Governor's Ridge, Mount Rainier National Park:  Ski descent of the SE couloir of Governor's Peak, North Spire

Date:  May 1, 2004

Who:  Phil Fortier, Vincent Payette, Sam

From Cayuse Pass, we climbed to the gap south of point 5,550 just west of the pass.  We took a quick run down to the valley floor and headed up to the basin on the ENE side of Governor's Peak.  From here, we skinned up the east shoulder (green line) and were able to access the couloir.  Our descent is in red.  The couloir never got any steeper than 40°, but was good fun in the soft snow.  We were able to contour around the lower flanks of the east shoulder and climb back out to the gap just west of the pass.  Total vertical climbed and skied:  ~3,900ft.  All in all, a very mellow day!

Here is another shot of the gully from Highway 123, south of Cayuse Pass:

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