Matterhorn Peak, CA
The following week after Ruby Dome was all about resting my feet. If you know me, I am not a sandals guy. I have a weird set of toes that makes me trip and stub my toes. The thing is, I had already committed to skiing Matterhorn with Erik Schulte, along with an old friend from my days at Georgetown University, George Hoch. I couldn't back out! So sandals it was, 45 degrees, pale white feet, walking around everywhere in sandals while wearing a puffy jacket. It's called style people.
Fortunately, it all paid off. With a week and a half of solid rest, my feet healed up nicely, the mission was on, and the Wuru Wool was in my pack. The objective for this trip was to ski two lines if possible, but at the minimum, ski the East Couloir of Matterhorn Peak. The alternative option was to ski the West Couloir of Matterhorn in the event that the east side had too little snow. Ski Dreams would just be an added bonus if we had it in us.
The night before the ski-day, we hit the Buckeye Hot Springs near Bridgeport, CA; then continued towards Twin Lakes before we eventually pulled up to a meadow and picked a campsite. We probably could have gotten closer to the trailhead, but once we got there in the morning, we quickly realized that we made the right choice.
Matterhorn is the tallest peak (12,285ft) in the craggy Sawtooth Ridge which defines the Yosemite National Park boundary in that region. The ridge is strikingly beautiful and Matterhorn is the centerpiece of it all. The peak looks like a miniature version of Europes famed Matterhorn, and that is where Matterhorn Peak, CA gets its name from.
We got started around 7:30am from Horse Creek Falls trailhead, and boy were we late to the party. Right on time for the snow melt cycle, but late to the party based on the number of cars at the trailhead. Lots of frame bindings, lots of uncertainty amongst the crowds, Covid-19 sure did drive a whole new wave of people to the backcountry and it was quite evident as we made our way up to the base of Matterhorn.
Regardless of the crowds, it's impossible to not be enthralled by the beauty of the Sawtooth Ridge. It's one of those times where it is just best to accept what it is, and not the perfect image that I had drummed up in my mind. It's an awesome peak with easy access, of course there will be lots of people on a nice spring day, and I am just another person. In a way, I was delighted to see so many people getting after it and seeking enjoyment in these big snow covered mountains.
The snowpack was thin so we hiked in ski-boots for a mile or so before we gained the ridge and came to continuous snow in the flat areas. There was some swhacking involved but not too much. It was honestly some fast snow for a while since there had been a nice refreeze which made the snow firm. Firm enough that Schulte busted out the ski crampons which without a doubt made me jealous. In fact, I would never not take them with me again unless it was clearly a powder day. Anyway, after a few hours we passed a handful of people, the air warmed a lot, and the sun was shining on the beautiful rock that forms the Sawtooth Ridge. Ski Dreams was completely tracked out, and based on the groups levels of fatigue, we opted out, instead saving our energy for one awesome descent on either of the couloirs.
We took a little break to eat some food and then pressed on. I knew George was tired, but I knew it was well within his wheelhouse to continue on and ski the couloir. With this in mind, I took off without waiting too long at the break-point. Part of me felt like a jerk, because more rest might have helped the fatigue, but another group was marching forward, and one coming down. I wanted at the minimum to talk with the folks that just skied down the East Couloir so that I could get some real-time beta. When I reached them, I asked if there was anyone else in the couloir (we beat the other group out of the rest spot) and they said no. Then I asked about coverage and they said, very thin. This had me thinking, because the West Couloir was also an option. Since we know that both couloirs were empty, and one was thin, we opted to change plans and skip over to the West Couloir which was untracked and likely holding more snow than the east side.
We were all on radios together and ultimately after some conversation, we decided to head west. I was first into the couloir and was liking what I was stepping in. Sierra pow on a nice steep 40 degree slope. This was going to be fun! As we continued up, the group behind us opted for the East Couloir, and we were delighted to know that we would not have anyone else below us.
Our route up the couloir turned out to be a bit of a dog-leg in shape. The West Couloir is divided by a rock band, so two lower chutes merge to form the final length of the West Couloir towards the summit. Once I got to this intersection, I could see a group of people coming up the couloir from the other side of the rock band (north side). We were clearly going to beat them to the top, but how long would we then have to wait to ski? Luckily, they turned on the gas and met us at the top of the couloir quickly. I would say we waited 5-10 minutes which was fine and gave us ample time to transition. We didn't quite top out the couloir because the coverage was thin and it was clear that some blue ice was beneath the snow towards the thinner parts of the couloir. Simply not worth it to us.
When the other group joined us, they informed us that the side they had ascended was icy and not very fit for a proper ski descent. With this in mind, we decided to retrace our steps and ski back down to the spot we had rested at. The route the other group ascended was a longer straight fall-line, but this was set to be plenty fun and spicy. George dropped first and made some nice turns down the upper part of the couloir, then I took off, and Erik followed up the rear. The snow varied from awesome, to sharky, to so dense that it was hard to make a proper turn. Either way, we all had a fantastic time and enjoyed a hoot n' holler much of the way.
We finally all converged back where we had rested before the ascent and at that spot we met some friends of the group that we had met at the top. That crew was about to drop. We watched them descend and choose the chute they had booted up. We thought, "what the heck?" Why would they go there, they told us it was bulletproof! We laughed with their friends as they ripped beautiful pow all the way down the thing. Those sand baggers totally got us! We died of laughter and praised their wise strategy. Sometimes you just can't trust the beta or some older fellas with a wise strategy!
This whole day turned out to be awesome and it was great to cross off such a historical line. Plus, this made for a memorable day as it was my first time skiing with Erik and George on the Eastside.