Buckskin Couloir, Mount Buckskin, Leadville, Colorado
Krista approaching the top of the couloir
Mike and I were feeling pretty good about snowpack stability so we decided to check out Buckskin Couloir near Leadville, Colorado. We parked in a parking lot just south of Fremont Pass and started following the drainage towards the southeast that would take us to the couloir. Before doing this tour, please do two things 1) understand the state of the current snowpack and feel comfortable with the avalanche hazard and 2) research about what is private vs public property in the area.
The approach felt pretty moderate for the first 2.75 miles, gaining about 1000 ft of elevation in this portion of the outing. As we got closer to the couloir, the terrain started getting steeper, and we ended up putting on our ski crampons for one part (this may have been more reflective of conditions than of the slope angle). When we made it to the base of the couloir, conditions did not look good. They looked pretty darn bad. Totally wind scoured.
After some debate about whether or not we should just bail and return to the car, we ultimately decided that we could use the exercise and wanted to explore. So up we went. It was an interesting bootpack with some spots being so firm that it was hard to grab into the snow with your crampon and other spots being so shallow, you were hitting rocks with your crampons just two inches below the surface of the snow. We finally made it to the top where we stopped for a few minutes to transition and enjoy the views. This was my favorite part of the day, considering the ski down would not be.
We started to get cold from the wind (we should have expected it to be windy based upon the conditions in the couloir), so we began our descent. We side slipped/carefully stepped over rocks for the top third of the couloir. It was barely edge-able with rocks sticking out in sections. After that, the snow got a little softer and we felt comfortable making some turns. By the bottom of the couloir, the snow wasn’t that bad, but it was short lived. From here, we just retraced our tracks back to the car. The mellow slope angle came back to bite us as we found ourselves poling quite a bit on the way out.
Did we have great ski conditions? No. But we had an adventure which made the day worth it. We learned that this couloir is not well protected and can get a lot of wind. Now we know. I would love to come back and ski it another day when the snow is better. Days like this day are what make the good days even more enjoyable!
Total stats: 7 miles, 2150 ft of elevation gain
