Thread: TR: Chief Pascall/Joffre - Weekend of Camping and Dialin' it in!

TR: Chief Pascall/Joffre - Weekend of Camping and Dialin' it in!

Very warm weather (temps of 13 - 15 degrees at 1300m in the sun; 8 - 10 degrees at 2000m) stopped us from getting anything major up high. Still a good scouting trip. Click here for more http://www.leelau.net/2006/Chiefpasc...papril2006.htm

Duffy Lake from Pascall ridge



About the only "powder" we could find even on N facing slopes



Naturals off the steeps - warm weather = NO GO



Sorry for the pano. There are two chutes off the Joffre summit. The one on lookers left is about 50 degrees and looks like it goes. The one on lookers right looks more like 55 - 60 and is scary-looking. Im amazed snow sticks to it. The seracs below the chutes are big. To give a sense of scale, the summit lookers right chute is about 300m

FKNA sweet.
But what we really want to know is how you feel about our president Bush

Nice...next year.

I found a cool TR about someone skiing down the Central Couloir - the story requires a paid membership but its good beta

http://www.bivouac.com/TripPg.asp?TripId=5791

Originally Posted by LeeLau

I found a cool TR about someone skiing down the Central Couloir - the story requires a paid membership but its good beta

http://www.bivouac.com/TripPg.asp?TripId=5791

Ok, so here is the trip report i posted on bivouac.com, it is a little embarrassing so i avoided the criticism of TGR.

Central Couloir ski descent 3-12-06

My partner, who shall remain unnamed, and I skied the Central Couloir of Joffre Peak. We ascended the Australian Couloir on the south side of the peak to the summit from Keith’s Hut. After cutting part of the cornice on the top of the central couloir we set up an anchor out of webbing on a large rock. My partner rappelled over the cornice into the couloir on a 30 m 8mm rope. The rope left us just shy of a more open section of the couloir, so he kicked steps down another 10 ft with the safety of an ice axe. I followed the same line down into the couloir.

After applying skis we had a route finding decisions. Two choices, left or right. Left is less steep, 55-60 degrees but it also turns a corner and the line is not all visible. Right is a 60-70 degree spine wall. Right is initially more scary, but I think in the long run it is easier (not 100 percent sure, but I think this line goes through). My partner and I decided to take the left line because the turns looked more fun. As it turns the corner it gets cliffed out. We set up an anchor with a single picket to rappel off of. My partner went first because of the less maneuverable position of his snowboard. The 30m rope was not long enough. He ended up being about 15 feet above the couloir. He rappelled off the end of the rope with an ice axe in hand and self arrested on his toe side edge in the couloir.

I proceeded to repeat the same maneuver on skis. I tied a knot in one end of the rope so it would come with me when I went off one end. As I neared the end of the rope I found all of the snow to be scraped off of the cliff/face into the couloir. I decided that I could not repeat the same move and self arrest on hard pack and rock. I started to push myself to the side, where I could go down a larger section with softer snow. In doing so, I twisted my anchor “picket” out of the snow. Unprepared I began to tumble backward down into the couloir. My tele bindings blew off pretty quick and I tomahawked down the couloir. I hit a lot of rock and ice on the way down, breaking my helmet and nothing else. I finally came to rest about 20 feet above the bergschrund tangled up in my rope with a picket and one of my skis. I ended up to be ok, swelling and bruising in many places, but ok. My partner rode down the couloir and picked up my other ski and polls. I would suggest to others skiing the couloir to take a 60m rope.

Here is an image which shows my partner entering the top of the couloir on a 30m rope.


If you are to ski it from the top, go over the ridge beyond the red line after entering the couloir.

We continued down the first fall line, which was 55-60 degrees which got cliffed out. The couloir is broken in two at the top and the skiers right goes through. Where you drop off over the red line it is about a 70 degree spine wall, ridable but scarry.

Here are enlarged images of the top of the central couloir



The red line is the same small ridge in the other image. The green line is our second rappell, where i fell.


I think the whole central couloir is over 50 degrees. I know nothing about the couloir on lookers left of Leelau's image

I never pulled out a slope meter so the slope angles i have made are only estimates.

.....and one cool picture from the summit of Joffre Peak

Originally Posted by skifishbum

But what we really want to know is how you feel about our president Bush

Yeah, no shit. We don't want skiing TR's, we want POLITICS.

Please refrain from posting stoke.

You're terrain at hand makes me ill, and jealous.

Thanks for posting that Kyle! The couloir on lookers' left is Joffre Couloir and is also accessible from the peak. I found out that you have to scramble the summit ridge to get there. It looks a helluva lot easier then the Central Couloir - frankly your TR scared the shit out of me - i'm amazed you didn't get hurt more falling off that rap.

Man do I ever want to go back and nail that chute down the center of Joffre. I was able to ski Joffre when I lived in Pemby, though. Skied the right hand side in the first picture, then through the diagonal chute off the hanging snowfield. Nothing wrong with the Aussie couloir on the other side, either. Quality mountain.

damn. falling there churns my stomach! glad it ended up ok.

Love Joffre. Beautiful mountains to ski, hike and climb. We climbed the glacier next to the lakes at Joffre last summer. Scared the hell out of me when I started to slide down towards the lake. Saved by the axe. Don't leave home without it. We'll be back to Joffre in June again without any hesitation.

crazy story kyle. gnarly reality check.

Looking at some terrain, even if it's over my head, I get pumped. Then there's stuff like that, which makes me sick to my stomach.

Glad you're ok Kyle.

glad you're ok, kyle, and thanks for sharing. i think after all the crazy things that have happened this winter, no one would criticize anyone, it's important that we share experience and learn from them.

lee - you got a sweet playground there. great stoke as always. too bad you won't be around this weekend.