Sinnes Couloir (Mount Athelstan)

May 18, 2025

The mystique of this couloir held out until we were already booting up the guts of it. We still hadn’t had a clear view of the line and had little idea of what to expect. The route getting named “Kiss of Death” by a climber, we were expecting a technical and demanding ski line.

After car camping the night before we started hiking in the morning up the remaining stretch of Salal Creek FSR. On the road we saw fresh cougar and grizzly tracks. We were on alert after seeing a young grizzly the night before.

We found a thin break in the trees between the FSR and a slide path. With the stable spring conditions we opted to skin through the slide path for faster access to the line.

Getting into the couloir itself, we were struck by the spectacular position. The walls extended over 100m into the clouds. Looming magical towers, we booted up towards a bright orb in the fog. The place felt otherworldly.

After a quad burning 600m bootpack we stepped over onto the rim. It’s worth noting the large cornice that overhangs the climbers right side of the couloir by the exit. The clouds moved in thick as we gained the rim, no view of the summit, and no view of the valley.

After waiting fruitlessly for 30mins to see if the clouds would clear, we dropped back into the couloir. The moist spring snow was punchy, but fun. It effortlessly held and edge, but could also grab your skis if you left your guard down. We continued down through slushy snow on the open slopes below the couloir.

Overall it was a spectacular ski. An absolutely grand couloir. You have enough space to ski it however you like. The Couloir proper is 600m and offers a 1300m ski run from the summit rim. It could also be easily linked to the summit of Athelstan which stands proud at 2800m tall (another 200m above the rim).

The couloir is on the west side of Mount Athelstan and is best accessed by Salal Creek FSR. Winter access would likely require a sled as it is 50km from the nearest paved road and the FSR gets gated in the winter, in the spring it can be driven once the gate is open. Additionally in the spring (Apr 1- Jun 15) there is a motorized vehicle closure on the final stretch of Salal Creek FSR to protect grizzly habitat.