Pettingell Peak: East Ridge, South Chute

Type: Backcountry or Sidecountry

This is a very steep and exposed line that requires a ridge scramble to access but is a fantastic ski if you're looking for something very unique and south facing in the Herman Gulch area. You'll likely have no company for this descent.

There are two ways to access this line. One can either ski and climb down from the summit of Pettingell to the entrance of this gully OR use the Herman-Jones-Watrous Connector trail to gain the saddle between Pettingell and Machebeuf, then head west along the easy 2nd/3rd class ridge (snow depending) of Pettingell. Both ways will require taking off your skis and carefully climbing an exposed and narrow ridgeline.

The entry point notch is quite obvious when at the top. From here, one can look down the line from the ridge to Herman Lake. You'll be standing between two large rock columns.

There is a cliffband maybe two-thirds of the way down this line, which can easily be bypassed on skiers right. The cliffs are incredibly obvious and become moreso as you descend the line, but a ski over these would be problematic. Take the right turn.

The first few turns at the top are extremely steep, maybe in the low 50 degree range and very exposed. The middle portion (above a cliffband) is also in the high 40's. The lower apron below the cliffband is much more mellow.

This being said, the upper two-thirds is a no fall zone - the top is narrow and the middle entails steep turns atop the huge cliff band that you cannot ski over and would not want to fall over either.

Should also be noted that this is a south-facing spring line - you'll want to ski this fairly early in the day.