Last year, I attempted Shit for Brains couloir with some buddies, many of whom were anxious to try out ice axes and crampons for the first time. Unfortunately, the snow quality we found was better suited for snowshoes, as we continually sunk up to our waists in the sugar snow randomly found throughout the climb.
This year, anxious to try in in better quality, even if only better weather, I left the ax and ‘pons at home and booted up the damn thing with my buddy Wade. The snow was much more accommodating for an easy stair climb.
Wade dominated the bootpack all the way to where the snow ends, and we decided to wait for a bit to let the sun heat the very firm snow. It became apparent very soon, however, that the snow was being kept frozen by a continuous wind up the couloir, which was also making the snow firmer by the minute.
We clicked in, and Wade dropped first. We leapfrogged our way down the chute, putting a little more emphasis on the slash part of our slarve turns rather than the carve.
We skied quickly to try and ignore the fact that the snow quality was rock-hard and piss-poor for skiing. Before long, we were making GS turns on the apron, and soon thereafter we were people watching on the beach. Not a bad day! Enjoy my GoPro version of the descent.
(If you want to get my subliminal thoughts on the ski down, you’ll just have to watch the movie)
