March 1, 2020, Colchuck Peak

Sunday romp up to Colchuck Peak with my buddy Jason Schilling A snowmobile approach makes this death march much more bearable on my aging legs! Having now done a few tours with the sled, it has left me wondering why the hell I didn't get one sooner. I think back to some of the approaches I've done and would never do again. Idiot!

Great overall conditions. The road had a few bare ground spots within the first Mile but after that it's all snow still.

The trail up to the lake is a trench of ice. One person booted it in crampons the entire way.

The glacier was fantastic skinning since there were multiple parties up there and we got to draft up to the col. From there we booted to the top of Colchuck. We thought we'd take a look at the NWF route but spying the entrance from the summit, it looked wind scoured and lots of exposed rocks. But who knows? Maybe it was good? We decided to ski back down the glacier on rubbery legs, which was an Excellent consolation prize! A pow run.

Lots of side-slipping from the lake down to the junction. Then from the junction, it was down-skinning back to the trailhead in the ice trench. Fast but challenging. I've down-skinned this trail so many times it didn't even phase me. Just another day.