LOC:
Camp Dolphin
Sky
Broken Thin, Wind Light, NW, No Precip, 0.4°C, BARO 776 Steady
Yesterday,
we set out again to ski the couloir on Mt. Bonito. The weather was
beautiful and we were all enjoying it. We got a late start, just
after 11:00am.
Our
first challenge was a slope with many crevasses to the NW of Mt.
Bonito. Similar to yesterday but a bigger slope and bigger
crevasses. Also bigger were the snow bridges, so it felt comfortable
and we attained the ridge between Mt. Bonito and Mt. Albacore without
difficulty.
We
had lunch and weren't much disturbed by the light wind. From the
ridge we didn't have direct access to the top of the couloir. To get
there, it appeared we would need to ski down the other side and then
ascend up again on another ridge. We were not assured of being able
to get to the top of the couloir. We discussed options, thought
about climbing Mt. Albacore instead but decided to go for the
couloir. We had nice weather and lots of daylight.
Skiing
down the backside of Mt. Bonito was very nice. The snow was good and
we descended about 350m and the view was different. From there, we
bootpacked up onto the ridge and then started skinning up.
The
ridge was narrow but wide enough to comfortably find a route. Rocky
features were the only obstacles. We did have a miscommunication
where Martina told me to wait and I wasn't sure why. Then I missed
her instruction to come along and continued to wait, watching her
ascend the ridge until she was out of sight.
Sam
and Kat caught up and I told them why I was waiting. After a while,
Kat suggested we carry on and seeing no reason why not we did. We
caught up with Martina at the end of the ridge, sitting at the
entrance to the couloir.
The
summit (2820m) was a short hike above so Sam and I quickly went and
bagged that and then returned to the entrance to the couloir to
descend. The top elevation of the couloir was 2775m.
After
taking the time to explain to Sam the route he should ski down,
Martina got into position to take some pictures and the Sam skied it!
Martina was concerned because Sam hadn't gone where it was safest,
however we could hear him whooping at the bottom so he must have been
ok. It was my turn next. Martina again tried to explain where I
should ski and I felt I understood. She wanted me to stop well above
where Sam had. I skied down and it was very thrilling. From where I
stopped I could communicate with Sam though we were far apart. I
looked up and waited for Kat to ski down.
Soon,
I could see Kat making cautionary turns coming down. After she had
descended about a third of the way she lost control and fell. She
was sliding down ass-over-tea-kettle. By the time she reached me she
was going fast and below it looked to me like she was headed for a
large crevasse. She went out of sight and I waited speechless until
Sam shouted that he could see her and she was ok, but missing a ski.
Martina
started down and I yelled that Kat was missing a ski. She didn't
understand and kept coming. Finally, I got her attention and told
here she would need to hike back up to retrieve the ski. She did and
after some time found the ski to our collective relief.
Matina
then skied down to me and we went to rescue Kat who couldn't move
because she was in a crevasse field. Martina and I roped up and
bootpacked over to Kat. Martina and Kat had a heartfeld reunion and
we retrieved Kat's other gear from above.
We
headed for home and had a late dinner in the dark. Then we went
through an extensive debrief as a group. Martina's conclusion was
that as a guide she should have skied down first to show us the
safest route. She could not be focused on taking pictures.
Tomorrow,
we will continue the adventure older and wiser and perhaps more
cautiously, but no less in love with the mountains.
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