Catamount Peak East Face: An All-Time Descent

The east face of Catamount Peak is a Rogers Pass steep skiing classic. The absolutely massive face offers a sustained 40-50° descent that lasts for more than 400m. Don’t let those numbers intimidate you, it looks a hell of a lot steeper than it actually is when seen from the top. The ascent meanders through the Connaught and Cougar Valleys. You top out by climbing a straightforward ridge that’s often windswept and icy. I heavily recommend bringing along your ski/boot crampons and an ice axe for this one. It’ll just make the final ascent up the ridge faster and safer. While the route can be shortened by skiing through an alpine, exposed sneak that’s impossibly rocky, steep and solar, we followed a more conservative route through the Cougar Valley from Balu Pass. If you’ve got the endurance for long days out in the mountains, give this one a go!

This route is located within a Winter Restricted Area (WRA) governed by the Winter Permit System of Glacier National Park. Check the WRA status before travelling through it.

WRA STATUS

PERMIT SYSTEM

two ski mountaineers touring up catamount pass — Freddy and Ryan, putting in an uptrack to Catamount Pass. Photo: The Uptrack

Report from January 25, 2022

Freddy, Ryan, and I started our day at the mouth of the Connaught Drainage, climbing along its named creek. After a couple hours of icy side-hilling, we reached the top of Balu Pass with Catamount Peak finally in view. What a beauty! The E-SE face was glistening in the early morning sun.

ryan and freddy ski touring towards balu pass — Ryan and Freddy, touring up Balu Pass in good weather. Photo: The Uptrack

We did a quick transition and slid down the west aspect of Balu Pass, meandering through trees and a series of small gullies. We eventually found one that seemed to fan out into the bottom of the Cougar Valley. The descent was difficult, flying over giant golf balls and avalanche debris. We knew what was silently waiting overhead, the wide Ursus Major South Bowl.

two skiers traversing the south bowl of ursus major mountain — The boys, traversing the complex gullies below Ursus Major South Bowl. Photo: The Uptrack

It’s worth mentioning we avoided using the alpine sneak that traverses through the bowl into Catamount Pass. The snowpack just wasn’t right for the exposed, solar sneak. A few extra vertical meters are a small price to pay for safety.

close up view of the catamount pass sneak from ursus major south bowl — The Catamount Pass sneak from Ursus Major South Bowl. Steep, rocky, ultra-exposed! Photo: The Uptrack

After the rough ski down the gully, we reached Cougar Brook, winding its way down Cougar Valley. This was my first time down there. We walked along the spectacular creek. The Cougar Peaks rose high in the sky, offering epic couloirs and massive north-facing descents. I’ll have to come back here for a camping trip.

two ski tourers walking along cougar brook — Freddy and Ryan, walking along Cougar Brook on our way to the Catamount Peak East Face. Photo: The Uptrack

After checking our GPS maps, we veered north and started the long ascent up the Catamount South Bowl. We traded the hot seat, trail-breaking through sun-affected snow and avoiding most of the overhead exposure as best as we could. A few hundred meters late, we gained a wide bench, away from any avalanche hazard, where we took a break.

freddy walking up a snowfield with cheops mountain in the back — Freddy, picking up the pace on a cozy bench within the Catamount South Bowl. Cheops Mtn in the distance. Photo: The Uptrack

We navigated the gentle alpine grade, scoping out the exposed sneak overhead. This one’s no joke. You’ve really gotta be 100% sure of your snowpack stability when you commit to the sneak. Eventually, Catamount Pass got in view. Freddy carved an uptrack through the thin, rocky face, slamming his edges on the windboard.

close up of catamount east face — A close-up view of the Catamount Peak East Face and its south bowl below. Photo: The Uptrack

From the pass, we could distinguish a few large glide cracks just below the summit cornices. In spring, those unstable cracks will eventually widen until the whole face rips. You don’t want to be in the area when that happens.

alternate close up of catamount peak east face — The Catamount Peak East Face. Glide cracks and steep skiing. Photo: The Uptrack

We strapped our skis to our packs, mounted our crampons and began the 300m ascent up the east ridge. We alternated breaking the bootpack trail through a mix of faceted snow and windboard. It was hard work but luckily did not last long and wasn’t too steep. We just kept our heads down and put one foot in front of the other. The climb granted us a good view of our upcoming descent.

two skiers chilling by catamount pass — The boys, carving a bootpack trail up the east ridge of Catamount Peak

two skiers climbing the snowy catamount east ridge — The boys, carving a bootpack trail up the east ridge of Catamount Peak

After much effort on the StairMaster, we almost reached the summit of Catamount Peak. We were stumped by the corniced, knife-edge ahead that disappeared into a steep face on both sides. Fred and Ryan weren’t up for it so we clipped in our bindings a few meters from the summit. In any case, a descent from the true summit would involve a whole lot of exposure and cutting the south-facing cornice.

black and white shot of a man standing in front of the sun after climbing the east ridge of catamount peak — Ryan, taking in the views near the summit of Catamount Peak. Photo: The Uptrack

The descent was absolutely epic. The all-time snowpack stability combined with the preserved boot-top powder made for a grand experience. We all carved long arcing turns down the huge face, now covered in the peak’s own shadow. I happen to try out a brand-new setup for the first time. The skis felt like a natural extension of my legs. As I was way too concentrated on the setup’s performance, I almost clipped a small rock, barely sticking out of the snow. I ended up skipping over it mid-turn! It all worked out.

freddy slashing a big turn on skis down the east face of catamount peak — Freddy, slashing the first turn down the Catamount Peak East Face. Photo: The Uptrack

We regrouped below the face out of harm’s way. From our perch, we evaluated the terrain below and concluded that we could traverse a narrow band of snow between two cliff bands to gain the Ursus Major South Bowl. This shortcut would minimize our elevation loss and shorten our return trip. Otherwise, we’d have to drop to valley bottom and climb back up to Balu Pass.

overview of route to catamount east face — An overview of our route to and from Catamount Peak East Face. Photo: The Uptrack

We continued down a mellow tongue of snow between two alpine mounds, aiming straight for the shortcut. While I expected a little bit of wind effect on the surface, the snow was surprisingly well preserved, albeit denser.

two skiers carving tracks down catamount east face — The crew, heading for the shortcut. Our uptrack is visible down in the alpine flats. Photo: The Uptrack

Once more, we transitioned for our last uphill section. We traversed a series of steep gullies and zig-zagged up an elongated shoulder below Ursus Major Mtn. It was late afternoon by then and the snowpack had cooled and locked up. The evening sunlight really brought out the best of this spectacular landscape.

two skiers scoping out a path through ursus major south bowl — Freddy and Ryan, planning our route back to Balu Pass. Photo: The Uptrack

We ripped off our skins and contoured the eastern end of the Ursus Major South Bowl, maintaining our elevation as best as we could. Any loss in elevation would have to be recouped on the last stretch to Balu Pass. We ended up having to side-step for a hot second to gain the famous pass. From our vantage point, we raced down Connaught Creek and back to our vehicle as the sun vanished behind the mountains. Another one for the book!