Torrey to Tweedy - East Pioneers

Climbing out from Torrey.

5/31/2024 I have become smitten by the East Pioneers in the last few years, and a few late spring ski outings have revealed some surprisingly good skiing for a dry continental range.  When Southwest Montana got walloped by an uncharacteristically wet late season storm, I was inspired to try to link the two iconic high points of the range with skis.  After a late night drive and shuttle-set. I rolled out of a car bivy and strolled out of the Dinner Station campground trailhead at a proper 4 am and climbed Torrey by the standard Southeast ridge.  It was a long, 4-hour climb with lots of slightly annoying log hopping, but all in all it went smoothly.  

Torrey North face: I wanted to also ski the intimidating (at least to me), North face, and spent some of the morning mentally deciding if I was up for it.  I had scouted the face a week prior and knew that the line had coverage, but needed to at least get a glance at conditions before committing.  From the summit, I walked a few hundred feet down the West ridge to a drop in point for the North face.  Conditions looked reasonable, and I decided to commit.  The North face run was quite intense.  Steep, with just a skiff of new soft snow on top of very firm ice.  I was able to link turns down about 2/3 of the exposed upper face, resorting to sideslipping where ice was exposed.  Soon enough, I dropped into the beautiful exit couloir and gratefully sunk edges into sun softened snow.  The rest of the run was relaxed and delightful.  I don't play the steep skiing game much anymore, but it was nice to be reminded of the euphoria that comes from doing something hard and dangerous that demands judgement and precision.

My North face line is the one which drops diagonally down and left from near the summit
and cleaves the cliffs at the bottom. 

Focused.

Glad to be done.

The traverse: After donning crampons at Torrey lake, I climbed back up to the summit of Torrey via the North ridge.  It was now time to get the traverse done.  A most splendid run down the Northeast face set the tone for the rest of the day - aesthetic, good snow, and fun.  The next run was in an excellent, straightforward couloir which drops off the ridge between the peaks.  With some cagey traversing, the walk to Tweedy was done in good time.  The NNW face of Tweedy was shockingly still in excellent condition in the afternoon.  The egress and bike shuttle were a tad long but all in all it was a fine way to spend a spring afternoon.  I was even treated to a black bear sighting near the Gorge lake trailhead.  

On to Tweedy.  The middle run was the gully that drops
from the low point in the background.

Somehow still corn o'clock on Tweedy. 
The run is continuously skiable from the summit using a ramp that hooks up and left out of view in the photo.

This was my favorite day of the season.  No hyperbole.  One of those days where I can't believe how rich this sport is, allowing us to test ourselves while painting ephemeral lines through the mountains.  And the joy of descending by skiing is not to be overlooked.  

By my estimation, a "basic" Torrey -> Tweedy traverse felt like a classic line only marred by what I suspect is a narrow window of reliable conditions where stability is OK, and spring snow sticks to normally windswept aspects.