Alpine Skills International - Mountain Climbing Guides

Skiing Ability: (Level)

Ski Technical Difficulty:

Mountain Skill Rating:

Physical Condition:

Client/Guide Ratio: 4:1

Includes:
Wilderness permit reservation fee, Guides auxillary and safety gear, tents, stove, cooking gear, fuel, 4 dinners and guide transportation expense.

Palisades Ski Extrême 4 Day

This is definately our most aggressive steep skiing and mountain trip. This program combines high altitude skiing with some of the most impressive couloirs in the High Sierra.
With the Sierra's largest glacier, and cirques with stunning rock bound couloirs, the Palisades are the first choice for a spectacular week of high-angle ski descents. After a tough approach, we will place our camp at about 12,000 ft. where we'll make day trips to the chutes and couloirs of Mt. Sill, North Palisade, Thunderbolt Peak or Mt. Winchell. This trip is for advanced skiers experienced in ski mountaineering, who are solid on 40° slopes with ice axe and skis.

Cost: $750 each/4 people
$850 each/3 people
$1050/2 people

Dates:

May 17-20, 2008 (Sat-Tue)

Route Description (routes may vary)

Day 1 - From Glacier Lodge (7,800'), we follow the trail along the North Fork of Big Pine Creek past First and Second Falls, past First and Second Lakes to the outflow of Third Lake (10,250'). From here, we leave the trail and begin the direct ascent of Galey Gulley to our camp at the terminal moraine of the Palisade Glacier (12,150'). This is a good, long day to high altitude and pre-climb acclimatization is recommended.

Day 2 - A great first route and ski descent is the North Couloir on Mt. Sill.. This climbs to the prominent notch between Apex Peak and the summit of Mt. Sill. It involves climbing and skiing up to about 40° and is a good warm-up route.

Day 3 - Our biggest day climbing and skiing the U-Notch Couloir on North Palisade. A pleasant climb on skis and skins brings us to the base of the couloir. Usually, we are early enough in the season that the bergschrund (the largest crevasse at the base of the couloir) is passable. After many hundred feet of steep 40° plus climbing we arrive on the top of U-Notch Couloir. The descent is tricky, partly because of the high altitude and it also has a double fallline, pulling to one side of the couloir. After skiing over the bergschrund, it's a great run down the glacier back to camp.

Day 4 - One more early start takes us across to the Thunderbolt Glacier and a nice climb of the Thunderbolt Finger, a great couloir climb and ski before picking up camp and skiing the Galey Gulley, then back to the trailhead at Glacier Lodge.

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