Last week Luca, Cedric and i headed over to italy to Monte Viso. Luca had been told that the coolidge couloir was in condition and was keen to go as it had never been snowboarded before. Neither me or Cedric had ever heard of the line but it turned out to be one of the best decents i have ever had. It had everything, some technical skiing on hard snow, some big powder turns, loads of exposure and some mandatory rappels over the 1100m of decent! Some of Cedric’s great photos are below.
The Coolidge couloir on Monte Viso
Me(left) Cedric(center) and Luca(right) in my van
walking to the snow line
Our first view of Monte Viso coming out of the clouds
The bivi and start of the couloir
The sun coming up over the bivi
Climbing the couloir
Half way up
Luca approaching a narrow crux to pass the ice
Me skiing in the spindrift after passing a rocky section
Me in spindrift again
Luca passing the ice without rappel
Me after the ice crux where the couloir opens for some great skiing
Sustained and steep but in good snow
Fun turns in great conditions here
Luca passing the final rocky crux before the easy exit
Me about to enter the same crux
Ben Briggs 