Life on the Edge
The Vitals elev.~10,000
Rock- Igneous Skiing vertical- 1,600
feet
click here for winter
photos
Click here for Topo
Map
Life on the Edge is a great line for a number of reasons. The terrain offers a number of possibilities, from consistent fall line open bowl skiing to technical cliff hopping. The access is relatively easy. It can be done from Carson Pass or quite easily as a loop from Kirkwood. It's good in winter conditions but really plays well in spring. Plus it's got a great log/tree combo for lunch after you ski it. The line is located behind (south side) the Sisters and is accessed by ascending the Carson Pass side of Round Top to the saddle betwen Round Top and the Sisters. You then scramble across the rock/snow to the left of the Sisters until you reach here. That's always the scary part for me as I hate traversing steep loose rocks in ski boots. Take a deep breath (with or without additives) and choose your line. You can start from where you are or head out the ridgeline. The further you go the more technical it gets, but you also lose vertical and in winter conditions you also are heading towards more wind affected snow. At the bottom you want to end up at the gnarled lunch tree across the shallow basin which is more easily accessed by skiing down from where you accessed the ridgeline. After a break head up to the saddle between Fourth of July Peak and the Sisters and out either to Carson Pass or Kirkwood. Heading back to Kirkwood there are several more yo-yo lines you can do on the way back, but you've always got to keep high left to avoid the Caples Lake drainage.
When entering the backcountry, proper precautions should be taken, including avalanche beacon and the know-how to use it, shovel, compass, friend, weather information, and common sense. Click here for avalanche
info. Click here for Avalanche Beacon Products and Information.
Ride Aware, It's Big out there.
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