Ray of Light Couloir

Type: Backcountry or Sidecountry

This is not recommended when hardpack conditions exist—falls may be deadly and self arrest can be impossible in certain parts of this line.

This line offers fear-inducing exposure suitable for expert alpinists who crave the sense of living on the edge, literally. After a big snow year, this is rideable from the top and requires a harrowing off-camber traverse first above a chute funneling onto cliffs, then above a cliff to a narrow choke a couple board-widths wide.

Most of the time, it is recommended to climb the bottom half of the line and descend from there. From either the top or bottom, and within the couloir, most of the line is not visible. It makes a couple turns as it winds through the gnarly volcanic cliffs, then opens onto an apron amidst towering rock faces.