A truly breathtaking couloir, suspended above the void.

Statistics

2 - 3

hrs

807

m

807

m

60

max°

Difficulty

FATMAP difficulty grade

Severe

Description

The prize line of the entire Ford Wall! In an area teeming with world class couloirs, AC Cobra is surely one of the finest! It's over 800 meters vertical and with a slightly steeper and has a more serious feel than some of its neighbors.

Sustained at 35-45 degrees, it has a steep top out.

Perhaps up there with Polar Star Couloir as one of Baffin’s classiest lines.

AC Cobra hangs spectacularly over Sam Ford Fjord, suspended over the void and clearly visible from the sea ice.

AC Cobra couloir is the lookers’ right-hand branch of the same bottom couloir and Mustang is the straight up lookers’ left line.

Both of these lines were first skied by Andrew Maclean Brad Barlage in 2002, like most of the other lines described here! It is usually not possible to top out AC Cobra due the presence of a large cornice at the top of the line.

The couloir can also get a lot of wind loading and cross loading due to its unique position.

It’s therefore good to be prudent about the avalanche risk in its upper half, but the flip side of this is that it often also holds great cold powder.

The Ford AC Cobra was known for its cornering ability, and this couloir could not be located in a more spectacular corner.

If you’re feeling strong, this line can be combined with Mustang too, which branches off from it in the lower section.

While AC Cobra is not as steep or as exposed as Polar Star Couloir or The Inquisition, it is still a serious line that demands respect and solid ski technique on 45 degree firm snow.