Glacier

Glacier Mountain - 12/8/2007

Text and map: Dave Reed.

Kalet and I met up with Julie and Kroiss in Silverthorne with an original intent to ski Ute Pass. However, as we approached it the snow looked too thin to be worth skiing, so we turned our sights on Montezuma basin, as Kroiss wanted to ski Glacier Mountain.

After a rather late start (around 11 or so) we got on our way, breaking trail through the trees at a steady pace. We heard quite a few whumphs and saw a mid-sized face amongst some sparse trees that had broken itself into large slabs but had only moved slightly. As we made our way above treeline and onto the ridge the slope remained mostly below 30 degrees so we deemed it safe.

After gaining the summit, Kroiss descended first off of a steeper wind-loaded section that consolidated in a loud thump as he got on it. This caused Kalet and I to be concerned and so we decided to descend the ridge to a more low-angled saddle that we were able to ski safely from to just above trees. The snow was somewhat dense, but still powder, so the turns were most excellent.

Upon reaching the trees we were able to find our skin track and follow it for the most part back down to the car. Again, the snow was powder-tastic.

Looking down our line from Glacier Mountain

Luke

Deep Slab

Map