Info About the Kitchen Chutes
The Kitchen Chutes are a south facing gully system off of Lemetfjellet in the Tamokdalen Backcountry. Starting on the flats of the summit they run from 1,288 meters they offer continuous fall line turns down 400 meters before traversing around a cliff band and descending to the parking lot at 280 meters. There are 4 separate gullies to choose from and accessing them is done by wrapping around to the low col. With them being south facing the they are great in late season when hunting for corn or if there is low avalanche danger as they do run fall line to a cliff below.
Why the Kitchen Chutes
The Kitchen Chutes on Lemetfjellet were a line I stared at for weeks. Having a clear view of them through the window of Tamokhuset I waited for the right weather window to ride them. Knowing that powder was long gone the south facing slopes would offer good corn. Chatting with Peteri and Titti we decided if there was any day to ride them the upcoming clear day would be perfect.
Ski Touring up in Cloudy Conditions
Leaving the road we made our way up the East side of Lemmetelva creek. Heading up through the dense trees the weather was still cloudy but patches of sun were starting to break through. The forecast called for the weather to improve.
Making our way into the upper basin we passed by the Morning Mission. Having rode it a week earlier the heat wave had put an avalanche runnel in its gut. The line was definitely done for the season.
Looking to the East the top of the Kitchen Chutes was buried behind the clouds. From what we could see there were a handful of nice looking lines to choose from once we made it to the top.
Climbing to the Subsummit of Lemetfjellet
Wrapping around the Kitchen Chutes we started bootpacking towards a low col. Being the main drainage of the area the terrain was much mellower then the surrounding area.
We trading off leading the way as we put steps up the face. Looking off to the West there was a sea of clouds but it seemed they stopped just beyond us. Occasionally a cloud would make its way into the valley but would quickly burn off.
Once on top the terrain flattened out and we switched back to skinning. Heading to the Northwest we searched for the entrance to the Kitchen Chutes. Spotting what looked like a drainage we made our way over and found the drop in point.
Snowboarding Down the Kitchen Chutes
From the top of the sub summit the Kitchen Chutes looked amazing. Being a sustained fall line we dropped into the main chute one at a time. Looking down we could see the entire slope and went one by one riding all the way to the valley below.
Once in the valley we looked back up to a clear view of the upper slopes. Some of the steeper lines were done for the season but there were 4 separate lines to choose from. By now the sun had started to make the snow unstable and we decided it was time to leave.
Riding as a group back down to the car we loosely followed our skin track. It was great to tick off the Kitchen Chutes but it definitely warranted heading back up at another time. While it was great in corn I could only imagine how good it would be in stable powder conditions.
If you are interested in this ski tour here is the topo route below
