Mt Langley Northeast Couloir

Mt. Langley - Northeast Couloir

Chris and Rich made the trek in from wherever they’re from, and arrived in Mammoth around 10pm on Saturday evening.

On Sunday morning we left Mammoth and made the drive down to Lone Pine.

Passing through the Alabama Hills:

At the Tuttle Creek trailhead:

Cactus and Mt Langley:

With a narrow ribbon of snow on the road, we put our skis on and were able to skin right from the car. After about a mile or so, the road ends and we began following the trail that goes to the Stone House, and the South face of Lone Pine Peak.

The trail helped out for a bit, but it doesn’t go in the direction we were heading. So we left the trail and began the climb through the dense forest.

Looking down into the drainage, we realized that we had avoided the worst of it. So we descended a little bit, and then continued climbing the south side of the valley, trying as best we could to stay out of the riverbed.

The Stone House below the South Face of Lone Pine Peak:

A few hours, and a few thousand feet later, we arrived at a nice meadow and set up camp.

Nightfall:

Night:

Calm winds and sunny skies in the morning. After coffee and breakfast we were moving again.

From camp we had about a mile of gentle climbing to reach the base of the couloir. Once we started climbing out the valley, the snow quickly turned to hard windpack, with a few short sections of soft snow here and there.

View from the bottom of the Northeast Couloir:

Rich starting the climb:

With just enough grip on our skins, we skied to the base of the couloir, and then began the 2000 foot bootpack to the summit ridge.

Within the protective walls of the couloir, the snow quality improved quite a bit.

Partway up the Couloir:

Towards the top of the Couloir:

At about 13500 ft the main couloir ends, so we exited out onto the ridge.

Rich Steele:

Chris Gallardo:

Rich began climbing on towards the summit, and I paused for a photo op.
Packing my things back up, I overheard the wonderful sounds of vomiting from below. Chris was having a tough time with the elevation, and we feared he wouldn’t make it much higher.

So Rich and I continued on. A bit more climbing and we encountered the end of the snow, so we dropped our gear and made a quick trip to the summit.

Figuring Chris was in rough shape, we quickly begin back down only to find him stumbling his way up the rocks!
Another quick trip to the summit and the mission was complete.
Almost.

On the summit:

It’s amazing how much energy gets returned once the snowboards get strapped on.

Beginning the descent:

Riding down the ridge:

entering the couloir:

In Langley's Northeast Couloir:

Turns beneath the crescent moon:

At the bottom of the Couloir with Mt Leconte in the background

Below the couloir, things got kinda ugly. Crappy snow and lots of rocks, with just a few nice turns in the trees above camp.

Hoping to out before dark, we quickly broke down camp and began the ride out through the forest, rocks, gullies, and rivers.

After a few crashes and a lot of cussing, we emerged back onto the trail for the high-speed single track back to the car.