The forecast wasn’t ideal for a snow climb – cloudy and not cold enough to really freeze up the route. 35 degrees at nearly 12,000 feet was the guess from NOAA. So I was understandably happy when the 4:50a alarm went off and I read 35 degrees at our 10,000 foot camp. I was less pleased to note the lack of stars in the sky overhead.
Pete, Sarah, Dominic and I had camped just below the Missouri Lakes Trailhead with our eyes on the Savage Couloir of Savage Peak. It was a striking line in a beautiful place (the Holy Cross Wilderness). At 5:30 we starting hiking up the trail which more resembled a small stream due to the failure of some water diversion structures.
As we got higher water on the trail was replaced by snow, but thankfully a few parties had been up and packed down the route enough that we never broke our our snowshoes.
The guide book we were following mentioned a stream crossing near 11,000 feet, but they must have come in when there was much more snow. Following the summer trail we made a bridged crossing of the creek to the south side then back to the north side well before 11,000 feet.
The perfect stream crossing log was found a bit over 11,000 feet and we could start to head more directly to the base of the Savage Couloir.
Even on the untracked snow we were now high enough that it was supportive of our steps and only rarely did we posthole. Cutting through the trees and slowly gaining elevation we aimed for the couloir – trusting on maps and compasses to direct us to what we hadn’t seen yet. Trust was well placed however, and we could now see the couloir.
Some avalanche debris was visible at the base of the couloir, and while we didn’t expect any slides this early in the day we decided to stop out of their range on some rocks and gear up with crampons, ice axes, sun block, and helmets.
The snow was less than ideal near the base of the couloir, and I found a breakable crust that would drop my leg to calf height once I weighted it. Moving onto the avalanche debris provided a more stable surface for us to gain the couloir.
The couloir itself was somewhat V-shaped. The right hand wall of rock was crumbling away and a funnel had formed on that side. We stayed further left which also provided snow that didn’t directly face the sun.
The snow conditions were mostly pretty good, with one kick providing a firm and deep step. Ice axe shafts could be securely plunged in for security. However, given the sloped nature of the couloir, the whole ascent felt a bit like a rising traverse as we stayed left of the funnel (and we did see a bit of small rock fall barrel down that path).
Partway up the couloir I stopped to eat a gel packet which I partially spilled in the snow. I scooped up the surrounding snow and gel and had an instant alpine slushy. Yum!
Near the top of the couloir it branched in two. Both sides looked “in shape” but the right side led more directly to the summit and was a little longer – so that’s the direction we headed.
On the way up I’d measured the slope angle three times and got consistent results of 42-44 degrees. The finish of the couloir was steeper and measured 50 degrees.
Then it was only a short walk to the summit which had amazing views and would have been a place to linger in the sun had it not been blowing about 20 mph.
Bundled up we started back down by following the ridge past both exits to the couloir.
Then we hit a wide east-facing bowl with provided a great glissade and enough drop in elevation to take us out of the wind. From the bowl we traversed over the east ridge and then down into the valley we’d ascended that morning.
We picked up our old tracks and back across the log and down the trail to finish at the cars around noon.
Dominic, Sarah and I were happy with the day’s activity and spread out gear to dry while enjoying a beer. Pete still had some energy to burn and he changed into running shoes before embarking on a 30 minute jog of the forest roads.
Adam’s Photo Album
Sarah’s Photos
Nice shot of the spring beauty.
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