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Looking for beta on the Dolly Varden Gully up Mt. Bross, couldn't find a lot of info digging through the site.

My impression is that this gully holds snow well mostly from wind deposition, which is why it doesn't melt out like the rest of Bross, which seems to be almost always bare of snow. I know it's been a very low-snow year, but it seems to be picking up out there and I'm curious about this gully's ski potential right now. Seems like most people do this as more of an early-spring ski, but would it be alright in winter? It seems likely to me that there isn't all that much snow (and definitely not to the summit of Bross), but if Quandary is (barely) skiable right now it doesn't seem like a huge logical jump that this gully might be in. Any info/thoughts? Thanks in advance.

Driving through Fairplay recently, it looks like the skiable snow extends to about 13,600 feet, which is the same as it was last March when I skied it. Above that it was predominantly dry. I would imagine that the snow conditions consist of sastrugi in the upper gully and breakable wind crust below that. If your lucky, there might be some sections with soft recycled powder.

https://www.14ers.com/php14ers/peakstat ... cnum=15773

After reading all of the CAIC accident reports for this season, I wouldn't want to be in an east facing wind loaded gully right now

Here is a video from somebody who snowboarded it after a large October storm a couple of years ago, so it probably skiable to above 13,000 most of the winter.

https://youtu.be/pMJjrIXqQuo

DaveLanders wrote: ↑Mon Mar 01, 2021 12:55 pm After reading all of the CAIC accident reports for this season, I wouldn't want to be in an east facing wind loaded gully right now

In addition to the gully, there are some steep wind loaded SE facing slopes that feed in from the lookers right side of the gully that could slide. They are seen in photo #1 of my conditions report.

It’s a fun ski...but more of a May/June kind of thing. I wouldn’t do it this year, at this time. The slog back to your car is fun afterwards... assuming that parking area is still allowed now.