Trip Report: Skiing the NE Face of Wilson Peak

By benwhiteskis on July 06, 2023
3 min read

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By Ben White

Colorado has had an above average snow pack this season and the semester was over. Having some time before either of us needed to start work for the summer, Kyle and I packed up the car with no plan, other than “go ski down big mountains in Colorado.” Our first stop was Telluride, the quintessential mountain town. I have a very knowledgeable friend, Mark, who lives there. He and his friend Brian had been feeding us snow reports for some time, and we decided that skiing Wilson Peak would be fun.

Looking at Wilson Peak from the road to Telluride

Looking at Wilson Peak from the road to Telluride[/caption]

Wilson Peak is the peak that every person looks at when they consume a Coors product. The Northeast face of Wilson is the face on the right side of the peak seen on a box filled with silver bullets. Not only is the peak an iconic image in supermarkets and gas stations, but it also is one of Colorado’s 14ers (14,017'). The North East face is considered one of North America’s 50 Classic Ski Descents, and Mark and Brian have said that it is one of the gnarliest lines in the San Juans. Chris Davenport said in the 50 Classics book that “A beautiful line comes off a sharp summit, has lots of vertical, and presents enough of a challenge that it might not be in condition all the time. Basically, the line is eye-catching and makes a skier go ‘Wow, look at that!’” Looking at this peak is like checking off that short checklist.

Comes off a sharp summit, lots of vertical, challenging, eye-catching and inspiring

Comes off a sharp summit, lots of vertical, challenging, eye-catching and inspiring[/caption]

We showed up from Utah at about 1:30 in the morning and just fell asleep in the car. Friday, we walked around and got the lay of the land while stretching our legs. We skied back to the car and went into town for a bite to eat. Then we headed back up to the trailhead and camped out.

At three in the morning, we woke up and started moving. The standard approach is through Silver Pick Basin towards the Rock of Ages saddle. This takes you around the back of the mountain to the Southwest ridge. Looking at the ridge from the broken down stone building, we ascended the large snowfield to the left and up through a chute that was almost all rocks. Once we popped out on the ridge, it was about fifty feet to the summit. It was a very fitting summit to stand on three days after my twenty first birthday. After summit pictures and a snack, it was time to head down.

Kyle with a warming sky behind him

Kyle with a warming sky behind him

Walking uphill as things are about to get a little bit light out. Photo by Kyle S

Walking uphill as things are about to get a little bit light out. Photo by Kyle S

Booting up the bowl

Booting up the bowl

Scrambly near the top

Scrambly near the top

Summit!

Summit![/caption]

From the road, we had taken a picture to use as our map on the descent. The most obvious line was to skiers left of the summit. We down-climbed over some rocks to get to the top of the line, put our skis on, high-fived and I dropped first. It was steep. Being the first person down such an awesome line since the last storm felt very adventurous. After hopping down the first section and finding a safe area to hide from sluff and anything else Kyle might send my way, I shouted up to him to come down. We met up and continued. Some people traverse way over to skiers left after skiing the main couloir, but we decided to ski the entire thing. The bottom presented us a rocky section to step over, then grab a small air and straight-line the apron.

Kyle skiing the upper section. It was steep

Kyle skiing the upper section. It was steep

Kyle checking out the middle section

Kyle checking out the middle section

Kyle snapped this of me skiing the middle section

Kyle snapped this of me skiing the middle section

Hopping through the rock choke and exiting at mach speed

Hopping through the rock choke and exiting at mach speed

Skiing the apron, one Kyle per half-second. It was fast and fun

Skiing the apron, one Kyle per half-second. It was fast and fun[/caption]

Once we met up to begin the traverse back to the approach (to the left), big smiles and high-fives were had. Both of us agree that the Northeast Face of Wilson is one of the top ski descents we have ever had. We went back to town and told Mark about it. He told us that it doesn’t fill in every year and that we completely nailed it. We were stoked. We had checked off another classic line in good style.

Kyle catches a moment of textbook backcountry technique on our way back to the car

Kyle catches a moment of textbook backcountry technique on our way back to the car

Our line in red

Our line in red[/caption]

benwhiteskis
benwhiteskis

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