My last TR on here was about one of the most epic powder days I have ever had, (20+ inches of blower pow on Wimpy's Knob in the Teton range). The snow on this adventure was nowhere near blower pow, but we had a great time in the Boulder Mountains northwest of Sun Valley, Idaho. The peak was Gladiator, and the route is named the Grand Prize Tour by Sawtooth Mountain Guides. We were signed up for the January 31st "Chute Club" outing with Drew Daly, (SMG guide). Although the original plan was to scrounge up some powder in north facing chutes that may have survived the recent freeze / thaw cycles, we didn't really find much.

This GTP route begins on Mushroom Ridge and transitions in to Westernhome creek drainage. We began the day in calm, sunny, cool conditions, but by the time we hit the pass between Mushroom Peak and Gladiator, the wind had picked up significantly. There are some pretty good sized chutes off the north side of Gladiator, but after a peek into one of them, Drew felt it was a bit dicey, due to the huge cornice hanging over the top. So we opted for the mellower "Grand Prize Chute" on skiers left of the pass. We did find a little wind blown powder in here, (as seen in the video).

After getting our one little powder shot of the day, we decided to continue the "Tour" and circle around the backside of Gladiator. This brought us to the pass and ridge on the NE flank of the peak. It was here that the full furry of the wind assaulted us. Not to be deterred, we made our way to the summit with the hope of getting some January corn snow on the south face. Although the top few hundred feet were a bit firm, we did get the sought after corn.

All in all, it was a fun day and a nice little reward of bagging my first peak in the Boulder Mountains.

For additional perspectives, and the GPS map of the route, you can check it out on my website: http://hi-adventure.com/gladiator-pe...nd-prize-tour/
Here is the video and I have also added some pics of the adventure below:



Heading out on Mushroom Ridge



This is the windstorm that greeted us for the summit push.



Drew waiting for us to get ready on the ridge. (I'm sure he is thinking, "slow clients, lets get off this ridge".)





Jeff and I approach the south summit.






Getting ready for the descent.



Posing for the obligatory summit selfie.


Action Shots- Enjoying spring-like corn snow in January on Gladiator Peak.