West Face Gallatin Peak
Hiking Trail
Easy
0.6 mi
0 ft
Open, rock strewn line off a very aesthetic summit
The West face of Gallatin Peak is very rarely skied due to its distance from any trailhead. It is a 40+ degree, 1000 feet hourglass like line that bends right, then drops for another 500 feet into the head of Hellroaring creek. The upper snowfield has lots of rocks poking out of the snow, so pay attention and ski slow. The choke is about 20 feet wide for 200 feet before it opens up wide down into a small upper basin. The basin rolls over for about 500 more feet of 40+ degree skiing down towards Thompson Lake. The West face gets hammered by the wind, and cannot be skied all the time - you must have safe conditions to ski the line. Mid-winter after a couple east winds would be the best bet for coverage. Access the West face of Gallatin by hiking to the head of Beehive Basin. Drop into the Mirror lake basin to the north-west, and climb out towards Summit lake. Ski down to the bottom of the West face and ascend from here. Head back the way you came in. Total distance one way is about 5 miles. Written by Charlie Boscoe
The West face of Gallatin Peak is very rarely skied due to its distance from any trailhead. It is a 40+ degree, 1000 feet hourglass like line that bends right, then drops for another 500 feet into the head of Hellroaring creek. The upper snowfield has lots of rocks poking out of the snow, so pay attention and ski slow. The choke is about 20 feet wide for 200 feet before it opens up wide down into a small upper basin. The basin rolls over for about 500 more feet of 40+ degree skiing down towards Thompson Lake. The West face gets hammered by the wind, and cannot be skied all the time - you must have safe conditions to ski the line. Mid-winter after a couple east winds would be the best bet for coverage. Access the West face of Gallatin by hiking to the head of Beehive Basin. Drop into the Mirror lake basin to the north-west, and climb out towards Summit lake. Ski down to the bottom of the West face and ascend from here. Head back the way you came in. Total distance one way is about 5 miles. Written by Charlie Boscoe