50 Classic North American Ski Descents

Surely the book adds that historic event about the history of the mountain. It’s one of great mountaineering events in Valdez. Skiing the Ford Couloir on the Grand makes for a perfect day in the mountains.

The vibe I get from Moab is all about jeeps, mountain biking and maybe a touch of climbing. Skiing doesn’t really enter the picture. So waking up in the desert and getting dressed to go skiing was a bit bizarre. I didn’t feel like we were actually going to go skiing. Folks in town didn’t know what to make of us when we got coffee on the way to the traillhead in our ski gear.

I’d add that the lack of a cut and dried definition doesn’t invalidate the concept of “access” vs “summit” when it comes to mechanized skiing. Personally, I never even mention the “first descents” I’ve done with a heli because to me they don’t count and it doesn’t register anywhere on my pride scale. It’s just heli-skiing and in a sense it doesn’t matter what peak you get out of the heli on. I’m definately NOT against heli-skiing and I’ll do it now and again because it’s fun, but ultimately it has to be taken for what it is…half-skiing.

For Troy Jungen and me, it was always the ultimate steep ski descent, a truly wild and mystical grail deemed impossible, a line that ventured into the unknown. Mt. Rainier as known as the North American training ground of mountaineering. Which is why professional big wave surfer, Ian Walsh, joins Cody on Mt. Rainier in an attempt to prepare for his goal of climbing and riding Denali, the highest mountain in North America. Deep in the Montana wilderness lies a legendary line, skied first by some legendary ski mountaineers.

Skill Level

The best spots for backcountry skiing in California from the local guides. The Mountainwatch.com team is as passionate and dedicated about the mountains as you are. Skiing to snowboarding, hiking to biking, everything about those huge piles of dirt and rock keep our blood flowing. Our team strives to provide you with detailed weather, conditions and vision of our most used mountain areas in Australia, New Zealand and the world. It was the era when Kris Erickson, Hans Saari, Andrew McLean, Alex Lowe, Doug Coombs and others were bringing a more twisted vision of what could be descended in the North American mountains…. How about a book about mountains and routes that have seen only one decsent ever, or have seen only incomplete descents?

Without dispute, it is the iconic reference to classic North American ski mountaineering objectives. Mark Synnott – Sitting in our base camp at 12,000 feet on the Combatant Col, deep in the heart of British Columbia’s Coast Range, my mind is filled with anticipation of good things to come. On one side rises the mighty hulk of Mount Waddington, the crown jewel of the Coast Range and likely the biggest 13,000-foot mountain on this planet.

To go from the car in winter, you skin across Taggart Lake and up the lower faces into • Garnet Canyon, continuing through the meadows and past the Jackson Hole Mountain Guides’ high camp. Front-point or break trail up the Teepee Glacier and then climb up technical ice and rock through the Chevy. Eventually you get to the bottom of the looming and seemingly endless Ford Couloir. From there, you kick steps to the summit. The FIFTY is simple, it’s a goal I set out for myself, to try to climb and ski all fifty of the lines and mountains chronicled in the book, “The Fifty Classic Ski Descents of North America”.

The Sego Big Horn Should Replace All Your Other Skis

The aesthetic component was the primary driver in putting together the book,” says Davenport. Get access to more than 30 brands, premium video, exclusive content, events, mapping, and more. This article is within the scope of WikiProject Canada, a collaborative effort to improve the coverage of Canada on Wikipedia.

There is a 200 foot drop off behind us followed by a couple thousand foot slide. Before I die I want to be a famous singer and spread love, empowerment, and motivation through my art. Before I die I want to experience the love I know the world is capable of expressing.

Perhaps the most over skied descent after Tuckermans, Superior still offers one of the best descents anywhere if you get first on a cold, clear, crisp morning in the Wasatch. The main difference between this and an Alaskan descent is you will have an audience of critics waiting at Alta/Snowbird if you pooch it. “The book is really a celebration of beauty and what nature offers us as skiers.

In British Columbia, Canada, there lies a classic line that links Whistler and Blackcomb mountains via a 20+ mile long traverse. The ski tour first done over the course of many days in the 1970’s has now become a test piece for ski mo racers seeking speed and records. Follow me in this webisode series as I attempt to ski the fifty most challenging and classic backcountry ski lines in North America.

The trees were bigger and we found ourselves side slipping down 200 vertical feet at a 45 degree angle to the safety of the gully floor. It is amazing how getting a little off route on even a “walk up” climb can lead to some immediate excitement. The 50-episode web series will follow Townsend as he attempts to climb and ski every classic line in North America. With a goal of releasing one episode every two weeks, the episodes will document the history behind each line, Cody’s ski descent, the mountains of the specific region, and the stories of the people within the region. While the primary goal is to climb and ski every line, the unheralded, yet greater goal is to embark on one hell of an adventure and have a lot of fun along the way.

Helicopters or cats or lifts definitely take the mountaineering out of ski mountaineering. Mechanization has it’s place and has advanced the sport, just as metal edges, plastic ski boots, synthetic clothes, radios and gps and beacons. As long as all the descents were done at one point or another with a human powered ascent I have no problem with including them in a book such as this. I agree with the general theme of heli accessed summits not being included under the umbrella of “ski mountaineering.” Of course, however, using machines to access zones IS included. If it were not, then the Wildsnow team did not “climb” Denali this past spring, they simply flew to it. Virtually everyone who has climbed Denali would agree they climbed it.

To get to Mount Shasta, most people fly into one of the surrounding International Airports. We also expect clients to respect local regulations and take measures to protect themselves, guides and the communities they’re travelling to. For more information on COVID-19 measures in Mount Shasta, please refer to the Official California State Government and County of Shasta websites. See for yourself why Avalanche Gulch is one of the 50 Classic North American Ski Descents, learn new techniques or simply enjoy a quiet day in nature.

It towers over northern California at an impressive 14,179 feet with a ski descent of more than 7000 feet. As we approached the mountain it looked impossibly large with the tip disappearing deep into the clouds. In past years I had hoped to climb and ski the Hotlum-Wintun ridge but due to an incredible snow year the road to that side of the mountain was still closed even in late May twelve miles from the trailhead.