Spoon Couloir

Grand Teton National Park- March 1, 2025

Trip Stats (Click here)

Trip Distance: 13.76 miles 

Total Vert: 5,846 ft.

Travel Type: Backcountry Skiing

Backcountry Partner: @benjamminmtns

The discovery of interesting and motivating objectives has always been one of my favorite parts of the mountaineering world. Sometimes it comes from an acquaintance on the trail or at a climbing gym. Sometimes it comes from seeing the side of a mountain from just the right angle and it leaves you wondering if its possible. Sometimes it comes from a well written guide book. And sometimes it comes while from blogs like this one, or YouTube videos. Anyway it comes, I believe half the fun of getting outdoors is the planning and dreaming.

I remember years ago, sitting in a dark, underground, computer lab at my local university with one of my best ski buddies Ben. We were both pouring over maps of the Tetons and surrounding ranges on Caltopo, showing each other the dreams and routes we had conceived. The ones we had done and the many yet to be tried. The stoke was high. That wasn’t where our friendship and love of the mountains started, but that ambition and friendship would continue into dozens of mountain days.

More than half a decade after that evening under the dimly lit computer lab fluorescents, we were sitting behind another dim glow, this time it was the weak headlights of an old Subaru, just like we had done so many times before. I don’t remember how I heard about the Spoon couloir in the first place but it had been on my tick list for years, and with little-to-no coercion Ben was right there in the passenger seat again staring at the dark pre-dawn pass roads.

The adventure started off with us leaving home well before dawn; making the pilgrimage into Grand Teton National Park. Because of a typical Teton inversion the morning was much more frosty than expected with temperatures down into the low single digits. The pink dawn was just about to break as Ben and I loaded our packs and started down the trail. With Taggart Lake Trailhead being the end of the road in GTNP during the winter, the skin track was a veritable, four-lane highway of ice with few skiers finding their way to different spring couloir lines of their own.

I had been struggling with fitness during the previous months while my ski buddy had been absolutely shredding his way through trail runs and skin tracks for over a year, so he took the lead and helped pull me on my way even when I was feeling run down. (This would be the pattern for most of the day.)

Before long we arrived and crossed Bradley lake. Leaving any final skin track acquaintances behind we started the climb upward toward the hidden Amphitheater Lake where Spoon couloir is majestically nestled. The climb to the lakes was relatively uneventful other than the rapid change in temperature we experienced. In the first couple hours of climbing the icy, single-digit dawn gave way to a sunny March morning and the snow conditions started to really change as we passed 8000′. I was climbing pretty slow at this point and few soft sections of snow made me hustle a little harder toward the goal.

After multiple hours and 3000 feet of climbing the terrain flattened and we crossed Surprise and then Amphitheater Lakes. The latter is positioned near the foot of our Spoon of choice. With our objective in sight our energy rejuvenated and we quickly grabbed a snack and some water before pushing up the coulie toward Disappointment peak towering above.

The couloir climb was simple and the bootpack was set for us so we began to climb staying toward lookers left during the ascent. While the climb was straight forward the conditions left some to be desired. Because of my dragging fitness we arrived later than we had hoped and the spring sun shining off the rock walls and onto the snow turned the couloir into an oven; as we slogged to the top we baked with every step. Once we passed the halfway point a couple other skiers came into the couloir. Bits of ice and snow whizzed by us as they picked their way down past us but it was a good indicator of what we were in for.

Ben, still cruising like a V8 engine, chugged his way out of the rocky gully and onto the open face below Dissappointment peak. A few minutes later I followed him out but I was toast. I climbed a hundred or so yards up the face but due to overheating and fatigue I stopped my journey at a large exposed rock. Ben went quite a ways further and we both transitioned, communicating over the radios about our plan.

Then the real fun began.

Ben began our descent by getting some wide swooping turns on the open face above 10,000 feet. I happily snapped pictures of him with Nez Perce in the background before following him to the mouth of the spoon. At this point he let me take the first dip and I tiptoed my way in. By the time we descended in most of the snow was shaded by the southern wall and what was mushy spring snow during the climb was quickly solidifying into crusty and icy conditions. This made for challenging skiing but it was awesome practice to get more comfortable with the steep terrain when snow conditions aren’t ideal.

This was probably one of the steepest runs I had made to date and the jump turns and speed control wasn’t horrible at all. Edge grip was lacking but that was definitely a timing issue. I would pick my way down and post up in a safe spot to let the legs recover and Ben would descend down and past me. The legs were definitely burning by the time we opened up the skis and ran it out into the moraine snow field below. (It’s important to note that there can be a moat at the bottom of the Spoon couloir that can be very dangerous and even deadly, so pay attention to that.)

At the bottom the energy once again returned as we shared some enthusiasm and a brotherly embrace to mark our accomplishment before keeping ourself moving. After skiing the icy Spoon we knew the conditions were changing rapidly so we needed to keep ourselves moving. Rather than returning the way we came we opted to for more lake crossings as we descended another wider but north facing couloir that dropped directly onto Delta Lake. The snow here was still pretty soft and turned out to be some of the best skiing of the day. In my opinion, it was a good route choice.

We found ourself following the drainage leading out from Delta Lake. The snow became extremely variable at this point as it was getting later in the day. Anything touching the sun was heavy and grabby, while anything in the shade for a few minutes started to be crusty and hard. We got our workout in as we picked our way around cliffs and through woods, making our way back to Bradley Lake. Bens stamina once again showed as he made it over the last ridge and down onto the last frozen lake crossing. I was dragging pretty hard at this point. Low water, not enough calories in, and poor fitness had left me more exhausted than I’ve probably ever been on a ski tour. We still had a few miles to go but Ben laughed as I collapsed and lay tired but happy on the ice for a few minutes.

After a few minutes of rest we made the final short climb and got our way back onto the skin track. We began to zip down the luge track toward the trailhead. The trail was frozen, fast, and fun. The only downside were absolutely torched legs as we had to occasionally emergency stop for the myriad of people hiking and taking photos in the middle of the packed skin track; but with a little bit of noise and willingness to jump off the path if necessary the crowds could be avoided. I would recommend being careful through this session as a nasty collision could happen on some blind corners.

Back at the car we threw our wet gear and tired bodies into the car, gave each other a congratulatory fist bump and began to cruise homeward as the sun set over the Tetons. During the following days my mind wandered to what other gullies and steep slopes the Tetons had in store for me. In a way, I was back in that college computer lab once again dreaming about what might be possible in the coming days.

Sadly, there wouldn’t be much. Winter would end for me abruptly and some personal concerns would keep me away from the mountains for the better part of a full summer. But It’s days in the mountain like the one on the Spoon Couloir that keep our flame of imagination roaring until we can once again lace up our shoes or click into our touring skis.

As I write this the first significant November snow is falling in the Tetons… maybe some of those dreams will soon become reality again.