Mt. Stuart - Ulrich's Couloir

My friend Aaron had skied Ulrich's several times, and his reports of the steep line at the top and committing nature of the run sparked my interest. So when he proposed we climb Stuart on Friday at the start of good-weather window, I knew it was my chance to ski Ulrich's. We drove up the Teanaway road as far as the snow would allow, and fired up the sleds by about 6:30. Because of my limited sledding skills, we dropped them at the bottom of Long's pass and skinned from there. A very icy skin in the morning delivered us to the top of Long's in about 90 minutes. The run down to Stuart started as powder, then turned to corn, then to mank. Aaron skied right to the log crossing and we started up the Cascadian in soft snow. The sun was fully out now, and softening the snow quickly. We boot packed the steepest part of the Cascadian, then skinned up to the headwall for the final boot back to the top of the ridge. Then we boot packed over to the summit, with significant downclimbing but good snow conditions - soft enough to kick steps in but not so loose as to be an avalanche concern.

Views from the summit were incomparable, but our attention quickly turned to the task at hand. The near 50 degree slope at the top was firm but carvable, then turned to corn about 1000 feet down.

 Here's Aaron just before the first right turn.

The run is marked by towering walls on your left and cliffs on the right, but the funnel shape keeps you centered and while a fall could be result in a long tumble, there is little risk of going over any cliff. We reached the bottom with little drama and then found our way back across the creek. Another couple of hours of skinning and we were back at the top of Long's ready for the last ski. As the light faded we carved the soft snow down the moderately steep slope, and reached the snowmobiles just as the light disappeared. Back at the truck by 8:45, Mexican dinner in Cle Elum and home in bed by 1AM! A day for the books...