This is a trip report about a day trip a group of VOCers did while on Ross Campbell’s fantastic 2022 Burns n’ Turns trip… if you want to read about Burns n’ Turns go find !
Camped outside Phelix Hut after a -19ºC night. Photo: Declan Taylor
On Sunday, some of us decided to attempt Peregrine Peak, and get in some nice North-aspect skiing. We’d heard that North aspects were sluffy but soft while South aspects were crunchy, so we opted for the sluff and (hopefully) better skiing. Devon Lister, Kaylie Robinson, Melina Metzner, Kate Phil, Jacob Aragones, Ethan Somji, and I left the hut after a relaxed breakfast. We skinned up to the upper lake in the morning sun. I was grateful for the warmth on my face – these high-pressure systems have been cold! We crossed the upper lake and skinned up through the trees on the SE side. As we climbed up a small roll, Devon and Ethan dug a pit. Our result (CT14) made us cautious, but us (and another group) dug some more pits higher up (more representative of what we were going to ski) with happier results.
We climbed higher, and sure enough, things were sluffy. The slope which climbs to the col between Frodo and Peregrine gets steeper at the top. I set the skin track, slamming each ski into the crust with everything I had. It was boilerplate, and occasionally when the freshies on top slid, my ski would completely give way. This slope always feels a little exposed to me, and I was wishin’ for my ski crampons. Shitty side-hilling aside, we got to the col and enjoyed magnificent views of Tolkien, Birkenhead, and the Birkenstock Couloir. We had a chat about route options and objectives, and decied Tolkien was too far, and Frodo was too close – Peregrine was our goldilocks! Tolkien will be saved for another day though… the big open bowls on the N side of Tolkien look AMAZING. After a snack in the sun, we began to bootpack the West ridge. We carried our skis because the first bootpack can be skied down, and the ridge mellows out above, so it’s possible to skin a while further.
Jacob skinning up on the ridge.
There’s a bump on the West shoulder which offers an excellent view of the final bootpack before the rolling summit plateau. As a group we paused there and had a conversation about options. Some folks were not interested in doing this second bootpack – it’s more exposed and has more rock mixed in with the snow. It was getting cloudy, and we worried that visibility was going to deteriorate. Not wanting to squander the fresh snow down below in flat light, Devon, Melina, and Kate opted to call that bump their summit and ski back down. They got some great laps! Ethan, Kaylie, Jacob and I opted to try the bootpack and see if the snow was solid enough to make a comfortable climb, hoping the weather would hold out. The clouds cleared a bit, and the snow was solid! We went generally right of the cliff bands at the top of the bootpack, and found a route up which was not excessively steep or exposed.
Starting the final bootpack by dropping off the bump where we ditched our skis. Photo: Declan Taylor
Jacob A coming up the final bootpack. Photo: Declan Taylor
The summit is a bit of a plateau with a few rolls before the obvious summit. The cornices on the North side of the ridge were massive and something climbers should be constantly aware of. The true summit was not too heavily corniced and we got to look over the cliffs on the North side of the ridge into the bowl below the peak.
Ethan on a very deceptive summit-esque bump on the Peregrine Ridge… there was another 100m (distance) along the ridge to a slightly higher bump! Photo: Declan Taylor
Declan on the summit! Photo: Kaylie Robinson
After lunch we booted back down to our skis, and skied down to the Peregrine-Frodo col. From there, it was fresh tracks all the way down to the lake!
Ethan, Kaylie, and Jacob heading back along the summit ridge towards the upper bootpack. Photo: Declan Taylor
Kaylie on the bootpack down. Photo: Declan Taylor
We did a second lap which was originally going to be on Return of the King, though we ended up descending climbers-right off the ridge back to the upper lake because we were worried about avalanches and sluff management in the gully. An added bonus of our choice is that the face off that ridge (essentially above Cabin Hill) is a boulder field, and we got to watch Ethan’s skiing prowess as he flew off several pillowy features. Overall, this was one of my favourite days on skis this year! We benefited from good group communication, stable sunny weather, and generally good snow. Ethan and I hit a wicked jump on the first run down, which was the biggest thing I’d hucked on skis – also a great feeling!
Peregrine has amazing views and is a worthwhile climb! We wondered in slightly more avy-stable conditions if one could ski off the N shoulder of Peregrine down the steeps on that side – a wicked line! Something to explore on another trip I suppose.
Thanks again to Ross for organizing an incredible Burns n’ Turns trip!
Peregrine looks very nice! I’d like to go to Tolkien someday too.
He isn’t joking when he says he “hit a wicked jump on the first run down, which was the biggest thing I’d hucked on skis”. I happened to be below it at the time looking in the right direction. Buzz light year has much to learn from one Declan Taylor, this was bona-fide flight!