Background
The extended high pressure here in Washington at the start of 2025 has made for quite a confusing snowpack. The risk of snow sliding on you (in the form of an avalanche) couldn’t be lower right now, but coverage isn’t quite there in spots. Conditions are variable, to say the least, but it’s ‘open season’: you can jump on just about anything, as long as you can stick the landing.
I’ve found that I hem and haw a little more than I used to when the quality of skiing is suss’. The waffle iron was hot and ready for this Friday. My life partner had made plans with her ski partner so I had a day for myself. I’d marked down on my calendar ‘ski?’, with no real plan or partners in mind. It was kind of just a concept…maybe? What did I want? Well, as the week matured, I found I wanted a solo day. I wanted a flow state day. I wanted a reset. The mountains can be therapy, and yes that might be a dangerous relationship with an environment that is trying to kill you, but they offer a place so absent of noise that you can listen to your mind.
Stepping off the soap box now…
My friend Thomas reached out to me on Weds or so that he and his ski partner Manny were heading up to Cascade River Road to check out some north facing couloirs on Friday. I was welcome to join. He sent me their Caltopo map, which on it had marked CJ Couloir. CJ has a reputation, an infamous one. I wasn’t that keen. I told them I probably wouldn’t join for CJ but that I might start with them and head my own way if they were stoked. They had a mature dynamic/relationship that I didn’t wanna interrupt if they were stoked. I was perfectly happy going on my own and had a few lines I’d been eyeing on Mixup Peak to check out.
Mixup Peak is often overlooked as you walk by it. The S-Loop, the Ptarmigan Traverse, Magic Mountain…I’ve walked by it a number of times and never stopped to say hi. It has two beautiful ski lines on it, on either side of Cascade Pass. On the west side of the pass, there’s a directly north facing line first documented by Phil Fortier dubbed ‘Slot n Pepper’. You stare right at it from Sahale. On the east side of the pass, there’s a beautiful, plumb NE facing couloir that I haven’t seen named. We’ll just call it the NE Couloir. It’s ~1000′ then dumps out to an apron, but there’s another mini couloir you can take down to the valley floor for a 2400′ vertical drop. Both are worthy of a visit.
Trip Report
Thomas and Manny were ~45 mins ahead of me. Felt like a fun little race. I walked briskly up the road from the Eldo parking lot with my spring skis in January…what a concept. I caught them right at the MP23 parking lot as they were staring at CJ. It was calling them.
(Feel obligated to mention here that the below inner dialogue has absolutely no judgment on Manny and Thomas. They are rad human beings and I love both of them. I write this blog for myself and to remember what I thought and felt.)
I’d said, from the start, that I wasn’t keen on CJ. There’s a style I want to do that line in and I’m willing to wait for it. We talked about the risks and rewards of checking it out. With just about the lowest danger possible (the line is notorious for a huge overhanging cornice) and cold temperatures, we (and I) were willing to at least go have a look. Manny and Thomas had two tools each and proper ice climbing crampons; I had one Petzl Gully and some Blue Ice ski mountaineering crampons. I was happy to not have the equipment to ‘fuck around and find out’. Sometimes it’s nice to hamstring yourself so you don’t get into sticky situations. I told myself if there was weird down-climbing necessary, or if the snow wasn’t what I would want to ski that line in, I’d spin. So, we blasted off. The plumb line didn’t go, so they were eyeing a climber’s right/skier’s left line that Kyle Miller had skied. From afar it looked like it might have an ice bulge in it…but we’d go touch the snow and see.
1500′ of booting later, we were at the bulge and yes, it was ice (or some form of ‘snice’). As Manny and Thomas pulled out their second tools, I was reminded of my thresholds I established down at the parking lot. My 26yr old male brain tried and tried to take-over; could I solo the 100′ section of hard snice with my one tool? Probably, yea. But there’d be a downclimb and didn’t I say I didn’t wanna ski it if there was weirdness? Some imposter syndrome set over me: am I not rad enough? Shouldn’t I be hard-er?
Nah. Let’s go skiing. That’s why I was out here. I chopped out a nice spot to flip, wished Thomas and Manny the best, and made sure my radio was working with theirs. I skied down 1500′ of CJ and went out for the solo day I needed. After a hard week of life, I wanted some time to myself to listen to my thoughts.
It was fun to listen to Manny and Thomas’ adventure on the radio as I raced up towards Mixup. They were truly on an adventure. With January-levels of coverage, I wasn’t sure if Slot n’ Pepper or the NE Couloir would go continuously but I’d go and have a look. I turned on some tunes and tuned out.
Conditions were pretty ideal for solo, steep skiing. Protected high norths were a mix of firm board and chalk. Booting was easy (enough) and stability was rock solid (literally in places haha). I set off up Slot n’ Pepper, waiting for some rock choke or ice step to turn me around. Well, never found it. It’s narrow in spots but never too narrow for your skis to fit.
I knew Slot n’ Pepper was steep and consistent but it kind of overshot my expectations! It’s pretty dang steep at the top. The top-out is neat, you reach a nice ridge where you can look over at Formidable. There’s a cornice you have to push through and some sugary shit snow near the top. I topped out, snapped a photo of Formidable, and walked down 5′ or so below the sugar shit to click into my skis.
The first few turns at the top are real, especially in firm. Toes locked, ready to rock. The line was lovely, plumb with steep rock walls…everything a couloir should be. It felt great to practice the jump turns in a stunning place alone.
I had time for more fun and games. I transitioned, listening to Manny and Thomas still on CJ, and headed back up towards Mixup NE. In my head Mixup NE was chiller than Slot n’ Pepper. From afar it looks plumb but never overly steep. The slope angle shading is hard to tell with deep rock walls. I skinned up to the shoulder high above Cascade Pass, quickly ski traversed over to the base of Mixup NE, and found more good chalk. One more 1000′ booter to do. Turns out setting your own booters all day is kinda tiring haha.
As I ascended, my expectations were again getting overshot. Mixup NE was pretty sustained, pretty steep…pretty real. I was psyched. This line I’d walked past a number of times was telling me told ya so. Again, as I climbed I was expecting to find a rock pinch or ice step indicative of early season lack of coverage. And while I didn’t find either of those, there was one section where the width of the couloir was barely more than my ski pole. Hmmm…this is going to be interesting on the way down.
Just like Slot n’ Pepper, the top-out of Mixup NE is lovely. There’s a great nook on the south side where you can lounge and look out at Formidable. I snacked, ripped my skins, and prepped for a more interesting ski down than I thought.
For the second time today, I was over-impressed by the pitch and position. Mixup NE was deep, dark, constrained, and dank. I made turns from the top down to the rock pinch, around 100′ below the top.
Hmmm…what to do. If I was Vivian I’d scrape down this with tips and tails suspended on rock. Or maybe I’d do the technique where you walk down with skis on, sinking your tails into the snow. Wait a minute, I’m not him.
I chose to take my skis off for a short downclimb. Ego step to the side.
Skis back, on, the couloir was lovely chalk-board. I took it down to valley bottom with the extendo-mini couloir below the main couloir. I transitioned for the short skin back up to Cascade Pass, catching sunset on Eldorado Peak. A fast and quick ski back to my shoes and I made my car by dark. Thomas and Manny told me about their day, I told them about mine. Each of us got what we were in search of.
