Skiing North Peak Couloir in July
I drove out to the edge of Yosemite on Saturday with Roger Romani with the hope to get at least one more day of skiing in for the season. The snow was melting fast, but we had heard there were still a couple skiable lines out by Tioga Pass. I had been wanting to ski the North Peak Couloirs since I first heard about them earlier this season and knowing that they are ice climbing routes in late summer, I knew there would still be some snow left. The approach took longer than expected but after a few hours we finally came to the base of the couloirs. The right couloir was our desired line but was unclimbable due to a massive bergschrund at the bottom, so we opted to ski the leftmost couloir. Steeper, narrower, and significantly more exposed, it was sketchy to say the least, but we were stoked. People throw the term "no fall zone" out there a lot but this was a true no fall zone. The entire couloir was over 50 degrees and ended in a cliff band rock garden, so we decided to climb and ski with ice axes in hand. Snow conditions were honestly pretty awful, but I felt confident in my ability to ski the line and after dropping in, it felt fine. The crux was skiing through a 2 foot wide section with crevasse-like gaps on both sides and 600 ft of exposure below, but after that we were able to link up some hop turns and enjoy the skiing. The hike back to the south end of saddlebag lake was surreal at sunset. Hands down one of the most beautiful places I have visited. Even with the Detwiler fire raging just west of Yosemite, the stars were out in full force as we hiked the last mile or so back to camp in pitch dark. It was truly an epic end to my first season in the backcountry.
Here a trip report written by Roger: https://snowbrains.com/trip-report-skiing-north-peak-couliors-july-22nd-2017/
