Combatant Couloir, Mount Combatant
The snow level in the couloir has dropped 15 feet since it was last skied 20 years ago. Sobering. // [o] @bjarnesalen
Elevation: 12323’ 3756m
Aspect: South
Vertical: 3000’
Coordinates: 51°10’32”N 125°14’30”W
First descent: Hare
“The Combatant Couloir is one of the most striking lines in the Waddington Range. From a basecamp at Combatant Col, myriad opportunities exist for ski mountaineers in the Waddington and Tiedmann Groups.” (FCSDofNA)
“If you’re not in the arena also getting your ass kicked, I’m not interested in your feedback.”
Nestled at the base of the highest mountain entirely in BC, Canada-- Mt. Waddington-- lies a perfect couloir. A white ribbon knifed through colossal granite towers set among an ocean of ice and snow.
While Mt. Waddington is a prize for mountaineers, the Combatant Couloir is a prize for ski mountaineers. But what if the mountains, the ice and the permanent snow has changed so much, that exactly what defines the Combatant as perfect, is no longer true?
Joined by professional freeskier Nick McNutt, the FIFTY crew heads up to one of the stormiest, windiest and what local legend Mike King describes as "One of the worst places on the planet" to ski a line that looks classic, but may not be classic anymore.