Professional big mountain skier and Jackson Hole local Owen Leeper was hoping to score some late May turns down couloir on Togwotee Pass at about foot elevation but when he finally got eyes on it after a short 1-hour tour it was looking a bit more bony than expected:
“I was hoping to get one last run in this couloir, but I knew the snow had been melting rapidly, and it was already the end of May. Nevertheless, I went for it anyway. I skinned up around the back for safety, less chance of rock fall while in the couloir, but I realized the backside was too warm. There was lots of wetslide activity, which was my backup plan to ski it if the couloir didn’t have snow, so I was now committed. I walked through the most epic entrance and revealed the couloir, but it was not what I hoped for.” -Owen Leeper
Not accepting defeat, Leeper waited for the sun to soften up the snow and took his time parsing through the exposure at the bottom of the couloir. Excellent example of making the most of what is available and not taking any undo risks in exposed terrain:
“Couple fun turns in there but overall pretty terrible with so much debris but better than the other side where it was all wet slide and super sticky. Well still fun to get out and wasn’t too much of an effort to get up there.” -Owen Leeper
