Colorado Backcountry: Cameron Pass - Lake Agnes - Mt. Mahler Couloirs

Mahler Couloirs - The Line
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This last weekend we opted for an easy approach and exit so we made our way up Cameron Pass to Lake Agnes. Happy to see the gate to Agnes trail head open we paid the US forest Service fee and drove all the way to the cabin. The destination was the couloirs off of Mt. Mahler over looking Lake Agnes.

Lake Agnes - Mt. Mahler
We hoofed up the trail about a mile or so to the lake and decided on the approach options, we skirted the southeast side of the lake and boot packed our way up the snow field and saddle between Mt. Mahler and Mt. Richthofen. Once at the top of the saddle we had a beautiful view into the heart of the Never Summer range. The Never Summers are one of my favorite ranges here in Colorado. Dave and I continued up toward the summit of Mahler looking for a good way into the chutes. Unable to drop into our first line we discussed options like tunneling through the cornice, but it was soon realized that if that was successful we would be stuck under some gnarly hangfire on a 60 degree slope -- not the safest. We made our way further along the ridge line and finally Dave spotted a place where we could drop in. Accessing this couloir was a bit of an issue as we had to down climb a cliff and then make our way back up to the enterance.

Lacy and Larry Downclimb
Once the crew made it up we decided on an order and dropped in. Snow conditions were really good, as the northern zone didn't get as much of the dust layer as the other areas. The soft slushy corn harvest began as Dave dropped in. I followed and setup in the middle of the couloir to shoot video, as the rest of the crew ripped turns.

JP - The Choke

JP - The Apron
Near the bottom of the couloir in the apron there was a lot of old rock fall and we started kicking up loose rocks as we made turns, these rocks naturally followed us down the couloir as we rode. During Lacy's run he kicked up a huge boulder that just missed smashing his knees from the back -- but it did manage to take out his ski pole. Crazy. We continued to ride all the way back down to Lake Agnes and found a small drainage with coverage to 500ft of the truck. Easy approach and easy exit, after last weekend Lacy and I needed it. Forgot to mention we saw a moose early morning near the summit of Cameron Pass.

The Crew

Larry - Big Smiles All Around