Buffalo Mountain is the vanguard of the southern Gore Range. Its distinct shape is viewed by countless skiers, hikers, bikers, fishermen, and sailors; the undisputed monarch of the Lake Dillon region. For the 25+ years we've been coming out here it's presided over our patch of Summit County, yet Hasse feet have never stood upon its summit. (EDIT: my grandma and grandpa climbed it in 1987, so that last statement isn't true) So, we decided to climb and ski it.
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| Buffalo Mountain from our driveway the night before |
The Silver Couloir is the classic Buffalo ski descent. It averages 35 degrees (with some steeper parts) over 3000 feet or so of skiing. It's featured in
50 Classic Ski Descents in North America, and exalted ski mountaineer Lou Dawson has claimed it's the best ski line in Colorado. Who knew? After a weekend of marginal weather and minor illness, we decided to go for it on Memorial Day. Paul Kaster and his fiance Stephanie joined us for an unrelenting day consisting of gnarly post-holing bushwacking, tense skin-tracks, interesting scrambling, a white out summit, and perhaps the best skiing I've ever done.
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| 2:30am starts are the best |
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Despite the early start, the snow below treeline didn't cool enough to solidify.
The steep snowpack was soft and strenuous. |
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| It didn't take us long to realize that Buffalo Mtn wouldn't give in easily |
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| Skins were only marginally helpful. |
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We thought we'd get a break above treeline, but we encountered 0.5-1 inch of fresh snow over hard crust.
Tense skinning conditions; ski crampons would have been perfect here. |
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| Eventually we traversed into a rock band and switched to crampons |
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| Interesting scrambling through the rock band |
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| photo: Paul Kaster |
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Enjoying the view ~12,000 feet
photo: Paul Kaster |
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| Finally on easier ground, but then we got socked in |
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| Only one clearing in the clouds |
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Skinning up the summit ridge
photo: Paul Kaster |
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| Buffalo Mountain summit in a white out |
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| Switching to skis just off the summit |
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| Heading to the couloir, still in a white out |
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| We dropped out of the cloud at the start of the couloir proper |
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| ~3 inches of new snow on top of well bonded spring snowpack. Fantastic skiing. |
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| Paul rips the upper part of the couloir |
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| Eventually we dropped out of the clouds entirely |
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| One of our many rests |
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| Stephanie in a steep section |
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| Dad skiing before the choke |
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| Paul styling in one of the crux sections |
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| Stephanie also styling a crux section |
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Unfortunately, our newfound sun became our enemy.
Without cloudcover, the sun baked the lower part of the couloir into gloppy cement. |
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| Looking back up at the whole run. The constrictions you can see are the cruxes |
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| And what did we have waiting for us? More post-hole bushwacking! |
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| Buffalo Mountain fought us every step of the way |
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| Finally some "continuous" snow back to the hiking trail |
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| Success! |
