Well, after camping through one big storm, aborting two other packed-bags attempts due to sudden weather and/or illness, we finally got Gulaba.

With our friend Pepe recently arriving (and bringing that sunny Buenos Aires weather!), we figured the best way to get him acclimatized was to set camp at 3800m and ski our brains out! Mission successful (pictures). Our group consisted of four as while buying supplies in Manali, a clever Wasatch skier figured our gear and grocery shopping meant ski touring! After some quick conversation, Launce invited himself along stating he would try not to be a burden. Far from a burden, he benefited the group and we all had a magnificent time together.

After setting camp day one just after noon, we chilled in our largest lounge yet. Day two we headed east up the basin towards Gulaba Peak. Sure enough, once we reached the long south ridge, we observed another vast basin with a steep gulley below preventing easy access to the true Gulaba Peak. Content to stay focused on our original peak, Em led a steep bootpack up the summit ridge to our West Gulaba Peak, and a new personal elevation record of… we’re not totally sure. Our guide book called it 4600 meters, but my altimeter said 4350. So somewhere in between. Launce and I carried our skis to the top as I had eyed this ridge from camp, Solang, Patalsu’s summit, and knew there was currently enough snow on the ridge to slide from the top. On this summit, we observed what we’ve seen consistently from each high point here…endless more skiing opportunities.

The ski from the top was not super fluid but still very worthwhile. Pepe pulled out the video camera for the bulk of the descent…endless spring turns down the basin. Pepe has successfully gained sponsors from home (a special thanks for all the energy bars and carbo drinks!) and is putting together a video/article for his trip. Down in the basin and knowing that the spring snowpack was very stable, I was anxious to ski one of the steeper lines falling off a bordering ridge into the basin. Launce and I skinned to a prominent high knob and enjoyed some steeper turns. Back at camp, Em was still loving the ease of big mountain spring conditions and talked me into an afternoon tour up the north ridge. Ya, I was a tough sell. Following these fantastic turns, we laid down in the lounge and enjoyed gazing up at hundreds of white butterflies against a backdrop of royal blue sky with periodic white puffy clouds floating by. The butterflies were truly amazing as each afternoon around 2:00, the air seemed to fill with mainly white and some orange wings. As Robo or any avid flyfisherman would say, with excitement…”We’ve got a hatch.”

Day three brought more bluebird weather and this time the group endeavored the north ridge from its high point to low point. Skiing towards the right off the bottom of the ridge, we finally stopped (still with snow below us), after over 1000m of consistent turns. Launce scooted ahead of us on the tour back up to camp as he was going to exit that afternoon. The irony of this day was not only was it the first day we have seen other ski tourers, but we saw three other groups (fortunately all below us!). April is here! We have brought Launce and his newly arrived English ski friends to the Iceland. Launce is pretty dialed into the telemark tips forum and he gave me great news on the Alaska ski guide book I helped the Valdez Telehead get started. He said the book has received great praise from the community and special kudos from fellow guidebook authors such as Lou Dawson. Congrats Matt Kinney!!!!!!!!!!!

That afternoon I still had some energy and with the weather and conditions bomber, chose to go ski the south ridge above the basin. More tasty treats!

Day four we all had short morning skis before packing up. Pepe skied the south ridge solo with us finally doing the filming and Em and I had another lap on the north ridge. After some lounging and lunch, we threw the large packs on and enjoyed 1000m of spring turns down to the dirt line. Right as we hit the dirt line, we saw a base camp of three large tents and heard a voice yelling…”Emily…Trev.” Our Ski Village friends had set base camp, continuing to teach skiing and preparing for a ski contest ten days away. So, we accepted the traditional offering of chai and boasted some local culture to Pepe - a fitting end to a phenomenal ski trip.

Labels: India, Kullu Valley, ski touring