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The golden hour passes as Matt pulls into the
chute creating a horizontal cut across the top to
mitigate possible avalanches. We hear nothing
but a scratch of edges. This southwest-facing
section has already refrozen and the snow
screeches underfoot. Not the most favorable
conditions, but Matt skis it like a champ. He
flows left to right until he has completely exited
the approx 300m of vertical. Nick seeks a
different chute which to get in requires passing
over a few rocks in a dangerous no-fall zone.
He tiptoes through the exposure and clips in on
top of a more forgiving and chalky south-facing
line. He rips long drawn-out turns through great
conditions. As the sun sets, Kit and I begin to ski
a south-facing slope with chalky snow. Our smiles
are big as we ski down with the light dropping
quickly. Our next stop is dinner at the hut.
Checked-In Whenever
We were all feeling the solid 12-hour day of
slogging both on and off-snow, but each of the
few turns we had were worth it. Not long after
clicking out of our skis, we are sharing our
dehydrated meals, chicken curry has never taste
so good. Sneakily Nick cracks open a mulled
wine which managed to sneak its way into his
pack. After a cheeky couple of wines, the boys
are almost lights out standing up. We jump into
our beds one at a time as there aren’t more than
two square metres of usable space inside the
hut. Once we are all in our sleeping bags, we
are four wide packed like Weetbix in a box, but
never happier.
Round 2
In less than the blink of an eye, it's 6:00 am. We
start the day with a quick round of porridge, as
the sunrise begins to peel down the mountain
tops. We set off deeper into the basin with our
eyes on a spiny-looking couloir topped with icecovered
rocks. The couloir from top to bottom
is narrow, steep, and has a huge overhanging
rock face on one side. Naturally, most people are
deterred when they see obstacles like these, but
not this group. Our adrenaline begins to rise as
the crampons and ice axes come into play.
The Creepy Craggy Couloir
The group decides to boot pack up the guts as
there is no easy access into the couloir from the
top. Conditions seem stable with a frozen layer
underneath and about 20cm of fresh snow on
top. We transition quickly and before long we
enter the bottom section. Looking up I can see
the boys Nick, Kit, and Matt creeping into the
terrain one huff at a time. The rock overhead
feels like it nearly spans the whole chute. The
climb continues to get steeper and steeper.
Nearing the top, the terrain is extremely steep
but luckily there is a wind lip that sits just below
the top. The boys pull up.
At the peak the boys guess the slope angle to be
pushing 50-55 degrees. The transition to ski at
the top is careful and precise. One mistake could
mean a solid 300m tumble down across a rockridden
path to the bottom of the couloir.
Nick leads the charge.
" This southwest-facing
section has already
refrozen and the snow
screeches underfoot.
Not the most favorable
conditions, but Matt skis
it like a champ."
Above and right: Hiking up so we can ski down
18//WHERE ACTIONS SPEAK LOUDER THAN WORDS/#229