Skywalker Couloir

A Summer Ski with Princess Leia at 13,000 Feet
Story and Photos by Matt McDonald for Mountain Logbook

Hikers look at us sideways on the Fourth of July Trail in Colorado's Indian Peaks Wilderness. My brother Chris and I must look crazed with our A-frame loaded skis and stuffed packs on a sweaty summer morning. But when we reach the turn for South Arapaho Peak and look up at Skywalker Couloir, a long white scar sliced into grey rock, the naysayers have long since been dropped.

We make camp in the fading sun of the year's longest day. A resident marmot tries to crash the dinner party as we sip Patrón and watch the sky turn pink. A rock tumbles down the couloir, splitting into three as it crashes into the wall. "That could be your head," I say to Chris. We laugh and choose sleep over staying up for a glimpse of the Super Moon.

A flawless dawn draws nine hikers to the couloir. Over steaming oatmeal, I stare anxiously at Skywalker. Smaller snowfields would make for a fun day. But the couloir is magnetic, and Chris' growing ambition stifles my doubt. We opt for the switchback-heavy, two-mile hike and rock scramble to the summit. There, I zip a softshell over my T-shirt and descend into Skywalker via the steep Princess Leia chute. I catch my breath and scan for rock fall. But the force is with us.

I carve adrenaline-pumping turns down the 50-degree start, hop the rock track, and stop for a breather between narrow walls. The descent pushes 1,900 vertical feet—and I thought ski season ended. We ski the apron for 50 yards before rocks force us to downclimb the talus back to camp. In less than eloquent terms, I heartily thank my brother for not letting me bail.

After the victory feast—local IPA and succulent pork at Nederland's Wild Mountain Smokehouse & Brewery—a woman on the street hollers: "You've got the wrong season." Chris doesn't understand her, and I laugh. Apparently we're lost—just two skiers in June.