The Notchtop Couloir is one of the better known steep ski descents of Rocky Mountain National Park and deservedly so as it lives up to it's reputation on a yearly basis; typically it's in great skiing shape from March until June. The couloir's consistent angle and dramatic location combine together for an ascent and descent that will keep you on your toes.
A view of the Notchtop Couloir which sits directly between Knobtop Mountain and Ptarmagin Point on an east spur of the Continental Divide just east of the Ptarmagin Glacier. This south-facing aspect is in one of the windiest valleys in the region and so lee-loading can be a concern much of the year.
Looking at the south face of Notchtop Mountain with the Notchtop Couloir in red. On the east face of Ptarmagin Point is the Ptarmagin Headwall with a couple of nice ski lines in blue including the Ptarmagin Glacier on far right which is the lowest angle of all of these slopes at about 30 degrees in steepness.
Skinning up the east face of Flattop Mountain and then traversing along the Continental Divide and over Ptarmagin Point is one of the approach options to reach the top of the Notchtop Couloir (in green).
The other approach option is to ski into and up the Odessa Gorge from the Bear Lake trailhead (9400') and then past Lake Helene and Notchtop Spire to the base of the couloir at approx. 11,000' and make the climb-up from here.
The couloir averages between 40 and 50 degrees for it's duration and a cornice can form at times along it's western edge. This couloir also tends to be cross-loaded from the prevailing westerly winds although it's southerly aspect correlates to a positive, heat-strengthening effect in the winter. So it can go from dangerously loaded to heat-blessed stability to heat-softened instability in a matter of hours or less!
The Notchtop Couloir is most often done as an April or May descent as backcountry travelers want to take advantage of the strengthening snowpack that a prolonged freeze-thaw-freeze cycle can produce by this time of the year.
Timing along with skiing ability are the keys to success in this "no-fall terrain" that requires expert abilitity in both judging the snow stability and it's suitability for skiing. The "corn-window" can often be short and in the spring- early. Reaching the top of this couloir by 9 or 10am may be necessary for a safe and smooth descent and arriving late is not an excuse for getting hurt or worse.
This is the good stuff and with an average of a 4 hour approach and 1.5 hr. descent to the car, you still have plenty of daylight left for your other extra-curricular activities.
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