Heliotrope Ridge

Consistent powder skiing from October through June. The Heliotrope Ridge snowfield provides shelter from upper mountain winds, offering long, moderate descents in open terrain. Quality powder conditions often persist here well into late season.

1 day Experience
Dates: October - June
Price: $400 per person

Difficulty:

Moderate

Day 01

7:00

Meet at the Glacier Creek Rd, gear check, permits, waivers, and Leave No Trace briefing

11:00

Arrive at Heliotrope Ridgeline

11:15

Ski descent

11:30

Lunch in Kulshan Creek basin

12:00

Ski tour

14:00

Arrive at Lightening Peak

14:15

Ski descent

15:30

Arrive back at the Glacier Creek Road

What you'll learn:

Avalanche exposure management. Learn about pacing, spacing, safe regrouping, and snowpack red flags.
Ski tour planning. Learn about using digital aids for route planning, whiteout navigation, rescue protocols, and group heuristics.

What we provide:

All ropes and isostatic glacier cords
All alpine ice climbing protection
All anchoring equipment such as snow pickets
Descent control devices and backups for our ropes
Progress capturing devices for crevasse rescue training
A triple-action captive-eye carabiner and an ice screw, if you're traveling with us on a glacier
Wag Bags for travel in wilderness areas
Sno-Park and NW Forest Permits for your vehicle

What you need besides your skis and splitboards:

A tested and trusted three-antenna avalanche transceiver
An avalanche probe and aluminum shovel
Climbing skins and ski crampons
30-40 liter day pack, capable of carrying both skis and ice axes securely
A UIAA-rated ski or climbing helmet. Should be lightweight and stowable

What we rent:

Ice axes and technical ice tools
Lightweight harnesses
Classic and technical crampons
Four-season tents

*We can also source almost any other rental equipment needs, just let us know in advance.

Heliotrope Ridge

Overview

Itinerary

Skills

Gear

Day 01

What you'll learn:

What we provide:

What you need besides your skis and splitboards:

What we rent: