Feb 3, 2007, Gold Creek, Snoq. Pass

The Gold Creek Valley has always been a mystery to me.  Views from the peaks around Commonwealth Basin suggest great skiing, but this area sees few trip reports.  Is the Gold Creek valley really that bad?  Since it seemed unlikely that making turns would be much fun yesterday, I decided to explore Gold Creek (ski-hiking as my partner Peter called it).  It took us 6hrs car-to-car to ski to treeline just below Alaska Lake and back.  GPS recorded 11.2mi roundtrip.  The terrain reminded me of Commonwealth Basin.  The tour went much faster than we expected and we actually had some time to make some turns near Alaska Lake.  Even more surprising, the skiing was actually fairly good!  My conclusion is that a day trip up Alaska Mtn would be easily doable for a fast party under good conditions.  Up Commonwealth, down Kendall Chutes, and out Gold Crk would also be a fine day trip for mere mortals.  Camping at the top of the basin would require only a short approach day.  There are a lot of potential creek crossing which are snowed over right now but would be a hassle in early or late season.  The trail crosses LOTS of avalanche slopes, so would be a horrible idea in questionable conditions. 

Attached photos: 1. amazing couloir on W face of Alta (showing the avy potential along the approach!), 2. avalanche debris spanning Gold Crk just below Silver Crk (avy off Alta Mtn), 3. Kendall Pk area from near Alaska Mtn.