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| Looking up Party in a Couloir |
Although I've linked the Three Joe traverse (Little, Big, and Stormy Joe peaks) into other longer ski tours, it was cool to dial it into a nice compact(ish) outing, optimizing for good ski runs and conditions. Aiming for good conditions, I rolled out early and jammed all the way to the base of Stormy Joe in approach shoes. After a short bout of skinning, spikes came out and I pied a platted to the summit by 11 am. The early start paid off by catching Party in a Couloir with good corn. I took the run all the way to the creek.
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| Near the summit of Stormy Joe. |
Next up was the huge Big Saint Joe climb. Although I didn't quite run the tank dry, I've never been on Big Saint Joe not tired, and this was no exception. To my utter glee, the Northeast face harbored very fun shallow powder, and I took the run to where trees began to impinge on fun skiing, partly to get the most out of the run, and partly to get to 10k of climbing on the day. Really fun one. With Pinball not in condition, I exited by the normal Little Saint Joe summer trail. As I climbed to Little Joe, I was treated to a pair of strong locals dropping into Pinball The fact that they later reported the run as "pretty good", which was true for a couple thousand feet, but also included treacherous dry land downclimbing and over an hour of trail walking is a testament to the hardy local ethic. Little Joe was remarkably good late in the day. A high snow line necessitated a long, pleasant spring walk out to the car. Yet another memorable day in my favorite Bitterroot drainage.
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| Up, Up, Up Big Joe. |
Thoughts: Although I think the Three Joe traverse is best suited to summer scrambling, it is still a quality ski tour. Stormy Joe presents some problems because Party in a couloir has enough issues with underlying rock slabs and the challenge of skiing early enough to make it a challenge. One other thought is that I wouldn't have any qualms with still calling it a Three Joe tour if anyone wanted to exit by Pinball and not tag Little Joe at the end of the day. That would be a pretty aesthetic link up.
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Justin "bailing upward" to the Big/Stormy saddle
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Preamble: Justin, Jeffrey and I attempted the Three Joe on January 25th in reverse. My time estimate was wildly optimistic, and we bailed on Stormy Joe. The exit was not fun with insufficient snow and lots of falling down on an icy trail. Great day out with friends, but in retrospect I subjected said friends to an oversized dose of not very fun conditions.
