Pinnacle’s Banana Couloir (NE)

2/28/26

After spending a month in Arizona floating the Grand Canyon, I returned to Alaska with little information on the snowpacks around the state. The weekend prior, Brian and I skied the Falls Lake couloir in decent conditions, and reports of Turnagain not skiing well after rain led me up to Hatcher Pass to see how the snow was up north. Aaron Maves had the idea to ski above Gold Cord lake, so we drove up to the Independence Mine parking lot early in the morning and began our walk.

As we neared the lake, the chutes we planned on skiing showed too many rocks to inspire us. We chose to continue up-valley to search for better conditions. Unfortunately, those conditions never appeared and we were left underneath Pinnacle peak still searching for a slope to enjoy. Looking across the valley from us, the north aspects looked marginally better than the southerlies we were on, so I pitched the idea of the Banana Couloir. I knew we could easily ascend the backside of the line, but it would put us into the Archangel drainage, far from our car. I pitched the idea to Aaron, and he said he was happy to hitch a ride.

We climbed the southwest face of Pinnacle towards where I visualized the couloir. As we crested over the col, a large cliff appeared beneath us. I had taken us too high on the mountain, but after dropping down the ridge a few hundred feet, we found the snow. Looking down the line, excitement built. The snow looked better than anything else we’d seen all day; however, the exit looked particularly sharky. We chatted through our options and decided to follow through with the plan.

I skied first to slowly evaluate the snow and give Aaron the oppurtunity to ski it top to bottom. We found a littl ebit of everything from firm and hardly edgeable snow to blower boot deep pow. The variability made it hard to calibrate for speed, but generally the conditions were passable. After we both skied the line, we began working our way through the boulder gardens beneath the couloir.

Miraculously, neither of us had any major incidents with the rocks. We held our elevation as long as we could until we were funneled down to the nordic track. We carried the speed that we could before skating the trail with great success back to the road. Once on the road, Aaron exercised his thumb and hitched a ride back up to Independence Mine in no time.

3/16/24

A group of friends from Montana made their way up to Alaska for their spring break. The plans were for them to get as much quality skiing as possible packed into the 9 days they had up here. This winter was not a great snow year for them back home, so they needed to fill their very empty stoke tanks, and to accomplish this, they headed into Hatcher Pass where there had been a long stretch of stable snow and blue skies. 

Unfortunately, I was unable to join them on their travels along the Bomber Traverse due to working at the resort. Luckily, I had a day off on the group’s last day skiing, and they had an objective for us to ski. As they exited the Bomber, the striking northeast couloir of Pinnacle Peak caught the groups eye, and with it only being a few miles from the Gold Mint parking lot, it seemed like a go for a quick morning trip.

We left from Anchorage around 6am and began towards Hatcher. We needed to get back to the car early enough to allow the boys time to pack up, they were flying out late the same night. Quiet roads got us to Hatcher quickly, and we began on the trail right as the sun generously blanketed the landscape in the first light of the morning. The trail out to the climb is an easy road, and allowed for great conversation to catch up with the group. It was here I realized my phone was in the car, meaning all the pictures in this post were provided by the very talented photographer, Nick Sramek. Be sure to check out his site and read his report on their Bomber Traverse.

At the end of the three mile jaunt out to the base of Pinnacle, we started our way up. The first climb was up to a glacial step that was similar to many others you find out in the area, something that makes Hatcher such fun skiing. After making our way across the step, we were at the base of the couloir. It was here we decided to toss the skis on the bag and begin the boot pack up. 

We had around 1300 feet to boot up and after breaking trail for others all winter, I was happy to fill in the back of the group full of strong skiers and take their steps to the top. This might have been my favorite boot pack of the whole season for this reason, nothing beats going into full blown client mode with a bunch of crushers. Next time I’ll see if I can have them carry my skis for me…

At the top of the couloir, we put our skis back on and drew straws for who was skiing first. One in our group didn’t participate in the conversation, and just began up an extra 50 feet to get an extra turn on a face. We all knew he earned it, so he dropped first and revealed the great snow quality to the rest of us by his emphatic “yew.” 

It seemed fair that I ski last; I have made plenty of turns on great, stable snow this winter and the boys needed it more than I did. I also practically cheated getting to the top by being in the back of the group, so I would ski last in exchange. I also have a tough time stopping mid line, so skiing last allowed me to go top to bottom; the best way to ski a line.

When my turn came, I began down and was met by somewhat firm snow, but mostly consistent. It wasn’t easy mindless skiing, but it wasn’t challenging skiing either. It was properly engaging, and a great sized couloir to allow for lots of fun without much pucker. I enjoyed each of my turns, finding small soft spots where sluff had fallen off the massive wall that loomed over the skiers left side of the couloir. The best turns were definitely at the bottom where the couloir opened up but the slope remained at the same angle. A few boot deep powder turns left me approaching the group with a massive grin on my face; this has turned into the norm for me up here in Alaska, maybe I’ll stay.

We grouped up at the bottom, exchanged knuckles, and began working our way back to the road to exit. The ski down the glacial step at the bottom of the couloir ended up being a good time with some party skiing mixed in, and when we reached the road we made the call to skate it out. I’m a big fan of leaving the skins in the bag when possible, and the hip flexors needed a workout. We made quick work of the road and were back to the car before 1pm. 

The mission was successful, and the group had more than enough time to get their things packed for their redeye flight. While this couloir was definitely not the highlight of their trip, I thoroughly enjoyed it and I think it made for the perfect objective for a day with a timeframe. I was just happy to get a day of skiing with a solid group, and I hope their visit sold them on joining me for a winter up here soon enough.

Remember to go check out all of Nick’s work whether that be behind the camera or behind the keyboard, he has some astonishing content on his page.