The first week of April 2023 provided increasingly good portside snow conditions. After several days of guiding and a couple rest days while it snowed, I had two fantastic personal days of many miles and 8000′ vert each up the East Francis Basin.

Day 1 started off promisingly blue, but clouds and light snow moved in later. Despite the clouds and snowfall, the high April sun and contrast of rock and forest prevented flat light and visibility remained very much acceptable.

I climbed the north couloir of Bob’s Knob, which I’d climbed and skied previously, but had not gone beyond the chute’s top out on the north ridge. Despite being within 12 hours of significant snowfall, the couloir had recently sluffed naturally and was now fully shaded providing me what I deemed as manageable passage. From the top of the couloir, I continued booting up the north ridge. After a short distance the north ridge widens and mellows and then can be skinned all the way back ~.4 miles to the summit. I skied off the summit, down the ridge, couloir, and moraine for ~3000′ of continuous vertical.

I then headed back up the moraine into the upper valley without a plan for what I’d do next. I’d consider options as I ascended. The East Francis couloir looked great, but despite being mostly in the shade at this time of day it did have the potential to shed fresh snow if the sun poked through and struck an auxiliary solar aspect . A series of exposed ramps also enticed, but were too unknown for this solo outing within 12 hours of significant snowfall.

I opted to head back to the pass, where there are a series of 2000′ vertical easterly chutes that drain into Sulphide Gulch. Given their predominantly easterly orientation, that the sun had struck these earlier in day before it become cloudy, they were now in the shade, there were no avalanche concerns other than surface instabilities within the recent snow, I’d only be exposed on the descent as I was dropping in from the top, and the cloudy day was preserving a final opportunity for powder in these chutes until next winter given their solar exposure; I gave one a go. It was great.

I looped back around to the East Francis Basin from Sulphide and got another great run in on the north shoulder of Bob’s Knob.

The next day I went back with my partner Jess for those exposed ramps I mentioned. Climbing up to the sub peak of Mt. Francis from which they drop, my plan was to ski down the east ridge from this sub peak to hit the ramp you don’t climb to access the peak first (preserving my booter for a second lap down the ramp that is climbed to access the peak). I missed my line into the ramp access from lower on the east ridge, so had to ski the access ramp first. This filled in about half my booter with deep sluff, so I’d have to put the work in again for a second lap. The sluff was heavy and fast, as there was a surprisingly dry and low density foot plus of recent snow on a 1F old snow surface.

I skied ~2000′ continuous vertical midway down into the East Francis Basin where it flattens and transitioned to go back for the ramp I missed the entry into. I made the spicy entrance on the second try and skied over 3000′ continuous vertical down below the East Francis Basin terminal moraine. Jess and I then went up for a final run down the north shoulder of Bob’s Knob, reusing my skin track from the day before.