Mission Traverses V 9 - 10

Mission traverse South to North - 4/29

Duncan skiing the East face of McDonald peak.

A primary goal for the season was to do the Mission traverse in the unconventional direction from Sheepshead to East Saint Marys with the intention of skiing different runs, and dropping into Lake of the Stars.  When a 1-day weather window finally arrived, Duncan and I got a properly early start, and were shuttled and walking up the Ashley lakes road at 3:15 am.  It was nice to have a partner to take the sting out of the dark hours.  We did manage to break a ski basket early in the day, but we figured that Duncan was the stronger climber, and that we would try to make a dagger work instead of a ski pole.  We turned our headlamps off near treeline on Sheepshead, pleased to find a solid re-freeze, a fickle commodity during this record warm spring.  

West aspects had undergone a big avalanche cycle in the past week, and the going was just OK as we pied-a-platted our way up punchy ice and debris to the summit.  The East ridge was icy, and we kept the run as abbreviated as possible.  Aided by Duncan's sage call to use ski crampons, we efficiently climbed McDonald and took a nice run down the East face to Icefloe lake.  The Lake of the Stars climb was once again hilighted by Duncan making the wise climbing modality move to don crampons while I stubbornly kicked away at firm snow.  In the end we topped out at the same time and took a nice short corn run to Lake of the Stars.  The skin up the Sunrise glacier was uneventful - just try to stay relaxed and keep up.  Poor memory cost us a few minutes finding a good entrance to the Picture lake run from below Shoemaker, but we eventually worked our way into it and had some nice corn skiing on this Mission classic.  

View from Sheepshead summit.

Climbing out of Icefloe.

I had hoped to ski a steep, complex couloir to Lake of the Stars, but we got bogged down by slow climbing, and by the time we were on top of the couloir, it looked way too warm and committing for our comfort level.  So we traversed East and looked down another partially connected line and came to the same conclusion.  Our only reasonable option was to continue slugging along the ridge line which eventually allowed us access to a safe run down to Lake of the Stars.  I felt bad about dragging Duncan along such a poorly planned and executed section, but he was a great partner through it.  In the end we lost at least an hour, and I felt a little sheepish, but we were safe.  Definitely took a few minutes at Lake of the Stars to appreciate the position, down calories, and psyche up for the rest of the day.  

Climbing out of Lake of the Stars.

Since the last two runs don't really have much inspiring skiing, I expected it to turn into a bit of a march, but I was surprised to really enjoy the last bits - beautiful high plateau traverse, safe enough run to Grizzly lake, then pin it up to ESM trying in vein to keep up.  Skiing ESM involved careful ski cuts which sent impressive wet slides roaring 2,000 feet down the South face.  We returned to the car around 6 pm in a magnificent state of fatigue - tired for sure, but really excited having covered a ton of beautiful terrain, skied a ton of good snow, skied a ton of bad snow, and managed several challenges well enough.  So good!  

The way to ESM.

I didn't track vertical, but it was a big day - around 13,500 vertical feet, done in a little bit over 14 hours from the car parked about 300 vertical feet above the canal on the Ashley lake road to the car parked about 1. 5 miles shy of the Saint Mary reservoir. 

Mission Traverse for time - 5/24

I was able to once again capitalize on a one night refreeze to go for the Mission traverse as fast as possible.  With snow line already very high, I made a last minute decision to go South to North to avoid a horribly long walk down at the end of the day.  Another proper early start had me walking from the car in the dark.  I started my watch at the upper Ashley lakes trailhead a touch before first light, walking at a bright but mostly sustainable pace.  I ended up doing a lot more snow free downfall hopping than would be ideal, and transitioned to ski boots and crampons about 1,500 feet below the summit.  I arrived on top in OK time, but to my dismay, the East ridge was also melted out, so I scampered down most of the ridge proper and only using skis to schuss across to McDonald from near the saddle.  

Lots of walking on the Sheepshead climb.

The middle portion of the traverse went very well.  I was able to hold a bright pace, snow was consolidated to alleviate the need for skins, and the skiing was a little sun cupped but quite nice.  There were a few dry patches, including the predictably snow free Southeast face of peak 9,066, but they didn't really slow things down too much.  Lots of water and gummies were consumed.  Soon enough, I skied around Grizzly lake, slapped skins on for the first time, and pushed with everything I had left to the summit of East Saint Mary's.  I totally fried my quads and blistered my feet running down the trail from East Saint Mary's.  Refusing to swap ski boots for approach shoes in the name of time was dumb but pretty fast.  The foot damage healed in a couple of days.  At the reservoir, I took a minute to relax, eat, and revel in the experience before hopping on the bike and lazily spinning back to the car near the canal at Ashley lakes.  

Water stop on the way to Sunrise glacier.

Ridge negotiating near Mountaineer.

Don't slow down, don't slow down, don't slow down.

There are enough variables with the route that I don't think that a fastest known time concept necessarily applies to this outing.  I do think that I could shave an hour with perfect conditions, and a strong uphiller could smash this time.  But I'm satisfied with the effort. 

9 hours, 21 minutes from the Ashley lakes trailhead to the East Saint Mary reservoir.  

Bass Ultimate Ridge Link up (BURL)

I was intrigued to try for a big traverse around the entire rim of Bass creek for a couple of reasons.  It follows a natural high ski line, it seemed like a logical extension from the Bowl bounce and Super bounce, and I had enough local knowledge to have confidence in avalanche conditions during a fickle avalanche year.  Most importantly, I was also inspired by the line, and I wanted a big physical and logistical challenge.

On the point above West Lappi, ready for a day.

When conditions finally, finally, finally came together, I set out from the Bass creek trailhead on April 16th, early enough start that people were still partying at the trailhead from the previous day.  I climbed Crown point in the dark, and navigated through cliff bands on the South side of the Bass creek crags by headlamp and GPS track (I had tracked a good line during a reconnissance tour in January which proved helpful).  The traverse was very icy, but with care it felt OK.  I walked to the high point above West Lappi as first light illuminated the world, and skied the Pokey wokey (West Lappi couloir) with hatefully awful, chunky rollerballs.  

Morning vibe.

Relieved to be through the icy, spicy South side Bass creek crags traverse at first light.

I had been sick the previous week, and while I was mostly recovered, it was obvious that my body wasn't quite 100% - energy was a touch off, and my muscles were crampy and burning more than normal.  It was unfortunate to not feel great for such a big undertaking, but by mid morning it was clear that barring a bonk or something, my body had enough to give to complete the tour as long as I kept the pace in check.  I bopped up an old skin track to main Lappi shortly after sunrise and made a traversing but quite nice run to the basin below Smokey Joe.  Up Smokey Joe was pretty straightforward, and the West slope down to the saddle above Bass lake was fine.  Up Bass was straightforward, and the skiing on the rolling east face was primo - settled powder transitioning flawlessly to corn!

Up Lappi.

Up Smokey Joe.

One of the primary goals of the early start was to get up and down Storm Joe before it got too warm.  I transitioned as efficiently as possible and pushed to the top, enjoying efficient skinning on barely warmed corn.  I definitely did not get to Party in a couloir early enough, so I did a ton of ski cutting heavy scary mush, then scooting through the couloir as quickly as possible.  In the future, I'd consider skipping this run or doing something different (perhaps ski a run on the South face and scoot across Bass lake).  I snagged a patch of shade at the bottom and took a good break before Saint Joseph peak.  

Bass peak was fun.

Up Stormy Joe.

Party in a couloir looking a lot better than it actually was.

As expected, Saint Joseph peak was the mental and physical crux of the traverse.  It was hot, and mashing up a 3,000 foot climb with well over 10k in the legs was hard.  I definitely slowed down, but never had any reason to stop.  Which was enough to get to the top.  I skied the Northeast face, botching the entrance to the face, but fortunately recovering.  From the bottom of Big Saint Joe, the terrain is all fairly benign, so I knew it was just a matter of time until I was done.  My little dream of "skiing everything in Bass creek" was coming to fruition!  The last few hours were perfectly pleasant - the Little Saint Joe climb was quick enough, I chuckled at my poor fried quads on the sticky ski down the Little Joe summer trail, and marveled at the warm spring day and wildflowers as I clunked down more dry land than preferred in ski boots.  It was good to see the car and exchange ski boots for flip flops after roughly 15.5 hours and 15,500 vertical feet. 

Big Saint Joe summit turns.

Tired/psyched face on Little Joe.

This is a great tour.  It is long, but aside from considering an alternative on Stormy Joe, I do think it's a really fine route.  I also think that there are a lot of opportunities to string bits and pieces of the tour into more manageable big days.  Pinball approach to the Bowl bounce?  Three Joe link up on skis?  Excited for others to keep imagining new ways to link up terrain in Bass.  

Pyramid Butte (x 2)

1/15: After a bit of a slow early season, Jeffrey and I finally felt like conditions were set for a bigger tour.  After making most of the normal Pinball approach, we skied a gully on the eastern edge of the Big Saint Joe northeast cirque, which I remembered being pretty good.  To our surprise, the snow was really thin and weak, and we struggled to find even descent, rock free skiing.  We also bungled the section above the South Fork of Sweeney creek by attempting to traverse too high.  But we kept plugging and were below Pyramid Butte by late morning.  Climbing conditions in the lower couloir were quite good, so we motored up.  

Up Pyramid Butte.

We dug a second pit on the upper face and found a slightly concerning layer mid-pack.  Test results were non-propogating, however, so we continued to the top.  The gully was really good, with a solid base and skiable-enough snow quality.  The whole line is great, and the lower couloir is quite striking. 

Down Pyramid Butte.

The big climb to Big Saint Joe kind of got me.  Despite fuelling adequately, I ran out of gas.  But the only way out was up, so we kept plugging away.  To our shock and awe, we stumbled into some friends on the summit, and after exchanging pleasantries, descended the normal Southeast ramp.  Technically, conditions were just kind of average, but I was pretty excited to feel like ski season was finally really in good form.  We made it back to the car just before dark.  Excellent day.

Heading down Big Saint Joe. Home bound.

5/10: I went back to Pyramid Butte on May 10th, rolling out of the trailhead on a bike at 5 am.  From the Wilderness boundary, I fought intermittent snow on the trail before climbing up out of snow in running shoes.  I put ski boots on around 7,000 feet, then skinned quickly to the summit.  To my amazement, there was about 3" of nice smooth powder on the summit, and the clouds broke just as I topped out.  The North face run was about as good as it gets - 3,000 feet of great skiing.  What a treat! 

Powder turns on the mighty North face of Big Saint Joe.

I climbed the Southwest gully of Pyramid Butte, and with clouds providing just enough shade, skied it with good snow top to bottom.  Another treat!  

Just soft enough for quick skinning up Pyramid Butte.

Instead of traversing down canyon, I went up over the Big/Stormy Joe saddle to return, climbing a bit up the West shoulder of Big Saint Joe to get to 10k of climbing.  Once again, the ski run was good all the way to the trail.  The trail out was a bit of a grind with lots and lots of intermittent snow, but that was expected.  The bike egress was blistering fast, and I returned to the car by mid afternoon in mild disbelief with how good the day turned out to be.  

On the way to the Big/Stormy Saddle.  I skied the visible gully
which gets a little patchy at the bottom.

Ingress/egress strategy to the Wilderness Boundary.

Thoughts:  With the right conditions, this is a really great tour.  There is no way around the fact that it is a big day, getting in early enough for good corn in the spring is nearly impossible, and that the section between Little Saint Joe and the base of Pyramid Buttes is pretty rough around the edges, but Pyramid Buttes are remote, the ski lines are all very good and big, and there is no flat approaching.  There are a lot of ways to get in and out.  As crazy as it sounds, I kind of think that approaching over Big Saint Joe is almost as easy as the Little Saint Joe approach.  Then Pinball or Big/Stormy Joe saddle to exit.