Name: Dead Elk Couloir
Rating: 4.7

“A steep ski descent with a mandatory rappel or down-climb near the top of the route.”

— Jacob Winey

Type: Backcountry or Sidecountry

Need to Know

Bring rope and rappel gear. There's a chance that there will be enough snow to down-climb the crux, but don't take that chance, that's how accidents happen.

Description

Dead Elk Couloir starts off on a 45+ degree slope in a no-fall zone, watch your slough due to the exposed nature of the top part of this route. This goes for only a couple hundred feet before the walls choke at small cliff or down-climb. We had heard that there were rappel anchors here in the past, however we didn't find any and ended up using a rock in the middle of the down-climb as a rappel anchor. (If anyone feels like putting a new anchor in at this crux, that would be very appreciated).

After the rappel, you can expect to enjoy about a thousand feet of beautiful, technical couloir skiing before opening up on Tyndall Glacier next to the mouth of Dragontail Couloir.