Trying to get a bit more steep skiing in before the storm, Joe Brett and I headed out Monday morning to ski the 'Heart of Darkness'. This line lies near the summit of Monte Cristo, along it's North Ridge.
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| Heart of Darkness |
We started out early at the Chapel parking lot. There was a solid booter all the way from Cardiff Pass to the summit of Superior, so it only took a little more than two hours to get there. We continued along the ridge towards Monte Cristo and threw on the skis at a false-peak close to the summit. From here we made a few turns down the ridge and towards a large V shaped opening in the rock. This is very visible from the summit of Superior, and we were able to scope out our entrance.
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| Gaining Cardiff Pass |
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| The entrance to 'Heart of Darkness', with 'Rampage' directly behind it |
The 30 foot rappel into the couloir went well. I went first and dodged a few rocks as Joe and Brett followed. Once I threw my skis on, it was necessary to side slip/step through the short section that was only just barely the size of my skis. It soon widened out a little bit and it was possible to make a few hop turns, being cautious to not clip my tips or tails as I went down. Towards the bottom of the chute, it widened out to an appropriate size for one to make actual turns through the end of it, and then into the apron. As we all finished our ski descents, another skier was just topping out on 'Rampage', a angled snowfield that can be skied. It looked like a blast!
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| Psyched for the rap! |
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| Inside the Heart of Darkness |
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| Getting in some hop turns |
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| Brett making his way through the chute |
Being fortunate enough to bump into a friend on the summit of superior, they agreed to help us out with a shuttle and took our car to the BCC park n ride in order to get back for work on time. Thanks big time! Therefore, we enjoyed a good distance of skiing all the way down Mill B, only having to take off the skis for a few sections. A quick hitchhike out of Big and we were back to the car. Another great morning getting on some steep terrain!
GH
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