East East Peak of Red: What Big Eyes You Have
On May 28, 2007, Dave Bourassa skied this solo. Two friends were going to join him but the group got separated and the friends ended up at Red Buffalo Pass. I was positioned on the trail on the opposite valley with a telephoto lens and got the following photos. Dave let out a large whoop at the bottom! He reports it as being a consistent 40-45 degrees, with the most striking aspect being how deeply cut the couloir is. The difficulty here is the narrowness, and knowing that it is nicely filled in. A week later Joe Kramarsic climbed it from the bottom. Here is a shot of the line before Dave jumped in.
Timeline: Dave's group started at 6:10. Dave summited at 10:40. I arrived at the photo spot at 9:30. Dave dropped in at 1:15. So I was at the photo spot for four hours. But, all said and done, it was worth it! One week later Joe Kramarsic camped out near the photo spot, climbed the couloir using boots and axe (no crampons) the next morning, and descended Little Red Riding Hood. He reports that the couloir is 1900 feet long and is the most esthetic such feature in the entire Gore Range.
Here is a view of the Big Eyes line in context, with Little Red Riding Hood to the left.
And here Dave approaches the steep and narrow section.
Here's the view from behind the retina. Photo by Dave Bourassa.
A trip report appeared at Teton Gravity Research (http://www.tetongravity.com/forums/showthread.php?t=86368) and also a photo appeared in the Summit Daily News of Saturday, June 2, 2007.
On June 14, 2008, Andy Dimmen and friends climbed and skied it and found perfect conditions. He has now skied it multiple times and writes: "It is hard to capture just how inset the couloir is. It is truly the stuff of dreams." Some images of their ascent and descent follow.
