Torreys Peak
Torreys Peak as seen from Grizzly Gulch. The Emperor Couloir is the large strip of snow on the right. It ascends the north side of Torreys Peak and is one of the longest couloir climbs in Colorado.
A very long, mellow snow climb with two steep sections
Torreys Peak as seen from Grizzly Gulch. The Emperor Couloir is the large strip of snow on the right. It ascends the north side of Torreys Peak and is one of the longest couloir climbs in Colorado.
Beautiful early morning light on Grizzly Peak. The narrow couloir on the left is begging to be climbed.
The Emperor Couloir as seen from the Grizzly Gulch Trail. The average slope isn't much more than 30 degrees but there at two steep sections, one near the bottom and another at the top. On this day we found 2500 feet of continuous snow.
Kevin starts up the low angle snow at the bottom of the Emperor.
We exchange one trekking pole for an ice axe as the slope steepens a bit.
Higher up there are multiple possibile lines. The one we chose topped out at about 13,850 feet on Kelso Ridge just above the knife edge.
It was clear my recently broken toe was going to survive the climb so I relieved Kevin up front for the last 500 feet or so. I chose the steepest exit (just left of the cornice) which Kevin measured at 52 degrees.
Looking down the Emperor Couloir from near the top.
The top of the couloir was steep and warranted some axe work.
Kevin tops out next to the cornice. The slope exceeded 50 degrees here.
View south to Grays Peak from the summit of Torreys Peak. No trip up one ever feels complete without paying a visit to the other.
Torreys Peak as seen during the descent. We saw and heard a large wet slide around noon.
The hike out was fast and easy with some good glissading.
The famous Dead Dog Couloir on Torreys Peak.