Mount Spalding Pass Descent

Type: Backcountry or Sidecountry

Excellent descent back to the dreaded willows below the Guanella Pass parking lot

From the ridge between Spaulding and the Sawtooth Ridge follow the obvious low angle drainage to the West. You'll have seen this from the opposite side during your earlier ascent of Bierstat as the obvious gash back behind the willow covered low ground to your East. After some cruiser turns, the drainage steepens and should present some fantastic skiing if you hit it by early afternoon. After you arrive at the bottom work your way through the flats and willow thickets back to the summer trail and then back to the parking lot. You can avoid the worst of the willows by skirting them on the left until you find the summer trail.