Terminal Cancer Couloir
Skiing bigger objectives was on our minds after several fun weekends out in the Tahoe region in the first months of 2023. Having seen Terminal Cancer in several ski films and YouTube videos we were inspired to go and check out the iconic line for ourselves and ski our first line from "The Fifty".
We drove out to Elko one Friday evening in March and planned to sleep in the car for the night so that we'd be as close to the route as possible the next morning, and be prepared for an early start. We managed to park quite far up the canyon road across the creek from Camp Lamoille, which was within 2km of the base of the couloir. Beyond this point was snow covered and impassible by car but would be an easy skin. After Kristi enjoyed a can of beans warmed by the fire we settled down for the night.
As we were settling down however we noticed headlights further up the road that had been there for hours were still there, and that two headlamps were moving around the area. Simultaneously we joked to each other that we didn't want to get axe murdered in the middle of the night. Laughing we tentatively turned off our lights and tried to get some sleep. What felt like seconds later we heard voices calling and there was a knock on the car. Being cocooned in a sleeping back with strangers knocking in the middle of the night isn't a comforting feeling but we opened the door anyway to address our visitors. It was a group of 4-5 locals who had been up the road spotting for deer but had managed to get their truck stuck in the snow filled ditch and needed assistance. They had no recovery gear and in the canyon there is no reception to call for help so we were the only people about. We offered them our avalanche shovels to help them dig out their truck, which they were extremely grateful for. Not feeling like getting out of bed and being involved in a vehicle recovery at 1am we let them take the shovels with the promise they would leave them by our car later that night. The next morning we woke up to our shovels returned, and a crisp Benjamin under the windshield wiper! I suppose that was compensation for the thrashed shape my brand new shovel was in...
Midnight shenanigans aside we were up later than we'd hoped but got up and going quickly to get on to the route. Skinning along the road is trivial and crossing the creek below the couloir was relatively simple. Within no time we were at the base and transitioning to boots and crampons to make the climb up the route.
The couloir gets to its full steepness quickly and maintains approximately the same ample the entire rest of the climb. The lower third of the climb is out of the main slot feature of the couloir and in more open terrain, the rest is in the ~12ft wide slot. Because of the tight terrain and direct slide path it's important to be aware of where other groups are in this feature. For us there was a group above us that was already descending when we were transitioning to boots, thankfully by the time we were starting our way up they skied by us and we had the entire route to ourselves for the rest of the morning.
Snowpack conditions were stable but firm, with very little new snow to speak of in the last week. This meant our primary concerns for the day weren't coming form the base snowpack but were moving snow, and slipping or falling on the steep hard terrain. Thankfully that morning the skies had been fairly clear but as we climbed clouds started to come in and obscure the view around us and the couloir above. Looking back at the photos now it's almost impossible to know whether they were taken looking uphill or downhill without the references of the canyon landscape in the background.
As we climbed this weather remained relatively benign with mild wind strength and only around an inch of fresh snow or wind blown snow movement by the time we reached the top. Nonetheless we kept an eye on conditions in case they were to change and we needed to make a quick retreat.
After what felt like the longest boot pack of our lives Kristi and I finally topped out the couloir, which doesn't actually top out the peak but ends in a notch between two peaks along the ridge. The terrain on the backside of this ridge looked like some good skiing too, something to remember and come back for in the future!
Standing in the exposed notch and trying to stay warm in the wind we quickly removed crampons and transitioned for the downhill. Thinking back on this order of operations I realise it would have been smart to have removed our skins at the bottom instead to make for a faster transition at the top! I had some difficulty removing my crampons and needed to remove my gloves to get the buckles and straps undone, which due to the wind, snow, and cold metal of the crampons cooled my hands down to the point of numbness almost immediately.
With our gear sorted and skis on we started the descent. Approximately 1 inch of new snow covering a hard packed base in a narrow slot couloir made for some surprisingly challenging skiing. The surface dust made the terrain look more forgiving than it was and we had to continually remind ourselves to ski carefully with each turn. Unfortunately these weren't the conditions to go full send on this iconic line.
Picking our way down was hard work and warmed us up quickly after the windy summit. My numb hands suddenly roared back to life and I experienced the worst "screaming barfies" I've ever had (thankfully I did not barf) and needed to stop to keel over while the pain passed and Kristi looked on in confusion. With that out of the way the rest of the descent was easy, if not repetitive and only marginally enjoyable thanks to the hard packed conditions.
Back at the bottom we were fully stoked to have succeeded in our strike mission on Terminal Cancer! Coming away from it I feel like this line is hard to get in the right conditions, but remains completely iconic because of its unique geological feature and ease of access.
