Holy Guacamole!? 3/6

The Route!! (Holy Guacamole)

Ever since stumbling upon the abundant and awesome backcountry skiing resources in the Wasatch (Chuting Gallery, Wasatchbackountryskiing, blogs, Backcountry Skiing Utah, etc.), I've spent the last few years pointing to dozens and dozens of lines identifying them by their named run and all sorts of information I've learned about them. They are everywhere throughout the Wasatch, no matter what canyon or peak you come across, local badasses ski these lines on a regular occasion. This includes many lines that don't even look like a ski descent in the first place. While this constantly has me looking at all these named descents, it also has me looking at worthy lines that aren't named or 'established'.

That has me looking at a few different lines throughout the Wasatch, keeping my eyes out for when they become amply filled in and stable enough. Not knowing about the line also adds a sense of mystery and adventure to the line.

This leads me to the other day when I took a morning lap down Holy Toledo before work. As I made my way back up Pole Line pass I had my eyes set on the backside of Toledo Peak, between Holy Mole and the west ridge of Toledo. Other than one line involving a rappel (Holy Poblano), I didn't know of any established lines down this face.

I saw three possibilities, two of which interested me. The line furthest lookers right was mostly just traversing underneath the ridge and exiting a small choke, nothing too exciting. A bit left of this was another potential exit which looked like a few quick turns, or scrambling, through a tree covered section would get you through. However, the next line to the left looked the best. It followed a winding gully all the way through the upper snowfield until it drains through a large cliff section. From here there's a small thread of snow that provides a possible line of passage zig-zaging through the large cliff. Scouting out the line I had a good idea that the line would be steep, narrow, and exposed, but it was impossible to tell how steep, narrow, and exposed it would actually be.

Justin making his way Toledo Bowl

A few days later I had talked my usual ski partner for this type of business, Justin, into checking out this line. We scoped out a few pictures I took and decided that we both felt comfortable attempting the lookers left line. We made quick time up Toledo Bowl and made the summit in about an hour. It was a windy morning and we watched the dark clouds of a storm role in as we hunkered down on the south side to get ready for the descent. From the summit the line drops off into a slight bowl skiers left of the summit. We found that the best way to enter was directly under the summit. Instead of downclimbing past a few rocks we decided to keep the skis on the entire time and sidestep over them, getting some style points. This became good practice for what we'd encounter later.

The entrance to the line, right from the summit

Justin did a few ski cuts to make sure there was no lingering wind pockets before dropping into the line. He skied about a hundred feet to where the gully turns right and stopped at a safe spot to keep eyes on me. I followed and enjoyed great snow through this upper section. There was still a good amount of soft snow through the whole upper gully that made for some great turns. As we moved towards the cliff section we paused to look at the picture on my phone to find where the thread of snow intersects the cliffs. It turned out we moved a little too far right into a larger opening, and we had to move back left to the original gully to find the entrance.

Getting closer to the cliff the skiing got a lot more exposed. The drop off in front of us was a few hundred feet and any fall, stumble, or sluff could most definitely be fatal. From here, right above the cliff, we could get a good look at what the rest of our line looks like. While I expected it to be narrow and steep, I do admit that I underestimated those two aspects. The line was just as steep as the cliffs to our left and right, the only difference is that a thin section of snow stuck to the rocks below us. Any fall here would not be good.

We only brought along 30 feet of cord with us in case we needed to leave a fixed line. Looking back, it might have been a good idea to bring much more and our harnesses in case rappelling was a necessity. Determined to hang onto this cord in case we needed it further down, I wrapped it around a dead tree and tied the ends together to use it as a backup for getting through the entrance into the cliff.  Although it shortened the length by half, this way after Justin went down he would be able to untie the ends and pull it through. Justin watched as I stepped my way through this first crux and crossed over some roots I could grab onto while I waited for him to get through.

Justin making way through the first crux

After this first crux entrance we were both able to make one spooky turn before the next choke. This one consisted of side stepping about 15 feet on rock and snow until it narrows into a 2 foot wide section of snow. We both agreed that this was the hardest part of the route. It involved some techy ski placements similar to foot placements when climbing, and an awkward move to lower oneself off of a horn on the right side of the line. We were almost through!

Piecing together part of the second crux

After this second choke, we saw that the only exit comes from traversing left and jumping off a small rock band. Even in this last section a fall would sweep you off cliffs that lay under the fall line. But the snow was good and this was nothing compared to what we just went through. However, as I made my way out of the line, I did let my sluff build up a bit too much and felt it roll over my legs with enough force to give me a quick scare. I cut left out of the way and enjoyed more great snow out to the bottom of our run. Overall, one hell of an adrenaline rush for the morning. A quick skin up to Cardiff and we enjoyed some more turns on our way out, making it back for Justin's class at noon.

One last turn to get through the tricky section

Home free!

This line turned out to be exactly what we were looking for this morning, exciting and adventurous. It was very technical in spots but we both felt comfortable. In regards to what this line is we cant find any documentation of other people skiing it. I did hear from Tetonsandwasatch that this line is actually Holy Poblano, one he put together a few years back. However, after looking at several pictures I still think that this is seperate line, further west than Poblano. I put together this picture of the lines on the backside of Toledo to try to decipher which lines are which. If anyone has some insight on any mistakes of this definitely let me know! Apologies if I'm mistaken.

Due to the abundant great skiers in the Wasatch there's definitely a fair chance that it's been skied before, especially with a higher snowpack. However, needing something to refer to this line as, Justin and I chose the name of 'Holy Guacamole'. This sticks to the trend of the 'Holy' lines on the backside of Toledo Peak, and lets be honest, who doesn't love guacamole!

GH