Some lines haunt your dreams, so aesthetic so isolated, so perfect. Deep in the Northeast Cascades there is a small peak among the giants refereed to as Bandit. Whats impressive about Bandit is its 3500 foot continuous chute on the NW side. It is one of the nicest lines in all of the Cascades and it’s called the Black Hole Couloir.
Heading up the Napeequa Valley Towards Bandit Peak
We arrived at the Bible camp at 4:00 a.m. and packed the final gear into our bags knowing we had a long day ahead of us. We would be following the Napeequa River for around 7 miles to the base of Bandit Peak before bootpacking straight up the gut. I went through a check list of what was needed “will I need one ice axe or two?” I choose two.
We followed the river up numerous creeks, avi paths, pillow fields and steep forest along the way. My splitboard barely made purchase as I sidehilled among the still firm crust at the base of the valley in the morning sun.
After 6 hours of skinning we finally reached the base of Bandit Peak, but which couloir was it? We put on crampons and bootpacked through the firm crust. Navigating carefully under the rock we tried to get a look to see if it was the right line.
Climbing the Black Hole Couloir on Bandit Peak
The base of the couloir was filled with avalanche debris and not looking too inviting. We pondered turning around but we had already come so far. So after a quick second we decided that we would push on in hopes that conditions would improve.
Once above the avi debris it quickly turned to a few inches of fresh snow on a smooth surface. While it was not perfect it was much better then expected. It seemed the higher we got the deeper the snow. Soon enough we were surrounded with high walls and were confirmed we were heading up the Black Hole Couloir.
By now we were deep in the couloir and the snow was consistently getting better. There was a break in the rocks and soon we were on the upper apron. Looking up the Napeequa Valley we could barely see the Dakobeds in the distance.
The Upper Section of the Black Hole Couloir
One of our partners had hit a wall with the lack of sleep. After a bit of chatting he decided to take a quick rest while we pushed on. After digging out a flat bench we bid farewell and pushed on up the last 1.5k of climbing.
The snow was deep and the post holing was a chore so we switched off leading the way. I would kick in 40 steps then Scott would take over. We used this process for the next two hours until arriving at the col. After 5 hours of bootpacking we had finally arrived at the col of the Black Hole Couloir.
The summit was windy and it was obvious a front was approaching. As we transitioned we talked about how we thought the line would ski. As we prepared to drop in we noticed that Nicholas was heading up the final section. Soon enough we would be back to the original team.
Snowboarding down the Black Hole Couloir
Conditions turned out to be so much better then expected. It was thigh deep and stable powder for the first 1500 feet. When we reached the upper apron it was shin deep snow for the next thousand feet. The bottom half of the line was semi firm snow covered in avalanche debris.
The climb had taken much longer then expected. By the time we reached the base of the Black Hole Couloir the sun had started to set. The next 9 hours of bushwhacking through the forest was a blur. After what felt like an eternity we arrived at the car just after 5:00 a.m.
Was it worth it? Without a doubt.
Thank you for reading this trip out to the Black Hole Couloir on Bandit Peak. If you want to see more ski tours within the Stevens Pass Backcountry check out this link.