Moraine Lake Couloir

Last week, winter made a brief reappearance, and I refrained from putting storage wax on my skis. Last year, a more psyched version of myself had been poring over maps and trip reports when I stumbled across Moraine Lake Couloir. The conditions never quite lined up for an attempt last season, but this week looked ideal. Sam and I waffled over the best approach but settled on tackling it via the Eldorado Trail.

The day began with a rude awakening. We put on our ski boots at the car and promptly started booting up the steep Eldorado climbers' trail. Turns out, it’s pretty hard to follow the trail when it’s blanketed in fresh snow. Sam, as always, seemed unfazed and happily led the way in the dark. Once we reached the boulder field, things started to ease up. We put on our skins and began another 3,000 feet of laborious trail-breaking. The snow was light, seemingly untouched by the wind, and we both knew it was going to ski excellently.

The clouds engulfed us, and Sam navigated the high traverse to the shoulder without issue. If it hadn’t been a complete whiteout, this section would have gone quicker. As we transitioned to skiing, we discussed both feeling apprehensive about dropping over the shoulder if visibility didn’t improve. Like clockwork, the sun came out, the clouds parted, and it was game on! We skied to the top of the couloir and looked into the gut—it was beautiful. Sam let me go first, and I carefully made a few turns, feeling out how quickly the sluff would run. The snow in the chute was perfect, untouched powder. It skied remarkably well, and we found ourselves at the lake too quickly.

As we skinned across the lake toward our last climb, snow on the surrounding solar-facing cliffs began to move. Sam and I decided to stay on the north-facing terrain and take the more direct exit, rather than the standard route, which ascends solar slopes and wraps around toward the Inspiration Glacier. The climb was long, and as we ascended back into the high cloud deck, our momentum slowed.

The ski back toward the boulder field was alright; it was hard to see in the ping-pong ball conditions, and once we were below the cloud deck, the snowpack had changed dramatically throughout the day. We each set off small slides on convex rolls. Overall, it was a great day in the mountains and the first couloir Sam and I have skied together in Washington.