Ptarmigans' S. Couloir

     So Christmas came in April this year.  A storm dropped about 15" in the front range followed by another ~5" last night.  I lucked out and took a vacation day this week so that is one more day of skiing for me.  With snow this deep you need steeper terrain to get enough speed so touring solo wasn't much of an option, especially so close to the end of the storm.  I went out one day to Peak 3 and enjoyed super deep and soft powder, then headed out to Harp for more of the same.  Surprisingly, wind has not yet blown it all away! 
     The S-couloir is a classic front range ski that has been on my list of things to do for 2 winters now and 3 for a buddy of mine.  For me, this is mostly due to skiing inability and lack of confidence, both of which have decreased quite a bit this season due to gaining experience.  We decided today would be the day to get after it.  We were skeptical about the avy conditions so we kept the possibility of a no-go in the back of our minds.  We had heard reports of heavy sluffing a day or two earlier and knew this new snow could be sitting on a sun-melted ice crust, depending on aspect.
     The S-couloir was just about my only option today as it is a flat skin in and a boot-pack up.  My riser broke off yesterday and I was going to get it fixed after this outing.  No riser = no climbing for this guy, it's just too awkward.  Poor timing given my affinity for front range A/T skiing.  I lucked out and SkiAK had a part and would hold it for me.
     No one was at the TH: perfect.  Weather was cool, gentle breeze, calm, slight snow-haze with the sun trying to poke through.  No trail was broken yet so we followed remnants of a previous one, likely from the reporter of heavy sloughing.  We noticed whoompfing on the way out, but knew the couloir held a different snow pack. 
     We got to the bottom of the apron and started up.  Conditions were variable throughout the whole couloir.  Apron was mostly soft and deep with some soft debris and the lower 'S'.  At the narrow point it was half stiff chalky slab and half soft-and-deep.  Same for the upper portions.  Ligh quality deteriorated as we ascended.
     Boot-packing was hard.  I had never done it, never skied a back-country couloir either.  The hard pack was ok, but anything else seemed like I was making no progress.  I like skinning better, it is easier. I do believe I would rather skin an extra couple hundred yards than boot pack.  Yup.  I arrived at the top soaked with sweat and snow, and quite fatigued.  I knew I could ski it down, but not like I had hoped to: with fresher legs.  Maybe it's just the nature of the beast. 
     I looked over into the couloir behind it and it looked fun: note to self for another day.  We skied it down without any signs of instability.  There was just some minor sloughing of the top 2" near the top but that ceased soon.  Lighting was less than ideal, mostly flat.  We did get to check it off the list though. 






the tall peak in the center is Ptarmigan