A Ladies Shred Trip on Wineglass Couloir
Wineglass Couloir from McGee Creek Trip Report
In May 2023, I skied Wineglass Couloir. Why is it called that? They say it’s for the shape but it’s hard to not get a little tipsy going down.
There was so much snow in May that we parked 20 ft off the main road and started skinning ~7am.
We began by skinning up the side road, but soon found ourselves in extensive patches of gravel and mud. Turns out, skis aren't just for snow.
We eventually hit continuous snow with lengthy downhill stretches. These were just long enough to persuade us to remove our skins but short enough that I quickly realized it was a mistake.
Getting off the road, the skiing felt expansive but the suncups ensured it wasn’t magical. There were at least a couple of snowmen we passed, missing silk hats.
Spring skiing at McGee also means crossing an audible creek with a layer of snow frosting the top. I don’t have any pictures from this part of the adventure, but it involved slapping snow, putting some body weight on, and then inching my skis in parallel. Of course, right after, we found 10 easier spots to cross the creek.
We made it to our gully's base and took a well-deserved cheez-it break, gearing up for an uninterrupted colossal climb. However, thirty seconds in, I needed to stop to put on my ski crampons. And then in two minutes, my friend did. And then in 5 minutes, one of us wanted more cheez-its. I think it must have been hot and tiring but mostly I remember laughing, eating many many cheez-its and the only two groups we saw rapidly passing us.
At the top of the couloir, which is the bottom of the bowl for both skiing and the aforementioned wineglass, we had lunch and more cheez-its. Then, we proceeded to walk up the mountain in ski boots with crampons and skis secured to backpacks (pictured below). We ascended along the left side (skier's right) of the bowl, opting for a route that appeared steeper but shorter.
The slope was black diamond steep and it was my first time using ski boot crampons. What I can say is it was hard enough that every trip I’ve done after using ski boot crampons has felt effortless and not scary.
When we finally reached the top, the view was incredible. To not get cold, we quickly made our way down and had some fantastic turns on corn. By the time we were at the bottom of the couloir, I was tired…but still had 5 or so miles to go.
This is the GPX from my trip.
You are breaking new grounds every time! Your writ-up makes it look easier than what it was, but beautifu.