! One for the lifetime achievements folder.

author=chmnyboy link=topic=28467.msg119716#msg119716 date=1367857747]
It felt kinda steep, but not 132° steep.


Is that how they taught you geometry at that two bit engineering school you went to?  ::)

Great trip guys and excellent photography Brian.

Gary

The shots came out well Brian. The memories of the approach/deproach glop will soon fade but I have a feeling I am going to hang on to that picture for some time to come.

So I went up to give Ulrich's a go yesterday. It's pretty amazing how much melt can occur in 5 days on south slopes in that part of the range! It probably can still be skied, for the most part, but I saw what looked like at least one mandatory downclimb around a waterfall. Being solo, the view from Long's pass was depressing enough to drain my enthusiasm.  :'( I thought about Cascadian, which looked better up high but required a minimum of hundreds of feet of walking on dirt/meadows just to get to snow. Screw that, I'll just come back next year. :) I settled for a scenic tour up the Ingalls Creek Valley instead. Gorgeous weather at least.

In case anybody is wondering, the road is *almost* driveable to the TH now. I only had to walk just over 1/2 a mile, and there was evidence of a high clearance off-road vehicle making it within a few hundred feet during the day yesterday.

You guys don't happen to one of your pictures with your route drawn in, do you? I'm pretty sure I was looking at the right couloir, but it's been years since I've been on that side of the mountain, so it would be nice to confirm.

Thanks for the update!

author=JoshK link=topic=28467.msg119873#msg119873 date=1368202617]You guys don't happen to one of your pictures with your route drawn in, do you? I'm pretty sure I was looking at the right couloir, but it's been years since I've been on that side of the mountain, so it would be nice to confirm.


Here ya go!

author=JoshK link=topic=28467.msg119873#msg119873 date=1368202617]
but I saw what looked like at least one mandatory downclimb around a waterfall.


As Brian's pic shows, you gotta bail out of there before the waterfall.

Thanks!! At least I know I was eyeing the right thing now. Looking at my pictures, the bottom is definitely much more melted out now, but I'm sure the line is still skiable just fine. I should have gone for it. Oh well, I guess if I wasn't feeling it, no sense in second guessing. :)

Getting into the couloir from the bottom isn't obvious. We missed it in 2009, coming from Beverly Creek. Might be easier to see from Longs.

http://www.turns-all-year.com/skiing_snowboarding/trip_reports/index.php?topic=13080.0

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skier8484
2013-05-05 20:49:48