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Peak(s):  Mt. Bross  -  14,178 feet
Date Posted:  02/11/2007
Modified:  12/03/2009
Date Climbed:   02/11/2007
Author:  doumall
 Bross Winter Summit Ski Descent   

Route:
-Start at Moose Creek near Quartzville TH
-Ascent of Moose Creek Drainage to Bross Summit
-Ski Descent of East Slopes

Stats:
-Elevation Climbed: 3,000'
-Elevation Skied: 2,800'
-Mileage RT: ~6.5 miles


The Ascent:

Fritz, Prakash and I drove from Denver and after meeting Andrew in Frisco, a strong skier recently transplanted from Jackson Hole, we drove to the east slopes of Bross. Our trailhead was a plow burm on a dirt road near Moose Creek. The weather was nice down low, a balmy 20 degrees. The wind was kicking up high. The skin up to tree line was quick.

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Skiing up to tree line on Bross east slopes

The ski route looked pretty good and scenics were nice so spirits were high.

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Fritz below the east face/gully on Bross

I decided to head straight up the gully for some recon, while the rest of the group took a shortcut. Here is the recon:

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Lower Moose Creek Gully

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Middle Moose Creek Gully

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Upper Bowl of Moose Creek Gully

You can barely make out what looks like sastrugi in the upper left side of the bowl. Thats actually an old fracture line. We found a large amount of debri in the bottom of the bowl, so beware, this baby slides.

The group was moving well up to this point...
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Prakash, Andrew and Fritz climbing to higher places

The elevation went slower, and slower and slower. We all had reasons for feeling not so strong this day but we all made it. The weather was interesting today. Roller ball snow you usually only see in the fall and spring accompanied by high temps for winter (maybe -10 degree windchill). The only thing normal was the 40-50mph winds always found on Bross in winter. After playing in the wind for a bit...

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Fritz on the summit in near whiteout conditions

...we made our way over to the east side of the summit plateau for the ski descent. While this wasn't from the exact summit, its good enough for me as the skiing between here and the summit is flat as a pancake. This is the second time I have skied Bross, although not from the exact summit. I have no desire to come back. Getting ready was interesting. If you put anything on the ground such as an open pack or helmet, it would instantly fill with roller balls. Anything unsecured would be a lucky find for someone in Kansas.

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Looking down the line

The skiing was okay; we found some fun stuff in the grass.

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Fritz skis the final above treeline pitch

Looking back:
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Thumbnails for uploaded photos (click to open slideshow):
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