Let me read to you from the book of Andrew (aka, the Chuting Gallery). This is how it describes today’s line.
“Y Not? a 40′ cliff in the middle of a 45-degree slope is one good reason! This is the Y Couloir on steroids. Shorter, steeper, narrower, and scarier by far. An out-of-control falling the Y-Not would lead to a graphic death as the victim pinballed down the chute, over the cliff, and was torn to bits in the rocks below.”
To say that I was stoked to ski this line would be a serious understatement.
Not only was today a great opportunity to ski an amazing line, but it also turned out to be a great chance to ski with a couple old friends who I had not seen in a long time. After crossing the river, Beth, Eli, Russ, and I bootpacked up the Y-Couloir for a couple thousand feet before we split off. Beth and Russ headed up the main fork of the Y, while Eli and I were headed off to the Y-Not.
Unfortunately, the two of us missed the entrance traverse (since we had never been there before), and hiked too far up the right fork. Luckily the view from the top was completely worth it. After skiing back down a bit and traversing at the correct place, we started into the goods. It started off wider than either of us expected, but it narrowed down quickly, and by the time we got to the rappel station, it was not only very narrow, but very steep.
The original bolt hangers were smashed all to hell, but the replacement tat that hung from trees off to the side only took a bit of scrambling to fetch. Eli and I made it through the rappel without any drama, and were excited to be past the hard part. But, it turns out the hard part is actually after the rap. It gets way narrow and super steep at the same time. In one spot, our tips and tails touched opposite walls, which makes any kind of turns, or even side slipping, nearly impossible.
All in all, despite the less-than-ideal snow conditions, this was one of the best lines I have ever skied. It was long, steep, narrow, and had some genuine consequences for messing up, which always makes things much more interesting. Not to mention the fact that the trailhead for this line is a ten minute drive from my house, which makes me extremely grateful to live where I live.
Beth starting the approach by tossing skis over the river.
Russ and Beth taking the first steps of the day.
Beth, Russ, and Eli headed up.
And up…
And up…
Eli after the two of us split off the Y Couloir.
On top of the right fork of the Y, which, it turns out, was not the place to cross to the Y-Not.
Eli doing his best Scott Schmidt impersonation.
In the goods.
There was actually some good snow, but you could not count on it.
Eli approaching the rappel.
The bolt anchors were a little shot, so it was tat from trees time.
Eli starting the rap.
Eyeing up the narrow sections after the rappel.
There were a few sections that were narrow enough for the tips and tails to touch at the same time.
Blasting after things opened up a bit, and heading for the car.
We met this guy on top and headed different ways. It seems he had a much worse day than us.
