Mt. Edwards Ski - 6.1.2013

Last Saturday Jordan and I headed up Stevens Gulch with hopes of skiing Mt. Edwards. When we skied the Goat's Finger during the monster spring 2011 we'd seen the thin snaking lines that drop off the summit of Edwards. With this year's great coverage up high, we were excited to see what we could find.

A fast approach brought us to the bootpack up Edwards' north face:


Jordan making quick work of the snowclimb:


Getting into the chutes:


Looking back down at Steven's Gulch:


Through the crux:


Jordan topping out:


As luck would have it, heavy clouds were protecting the new snow from the warm May sunlight, so we decided to start the day by dropping off the south side of Mt. Edwards into Peru Gulch's Edwardian Couloir:


Jordan getting into the couloir:


With snow and heavy winds in the days leading up to Saturday, we were stoked to find creamy spring pow in the line.


Not a bad way to start a Saturday:


At the bottom, with the clouds finally clearing and the snow quickly warming, we threw on our skins and raced back up. Jordan with Peru Gulch and Argentine Pass behind:


Back at the top, we took a few minutes to reminisce about the plethora of lines we've skied together in the area, then we dropped into the steep and tight north face. The line started with exposed 55 degree turns above the first choke. Barely wider than the length of our skis and with a sharp fin running down the middle of it, here is the first tight and steep choke:


Jordan through the choke:


Staying tight lower down:


Starting to open up:


At the bottom we ran into our old friends Jeff and Hans, who had just finished another unique and rarely skiable line off Edwards' north face.


Overall, a great day. Really fun to have a steep, complex and accessible mountain all to ourselves while lines of people streamed by towards the more famous summits of Grays and Torreys.