Soneilem couloir ski descent

Grinding away in the Sonielem couloir.

Viewed from Saint Ignatius, the Sonielem couloir catches the skier's eye as it drops from the northern terminus of the craggy Soneilem ridge out of view into the chasm of Mission creek.  In many ways, it embodies the character of the Missions.  Striking, forboding, inspiring, just perfect up high, perfectly adverse down low, and definitely not user friendly.  Rumors of epics and just a handful of accounts of successful ski descents add a human layer if intrigue.  Here is a trip report, scrubbed from Rocky Mountaineer trip report vaults:

Sonielem Ridge, April 17 1999. Len Broberg, Doyle Gerrard and Gerald Olbu wanted to check out the prominent snow couloir on Sonielem Ridge which is easily visible from the highway. We hiked up the Mission Creek trail a short distance, then left the trail and crossed the creek. Since snow was gone from the lower portion of the couloir, we had to go around and enter the couloir from a higher elevation. We enjoyed a couple of hours of good ol' Mission Mountain bushwhacking. When we arrived at the snow couloir, we found it to be hard packed and icy, requiring crampons as well as an ice ax. We climbed up the couloir about half way, had lunch in the warm sun, then descended. We had beautiful weather all day long. One member of the group did not have crampons and was new to using an ice ax. He cut steps with the ax and was able to climb up the couloir, and made use of the ax on the way down. By the end of the day, he was quite proficient with an ice ax. - Gerald Olbu.

Despite being intimidated, I was still super psyched for a full effort attempt when conditions turned perfect.  A few locals helped immensely with key beta, and ideal partners lined up: sage veteran of Sonielem attempts Frank Preston, and technical ski wizard, Ned Gall. 

We rallied from town at 5 am.  Both the drive and the trail approach are straightforward, and we embarked on the bushwack at first light.  We benefited tremendously from Frank's previous experience, and while the bushwack was fierce, steep, tricky, awful, wet, slow, and on and on, we stubbornly followed his lead and made it to the base of the couloir intact.  And early enough in the day to keep heading up.

Frank at the largest ice falls in Sonielem creek.
We dove into the brush on our right and bypassed this step.

Bushwack!

We were physically out of the woods, but figuratively still in the thick of it, as the lower thousand vertical feet of the couloir is complex with rock shelves and thinly bridged water under portions of the couloir.  We had to fiddle a bunch, but were able to bypass everything with a few devious detours out of the gully.  Eventually, we emerged with a clear view to the top.  The upper couloir is very long, but we were able to skin most of it, and the climb went smoothly in one long grind.  We topped out in a whipping wind, tired but happy and excited to ski.

Working our way up through the lower reaches of the Sonielem couloir.

Near the top of the Sonielem couloir.

The ski was really good.  Snow was consistent top to bottom, transitioning from chalky up high to creamy on the shaded side of the gully down low.  Our two detours out of the gully were not too distracting, and we leapfrogged with glee all the way to the bottom.  Although it is tempting to continue further down the couloir, we exited at our ingress point at 5,100 feet and schwack skied for another hundred feet or so before putting skis away for the rest of the day.  We built a little more character on the exit bushwack.  Frank broke his new boots, and I got a bloody nose when an errant brush found its way into my nostril during a particularly intense bout with the brush.  But the day was warm, the mood was light, and we had gravity on our side.  With a slightly improved route, we were back at the trial after just an hour of bushwacking, and back at the car with just over 10 hours on the go.  Equal parts exhausted and elated at catching the Sonielem couloir in good condition.

Ned skiing with characteristic grace in the upper Sonielem couloir.

And lower in the couloir.

Frank skiing even lower in the couloir.
It was a treat to have good ski conditions at this low elevation.

Thoughts Thanks to Frank and Ned for teaming up with me and putting up with my pre-outing jitters.  I don't know if I will ever go back, but it is still a worthy ski line.  It is iconic, long (3,800 vertical feet), and the skiing is really good.  I don't think that it is possible to fully mitigate the objective hazard of skiing over a creek bed, which certainly detracts from the repeat ability of the route.  The other primary objective hazards are considerable exposure to falling snow and ice, and sketchyish bushwacking moves that will almost certainly be encountered along the way.  While they are not trivial, it is possible to mitigate them.

I think that skiing this run with a fat winter snowpack is the way to go.  While it is tempting to wait for spring, I think that having consistent mid-winter conditions in the lower couloir is preferable to the severely runnelled and/or choked with avalanche debris condition that I would speculate occur in spring.  It is also nice to have colder temperatures and less threat of afternoon shedding.

I would love to know more about the history, good and bad, of skiing the Sonielem.  I know of two successful parties, Colin Chisolm and the late Chris Spurgeon, and Andy Hoyle.  Anyone else?

Frank mentioned skiing a parallel gully just South of the couloir from the high summit of Sonielem, and a report on social media reports at least one other party who descended this adjacent route.  I can't help but wonder if that would provide a nicely less full on mega alternative.

The upper reaches of the Sonielem couloir, graced with ski tracks!
During our walk out.