Hopeful Couloir - Ski

Date: 5/7/2021
Partners: Jeremy Miller, Joel Racicot
Trailhead: Sheep Gulch
Summits: Mount Hope, Quail Mountain
Distance: 9m
Elevation Gain:5250ft
Duration: 7hrs 30m
GPX

Hopeful Couloir and the Quail's Tail are two fun lines with great views of lakes and mountains. We hiked about 1500ft on the Colorado Trail before hanging our shoes in a tree and skinning the rest of the way to Hope's summit. Caveat: You will need ski crampons to skin to the summit... otherwise bring boot crampons. After skiing Hopeful Couloir we traversed over to Quail's west ridge and booted the summer trail to the summit. We skied the Quail's Tail(just west of the summit) in soft corn back to the tree where we had left our shoes earlier in the day. Pairing these two lines from Sheep Gulch is a great bang for the buck as the miles and vertical go easyily. The trail is smooth and there no bushwhacking... what are you waiting for?

Photos: Alex & Jeremy