TR: Drift Peak (13,900'), West Face 4.7.07

[iskibc]

photo from summitpost.org


Drift Peak borders the tenmile and Mosquito mountain ranges just above the Climax mining site. Most of the winter this area gets hammered by strong winds coming across the Sawatch plateau depositing most of the snow on the eastern aspects. Most of the westerly facing terrain doesn't become ripe until the heavy spring storms roll through in March-April-May.


Drift is a common sight to those traveling HWY 91 in between Copper Mountain and Leadville. Drift has an aesthetic serrated ridgeline that towers above Gold Hill and the Climax Mine tailing ponds below. The peak and the surrounding area is an obvious by-product of the mining boom from the late 1800s and early 1900s. There are several mining cabins still standing at the base of the peak along with a scrap pile of old mining equipment. There's an old mining gondola which runs up the side of the ridge separating Atlantic Peak and Fletcher Mountain that is still erect on the north side of the basin. A trip up into this basin is like a step back in time. It's almost like walking into a living museum.



Colorado has been hit with some unpredictable weather this past week, which has made it difficult to make any concrete plans to get up high. It had appeared we had a weather window of 8 hours or so on Saturday morning, so kya and I decided to give it a go and head up to give Drift a shot. I had skied the west face a few summers ago and remember it being a really fun climb and ski descent. I typically don't repeat peaks, but this one deserved another nod.


We met up in Frisco and then made our way to the Mayflower Gulch TH about 10 miles past Copper Mountain. We arrived to broken up cloud cover and a few flakes falling from the sky. The top of the peak was shrouded in some fog, so we could not see the whole line. We decided to give it a shot and make the final call once we reached the upper ridgeline coming off Gold Hill.


We made pretty decent time skinning up Mayflower gulch to the old mining cabins. As we reached the top of Gold Hill the veil of fog had lifted from Drift and we got our first view of the entire line. It was thin compared to other years, but still skiable from the summit. Up until this point I didn’t have high hopes for making it all the way due to the visibility. The upper 2/3 of the line is wide open and there are no landmarks to help guide your way down in low vis conditions.

Kya climbing:









Ecstatic that we were getting our weather window we continued to push along making good time along the west ridge from Gold Hill. This is where the fun climbing began and the alpine opened up.





The ridgeline above Gold Hill offers some short, yet fun ski lines to the north and south. Definitely a good spot to lap a few times if you aren’t looking for a full day or a peak climb and descent.


Moving along the ridgeline:









As we climbed higher the NW winds picked up considerably ahead of the next storm system and became a nuisance. Every 15 minutes or so a snow squall would blow through and cut down visibility for a few minutes, but was always followed by a break in the wind and cloud cover.

Getting steeper:




Kya plugging away at the vertical:










We hit the summit after a few hours of climbing to brutal winds and nowhere to seek shelter. We hunkered down along the summit ridge and grabbed a bite to eat and slammed down some water before getting ready for the descent.


kya making the final push to the summit:






The ski line connected from the summit and looked to be in good shape. There was still some nicely consolidated powder on top of the firm wind blasted base.


Kya coming off the top portion of the line:










Entering the chute at the bottom:






Skiing down the long and broad rollover of the upper face is a rush. The first couple hundred feet of vert feels like you are skiing off the edge and into the abyss. The slope has a never-ending roll and definitely gets the heart pumping. Conditions on the upper face were surprisingly good considering the strong winds were racing up and across the upper slopes.


iski approaching the apron:















The line is a good 2,200’ of consistent and sustained vertical. The best snow of the day was found on the lower portion of the line. We skated back to the truck just in time as the next cold front was knocking on the door. Good day on a fun peak.

[Rontele]

caw caw caw

just another day in the life...

[ninjabirdman]

way to fit in a great looking climb/ski!

thx (as always) for the stoke iski

[powstash]

just another day in the life...

No doubt...his, not mine.

Nice ups (and downs) D

[jrbd]

Another excellent TR. Thanks for the inspiration and entertainment!

[jon turner]

good stuff there. i've been meaning to bag drift for awhile. perhaps this is the inspiration i need to do it sooner than later.

[cold_smoke]

nice work......once again!

[HikeforTurns]

Fantastic.

did you happen to get a look at the NE face of Wheeler? I want to get after that this spring. You dudes interested?

[alberta_hoser]

I like this one. Looks like a fun descent.

[iskibc]

Fantastic.

did you happen to get a look at the NE face of Wheeler? I want to get after that this spring. You dudes interested?

Yeah, however visibility was somewhat limited. There are some nice lines off Wheeler. Blue Lakes approach, right?

[smmokan]

So, Iskibc- for the shot where Kya is actually ahead of you on the final summit push, did you come back down for the photo after taking your 30-min nap on the top? We all know no one would actually be in front of you on the climb, right?

[kchri]

Perfunctory stoke acknowledgment...

[bcrider]

Perfect timing for lunch at my desk. Thanks guys!

That was awesome.

[HikeforTurns]

Yeah, however visibility was somewhat limited. There are some nice lines off Wheeler. Blue Lakes approach, right?

yeah, or from Montgomery with a car shuttle.

[summit]

woooo woooo fuckin yea!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

i've been wanting that line forever!

[FrankZappa]

Pure Gold!

Thanks.

[Kya]

So, Iskibc- for the shot where Kya is actually ahead of you on the final summit push, did you come back down for the photo after taking your 30-min nap on the top? We all know no one would actually be in front of you on the climb, right?

What!?!?!? I'm insulted. I was ahead of him once.......when he was sick, with the flu.

Good stuff. Fun ski for sure. That top pitch is sweet. Keeps you focused.

[KillingCokes]

Nice looking day guys.

[forum8fox]

Props! went up that valley for the first time this year and skied some stuff on the wall across the valley I think on atlantic if memory serves me properly. Drift peak looked sweet as well as some of the stuff on it's lower ridge. One day I will knock this one off, along with pacific and atlantic. Thanks for the inspiration!

[doumall]

Nice looking line

[HyRUPz]

iskibc ... American Idol?

Another saweet TR - congrats on the slog to fluf.

[p.blz]

Nice one yet again.

Man I wish I got out as much as you guys.

[IridePow]

Nice work Kya and iski.

That Saturday was a good day with our crew as well.
Still waiting for that TR.
Paging spthomson??!

[rugbydave]

Awe-inspiring, as usual...

[Alpine Dreams]

Another great line slayed.