May 7, 2017, Mount Stuart, Cascadian Couloir

Went for a nice sunny tour with great friend Gary K May 6-8 in the Teanaway.  Rather than blitz in and tag the summit of Mt Stuart we wanted to do few days tour in the area.  We have both been to the summit of Stuart several times from different routes but neither of us had ever skied it.  So, on Saturday we went in Beverly Creek and down Turnpike to the base of Cascadian.  The Beverly road is almost meled out and the sun was out in full force and Bean Creek was raging and nessitated a rather sketchy stream crossing.  Over the pass we got sucked down in the bottom of Turnpike and wallowed in the flat, heavily treed valley bottom until we got wise and traversed out on the left flank and headed up Ingalls valley.  Saturday night was clear but cold.  Started up Cascadian about 6:30 and it was quite firm conditions espeically the last pitch up to the false summit.  Started down off the false summit around 11:30.  Saw three other parties on Cascadian and one in Ulrichs.  The top was quite icy but from the boulder field to the bottom of the Coulior it was corn perfection.  After breaking camp we leisurly headed up valley and then swung round and headed up Headlight Basin and camped about the same elevation as Ingalls Lake.  The evening was quiet and nobody around.  I really like Headlight basin with the views, rolling hills, widely spaced tamarack trees, and numerous unnamed peaks with multiple aspects to ski.  Only saw a few tracks in this basin.  The moon was out and the night was again cold.  In the morning we tagged the summit of Fortune Mt and skied south back into Esmeralda Basin and walked the road back to the truck.  It was a long walk but a very nice loop.  Things are melting fast.  Gary went up Beverly Basin and out Eldorado Creek on May 3rd.  He skied all the way down Eldorado to the Teanaway road and when we walked by it today it was all melted out and bare dirt quite a distance up hill. 

Flickr Photos: https://flic.kr/s/aHskUzVTEG