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.

Presidential Gully for time

Great conditions in the upper tree lanes of the Presidential gully

I chased the first signs of receding instability and made an attempt on the Presidential gully after work in mid-February.  Despite abundant and continuous snowfall, surface stability indicators, lack of feedback on deep instability, and a reasonably stable pit had me confident enough to ski the gully in incredible powder conditions.  To my shock and awe, coverage was really, really good, and the run was as fun as I have ever seen it.  So fun that I had no choice but to returned to do it for time on Valentine's day.  I lucked out and had a track to follow, which made things a lot quicker.  I went pretty darn hard, but never really went to the well.

Interestingly, I made great time in the first half and slowed in the second.  I attribute much of that to the very fast skin track right from the car (as opposed to walking and transitioning).  I also took a few photos on the ski run, and took it fairly casually on the exit, so there is time for improvement.  Still, I feel good about my current fitness, and good about my time on this rare treat of a ski line.  Interestingly, the circuit only took three minutes more than my fastest (still soft) time on a basic up and down Little Saint Joe.

Great skiing!

Splits for future reference: First road crossing: 18; trailhead: 48; upper saddle 1.33; top out 1.58; Trail: 2.15ish; Car: 2.46

I only climbed to the top of the gully and did not go to the summit.  I do not think that summiting Little Saint Joe is necessary since the peak is disconnected from the ski line, and since one of the direct appeals of skiing the Presidental is that one doesn't have to make the often weather hammered trek across the summit plateau to the exact summit.

... And so it begins 2020

Early season skiing was well below average.  Nevertheless, I have been able to squeeze a few great days in.  A quick summary of a few of the better days:

Day one in the Missions:   When I finally motivated to ski, I followed Ned Gall's lead and headed to the Southern Missions.  I ended up climbing East Saint Mary, taking a new to me run down the rolling Northeast face, then spending the rest of the day skiing great snow and moderate terrain below the long approach ridge to ESM.  Although it was not the plan at the outset, I ended up skiing just over 10k of vert, which was one heck of a way to blow the ski cobwebs out.

First run of the year on the Northeast face of East Saint Mary peak.

Powder hamster wheel below Grey Wolf.

The Great One:  During our holiday trip home to Bozeman, I spent a blissful day in the Bridgers with Leah.  The avalanche forecast had the danger pegged at Low, so we headed into the Northern Bridgers to have a look-see at steeper terrain.  We took one run in the nice couloir at the Eastern edge of Nya Nuki bowl, booted and skinned to the summit, and took a triumphant run down the Great One.  The snow was chalky, and I was so excited to ski this Bozeman area classic.

Leah skiing off the shoulder of Nya Nuki peak.

Leah in the Great One.

Blackmore for time:  I made an honest hard go at Blackmore fast.  I pushed hard and had a nice clean run, but still was not able to get it done in under 2 hours (2 hours, 1 minute, 30 seconds).  Great morning on this little mountaineering classic close to town.  

Closing in on Blackmore.

Frazier exploration:  I spent a delightful day in the Northern Bridgers exploring North of Frazier Lake.  After the obligatory approach from Seitz and some monkeying around trying to find an elegant access couloir, we climbed and skied a lazer cut limestone walled hidden North facing couloir.  The snow was stable, and it was awesome.  To round out the day, we re-climbed the couloir and took an equally excellent run South to join the normal egress below Frazier Lake.  The egress was a little sparky, and I hit a few more sharp limestone rocks than I would have preferred, but it was otherwise a near perfect early season outing with some of my favorite people.

With partners tucked away in a safe zone, I punched through wind slabs
to gain the last hundred vertical feet to the top.

Nick skiing stable boot top powder on the way home.

Jewel Basin yurt:  We had an excellent four day trip to Jewel Basin.  The first and last days were consumed with the logistics of getting in and out, and we only skied in the popular Checkerboard area.  On the second day, we did a great tour to Hungry basin, up to the Electronic site, then down a run-of-the-trip long rolling line into the drainage South of the yurt.  In the afternoon, Leah and I skied a few nice short powder laps in the Lake Mary basin before returning to the comforts of the yurt.  It snowed about a foot overnight, so on the third day, we skied two long West facing avalanche paths lower in Noisy creek.  The approach drops into interesting alder below the yurt (I think it would be better to climb to Picnic notch, then approach along the bench just East of the crest), but the skiing was really good!  

Leah skiing powder at Jewel basin.

Skiing powder at Jewel basin.

Bikes 2019

I have been riding bikes a lot more this year and having a blast.  I have been drawn to new gravel rides, since there are so many excellent rides within an hour drive of Missoula.  This post is intended to be an ongoing log of interesting rides, as much as for my memory as for others.  Since I am not well connected to the biking community, each new ride is like discovering a gem (or a lump of coal, depending on the quality of the ride).  It is astounding how well connected the road network is here, making for seeming endless opportunities for loop rides.  I am predictably overwhelmed with ideas for new gravel road rides, and really, really enjoying the process.  For fitness, I pretty much never do workouts on a bike, so everything was done at an easy to moderate pace.  It has been interesting, however, to be able to bike much longer in comfort, having built up endurance in a few key muscle groups through consistent miles on the bike.  For health, I have been consistent with glute strengthening for several years now, and my knee is a lot better.  It hasn't hampered my riding this summer.  It will sometimes hurt for up to a day after longer rides, but most days it is 100% solid. For partners, I get lazy in the summer and just do rides by myself.  For gear, I should probably buy an actual gravel bike and higher performance all-day-comfortable shoes.

Fall road rides:  This fall was challenging for gravel biking, with early, persistent low elevation snow.  So I did several road rides to maintain fitness for ski season.  I am sure these are all pretty standard fare for road bikers.  One observation:  It is pretty cool in my opinion to have a safe bike trail all the way to Hamilton.  A huge thanks to everyone who made that happen.  The biggest ride was a century ride, which I did in just under 7 hours.  I rode the classic(?) Frenchtown/Ninemile Ranger Station/Petty/Graves/Highway 12 loop, and extended it out to just past Florence on the Bitterroot bike path to make it 100 miles.  It was a great day, long enough to be mentally challenging, and I bonked and got super tired by the end.  Other good fall rides were: a Frenchtown, Big Flat, Blue Mountain, Miller creek to the end of the pavement, Linda Vista loop (62 miles, 4.25 hours), 1-way Bitterroot trail and Old Darby road to Darby (60 miles, 4 hours), Town classics: Sawmill trailhead, Butler creek to the end of the pavement, Grant creek to the end of the pavement (45 miles, 3 hours), and a 102-mile Bitterroot bike path ride to Hamilton that was discouragingly taxing (6 hour 40 minutes).  I had a goal to do the century ride at 15 miles per hour, but ended up having to push well above my aerobic threshold and generally fight to get it done.  Ah well, it was a nice morning effort, and I shouldn't complain.

Scenes from a fall century ride.

Petty Creek, Martin Point (South lookout) and Tank/Upper Albert Creek/Albert Lothrop loop:  I took the last fall day of perfect weather off work and went biking.  I didn't want to mess with snow and ice, so more ambitious plans were shelved for a few new rides below snow line.  In the morning, I did an out and back to Martin point, parking at the river off the Cyr exit and riding up Sawmill gulch and the road to the old lookout.  Martin Point is a nice, straightforward outing with an outstanding view, and would make a decent long run. 2.5ish hours.  The afternoon loop off of Southside road was another excellent 3ish our ride.  The larch were out in full force, blanketing the roads with golden needles, and I didn't want the day to end.

Martin Point

Larch needle cast blanketing the Albert Lothrop road.

San Rafael Swell:  We did a family trip to the San Rafael Swell.  It was a hiking trip, but we also brought bikes.  I was able to chase dark on the classic Over the top ride in Pocatello on the way down, a few pavement rides back from day hikes in the Swell, and a nice evening circumnavigation of Temple mountain from our camp.  The best parts of the trip were on foot, though.  Over the course of the week, we hiked 11 slot canyons including several very nice family hikes and an afternoon of playing in Goblins. Leah and I were able to do a big day of canyon scrambling (Up Ding, out Behind the Reef road, down Cistern, cross country to Ramp, up Ramp which was right at our technical limits, back on Behind the Reef road, down Dang), and I did a running and canyon scrambling loop in obscure canyons below Temple Mountain from camp.

Sapphires, Ambrose to Burnt Fork:  I spent the morning after a tremendous Octoberfest party exploring in the Sapphires.  I rode from Ben and Haley's front yard to the top of Ambrose creek, did a short out and back to Cinnamon Saddle, then bounced along the rocky and snowy connecting road to Sawmill saddle.  I got lost in the foothills trying to find the house, and left Leah waiting for an extra hour.  Sorry Leah.  The views from the Sapphire crest were outstanding, but otherwise the roads were rough enough, and the connecting roads in the valley were akward enough that I thought this loop was just OK.

Looking out to the Bitterroot from Cinnamon Saddle.

Tarkio to Superior and back:  Big-for-me gravel ride in my old stomping grounds.  I parked along the Frontage road near Tarkio and bounced my way toward Superior.  You kind of have to just look at map to follow, but I went up Nemote, down Deep creek to the first junction, up Eddy, down Second, up Second and down into First Creek, then up First, traversed through Lozo, then down East Johnson creek. I had a bit of extra time and took the road to Superior before whipping the bike around and returning to the car.  70 miles, 7,000 vert, 7 hours.  I think this area is an under utilized play ground for gravel bikers.  Pretty much all of the roads along the Frontage road out of Superior are smooth enough and fast for biking, stay relatively snow free in late fall and early summer, and can be made into loops.

Fall colors near Superior.

University:  I have ridden University four times this year, both with the Deer creek sneak and simply up and down the road from Pattee.  Super nice grind to the top, and can be done in about as much time as an Overlook loop in the Rattlesnake.

Blue Mountain:  I have ridden Blue mountain twice on the road, and once down the Deadman trail, and run to the summit once. I like how it is just long enough to feel like a proper outing.  I wish the upper road was in better shape, because it is too rocky for my taste on a cyclocross bike.

Holloman saddle loop:  Rode this one on a very blustery day in early June when the lower elevation forests were bursting with green.  After battling a strong headwind to Clinton, the rest of the ride went quickly.  Also rode it with Jeffrey and Justin on an even more blustery day in late September.  Would love to know if there is a consensus name for this classic gravel loop. 4.25 hours

Ch-Paa-Qn door to door, including Edith peak road loop:  I rallied in the dark on a day with forecast heavy afternoon rain.  The ride out to Huson was serene, and with time to spare, I took my time grinding up the Edith peak road to the Ch-Paa-Qn trailhead.  Jeffrey met me there, and we ran the peak together.  He is in strong running form, tapering for his first 100 miler.  A whipping tailwind made the bike home easier than expected, and I returned home tired but not nearly as smashed as anticipated.  A simple Sixmile, Edith peak road, Ch-Paa-Qn, Edith peak road to Ninemile ranger station loop from the Huson exit in I-90 would be a very high quality 2.5 - 4 hour ride.

Nearing the Ch-Paa-Qn trailhead

Moody day on Ch-Paa-Qn

Lolo creek: East Fork Lolo, Lolo Pass, Granite ridge trail, Fish creek divide:  Good exploratory ride.  I took the wrong fork in Lost park creek (in future, take the West fork).  Also, the Granite ridge trail was just OK.  In the future, I think it would be more fun to stick to roads and come down Granite creek.

Chasing storm clouds down the Granite ridge trail.

Lolo creek: Wagon Mountain, Howard, West Fork Butte, Skookum Butte, Elk Meadows road: I had been meaning to do this Lolo creek classic for a long time.  It was every bit as good as I had hoped.  I had an extra few hours and clunked up Skookum Butte on foot.  100k, good and tired at the end of the day.

About 50 miles in, on the way out to Skookum Butte.

Crescent - Pyramid quick ramble

Crescent peak.

I squeezed the Crescent to Pyramid traverse in the Swans between day care drop off and pick up on a perfect early fall day.  Early season snow was lingering in the highest peaks, but the Swans were just low enough to be snow free, which, coupled with crisp fall temperatures, made for quick and delightful conditions.  After a mad drive to the trailhead, I took the Crescent lake trail to the first lake and got things rolling by climbing the South face of Crescent.  I made reasonable time descending the ascent route, running short sections of scree in between slower sections.  I tried following the trail above the first lake most of the way up to the divide before making a short traversing climb to the base of the Northeast ridge of West Marshall.  The Northeast ridge is pretty short, and it went quickly.

On Crescent, looking to Marshall and Pyramid.  Gloomy skies.

Enjoyable climbing to Marshall.

Pyramid and Devil's basin from Marshall.

After traversing Marshall's summit ridge, I tried descending as far as I could down the South ridge, but it ended up cliffing out, and I had to do some shenanigans to get off the peak.  Nothing too bad, but certainly not the ideal route.  Eventually I made it to the intermittent climber's trail in Devil's basin, which I took for a few minutes before making the logical ledge traverse onto the North ridge of Pyramid peak.  From the ridge, it was a quick hike to the summit.  After a somewhat gloomy morning, the sun came out, setting the stage for a mellow egress back to the car.  The return was much quicker than expected.  I descended the open Southwest face to the trail, then took the horse outfitter trail back to the road, popping out just a few hundred yards from the car.

I still think that this outing is a gem in both winter and summer.  It takes a logical route over the three iconic Seeley Lake peaks.  It is light on adversity, with trails to get above any bushwacking, and technically easy yet engaging routefinding all along the way.  It would be fun to try to do this outing fast.  I think sub-4 is realistic.  6,000 vertical feet, done in 4 hours, 40 minutes.  By faint memory splits were:  Trail flattens out before traversing to the lake, 1 hour; Crescent, 2.15; Marshall 3.25; Pyramid 3:35; car: 4.40

What I think is the most expedient route, not including the trail.