Peak ski descents without avy exposure

[ellenmseb]

it can be fun to ski some peaks that are 99.9% avy free, then you don't have to worry about partners or the forecast. Surprisingly this seems relatively rare, given how gentle many CO peaks are, but often you cross a short section of >30deg terrain. What avy-safe ski descents do you know of?

I'll start:

[*] Quandary NE bowl * - Great continuous ski, it barely touches 30deg, I personally was comfortable solo skiing it on a Low forecast spring day
[*] James Pk St mary's glacier * - Another great continuous ski. Very windy. Took me 3 attempts due to wind. obvious avy terrain is avoidable, stay on st mary's glacier
[*] Flattop (12er) banana bowls - I want to do this as a ski descent from the south side couloirs (which *are* avy terrain). Last time i climbed dragon's tail and walked down the trail which was terrible becuase it has too many switchbacks but if you cut them, you'll be postholing. Skiing would be better.
[*] Squaretop - This one kind of sucks because you have to go over a bunch of dirt "humps" if you start from the north side of guanella pass. South side would be better.. if the road wasn't closed 6 miles away.
[*] Bierstadt - Haven't done it, I went up Saturday and it wasn't filled in so did squaretop instead. Seems like it's pretty rare to fill in (west facing)
[*] North star mountain

Any others?

[JacobW]

Ruby Gulch on Grays, the East Face of Buffalo, and the South Slopes of Sherman come to mind. Ruby Gulch and Sherman might show pockets of >30º, but it's pretty avoidable... the bigger risk is that there just might not be snow on either of those.

[JacobW]

Oh, forgot the angel of Shavano, certainly classic.

[Scary_Canary]

Dyer across from Sherman is a real fun one, and very little avy danger. The road can be a little bit of a B on the way out, especially since the winter closure has changed. But overall a great option

[ellenmseb]

Oh, forgot the angel of Shavano, certainly classic.

Ive been curious about this one. Looks like the route itself is on a 31deg slope (borderline) and is directly below a 36deg south-facing slope (more than borderline). has that slope been known to slide?

Looking for things that are so clearly *not* avy terrain that I can do them on days where I cant find a partner and without worrying about being down early before the wet slides.

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[cottonmountaineering]

Mosquito peak SE ridge/slope is a good one

[Gueza]

Mt. Elbert East Ridge

[SnowAlien]

Pennsylvania
Dyer from the West
Evans B
Homestake

[Jorts]

Helen. You have to avoid the short gully at the base by going skiers right at the bottom though.
Silver Heels
Hoosier and the Reds

Many of the mountains that can be skied with virtually no avy hazard require somewhat convoluted routes up and down.

[justiner]

There were two deaths from triggering an avalanche on North Star last year

[JacobW]

There were two deaths from triggering an avalanche on North Star last year

That was a pretty isolated wind feature, sticking to the ridge should avoid that terrain. But yes, I guess that mean that there is avalanche terrain on the east ridge of North Star.

[lodgling]

it can be fun to ski some peaks that are 99.9% avy free, then you don't have to worry about partners or the forecast.
...

Looking for things that are so clearly *not* avy terrain that I can do them on days where I cant find a partner and without worrying about being down early before the wet slides.

Since your post mentions wet slides, I am going to assume you are considering spring missions. If that is the case, I would suggest that you may be looking at this the wrong way. Once Colorado is into a spring snowpack, to me the whole equation gets very simplified such that all you need to really worry about is the forecast -- clear skies overnight and an alpine start. When you start your climb and your descent is one element that you have full control over. On the other hand, if you are picking your routes solely on the basis of slope angle, you are going to risk spending alot of time wallowing in the forest or on low-angle ski routes following weak freezes. Also, getting down before the wet slides should always be considered critical as many routes will have micro features or even road cuts that could catch you off guard with potentially bad outcomes in terrain traps. Sleep is overrated -- get an alpine start on a clear night. Sunrises in the alpine are an underrated bonus of safe spring skiing.

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