Frozen Elk Couloir Ski - 5.22.2013

Last week Jeff Welch and I headed up to Rocky Mountain National Park to ski Frozen Elk Couloir, which has been on my wish list since we skied Dragonstail Couloir several years ago. I should start by noting that there is some debate as to whether the name is Frozen or Dead Elk, and I'm in the minority with Frozen Elk. But, since the name stems from an elk that was found frozen (and dead) in the top of the couloir, I'm going to stick with Frozen Elk.

An already warm night got off to a bit of a late start after a missed alarm and an unfortunate construction delay in the park. As we started the sprint from Bear Lake towards Tyndall Gorge, I was not optimistic that we would even make it to the base of the line before the warm May sun got the best of the snow. But, we made good progress and were soon at the mouth of the couloir; about which time I noticed that two of my cameras had dead batteries - apologies for the GoPro pictures.

Looking south towards Hallet's spectacular buttress:


Working our way up Frozen Elk:


Fortunately, shortly after entering the couloir, high clouds blew in, protecting the snow from direct sunlight for the rest of the day.

The highlight of Frozen Elk is the cool rock block in the middle of the line; approaching said rock: