Activator Gully

Activator is a super unique line for the area for a few reasons. It's one of the longest sustained alpine descents in the region, it's less than 40 degrees, and it's not a singular gully. In fact, it can actually be quite complex. Start by climbing the Cog Railway, then cross over to the summit of Mount Clay via Gulfside Path (not to be confused with the false summit where Pipeline starts). On the summit, there's a few possible entrances. The most obvious is to start in a low angle, right trending gully that spills out onto the face, from here, traverse hard skiers right above a cliff until you reach the top of a left trending ramp. Ski the 30 degree crux ramp, minding some exposure to the right until it spills out into open snowfields below. Here you can easily pull into a safe zone and wait for your partners. Below this is a long, open snowfield with an obvious cliff in the middle, funneling into an exit gully. Ski this, enjoying the mellow turns and the views. The exit gully starts to get bushy until you’re confronted with an ice bulge. This can be passable in big years, but usually it requires a bushwhack around to skiers right. Continue down through the trees below until you reach an open clearing, from here you can skin back to Airplane Gully and bootpack up to the ridge. This line is an awesome and unique adventure but can be quite complex. A fall off the cliffs above, a route finding mistake or an avalanche could have serious consequences in this remote and terrain trapped line. Evacuation from the Great Gulf is also unrealistic from below, making rescue a serious challenge. Treat this line with a lot of respect.