Ute Peak, Ute Tube
From a flat area just north of the northern sub-summit of Ute Peak there is a very prominent avalanche path, well visible from the east end of the Ute Pass Road. On March 24, 2006, Katie Larson, Elke Dratch, Chet Roe, and I climbed to its top by the normal route from Ute Pass (after leaving a car near where we thought we would come out) and skied down. There was a very large cornice at the top, but it was easily avoidable and on this day the gully was full of stable powder. It was the finest March ski descent I have ever done. The ski down to the road was no problem but, to our surprise, we ended up on the wrong road! We were on the private, unmapped road to Henderson Mill instead of the county road where the car was. Oops. But we recovered, with help from some mine personnel, who were friendly, while reminding us we were on their property. There is one public right-of-way through, and we were very close to it, but not exactly on it. This area offers excellent north-facing skiing at or near tree-line, so is a fine, if underused, mid-winter destination. This particular route offers about 3000 feet of downhill, with half of it or more in the excellent open slopes of the chute. (Photo by Katie Larson)
A year later Katie and Elke did a run down from the summit of Ute first, then traversed over and skied this one. So the naming now is: Ute Chute for the higher run they did and Ute Tube for this one.
