6.6 km away
Motel 66 Day Tour
Cerise Creek's Most Popular Route
Easy Ski Touring
- Distance
- 16 km
- Ascent
- 992 m
- Descent
- 986 m
A major line down the North Face of Mt. Howard.
Ski Touring Severe
Mount Howard sits behind Mt. Matier on the Duffey Lake Road and is often looked at but much more rarely skied. It's north face holds several rad looking lines but one major gash stands out.
The Big Howie Couloir starts off a col between two sub-summits. We approached from the south on a beautiful day with low avalanche hazard and spring-like conditions. This didn't allow us to get any sense of the condition of the line but it avoided being under the cornice hazard that sits above.
It took a bit of navigating (looking at FATMAP) to ensure we arrived at the correct col but when we did, we established a ski belay and explored the cornice. It was substantial and a few cuts with a shovel dropped a small-car sized piece into the line. The cornice bomb didn't trigger any avalanche so we felt pretty good about stability. There was still a vertical wall of cornice and rock guarding the entrance so we built a small snow bollard and prepared to rappel in.
Onsighting a line like this is excellent practice to deal with problems as they arise. We didn't know exactly where to exit and were unsure of potential glacier cliffs or rock constrictions. The initial couloir skied well with firm chalky snow and then opened into nice pow on the lower angle glacier and exit gullies. We couldn't open it up completely at the bottom because of thinly covered avi debris but it was still an excellent descent!
Severe
Steep skiing at 38-45 degrees. This requires very good technique and the risk of falling has serious consequences.
6.6 km away
Cerise Creek's Most Popular Route
Easy Ski Touring
6.9 km away
The Ultra Classic Couloir of the Duffey
Severe Ski Touring
7.5 km away
A pleasant traverse on the north side of the Duffey Lake Road
Moderate Ski Touring
7.5 km away
Ultra classic day tour in a stunning location
Moderate Ski Touring
7.5 km away
Classic coastal couloir in a wild setting
Severe Ski Touring
7.5 km away
A great intermediate zone with open bowls and easy access
Moderate Ski Touring
7.5 km away
Consistent fall line skiing down a series of well-defined avalanche paths
Difficult Ski Touring
7.6 km away
Easy access from Pemberton or Lillooet with a variety of skiing make this a classic, forested ski tour.
Moderate Ski Touring
7.6 km away
A major glaciated face off the north side of Slalok Peak directly down to Upper Joffre Lake.
Difficult Ski Touring
7.6 km away
The Coastal skier's intro to big mountain lines!
Difficult Ski Touring
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