Arkansas, West Face

I think this face comes into condition only rarely. In May 2015 there was four feet of excellent snow covering the whole face. Randy Garrison and I headed up from Climax Corner and, using ski crampons, looped around to the south ridge, and then skied to just below the summit. We booted the last 100 ft. For descent we went straight down the west face and conditions were superb: the best I have seen this spring. Firm underfoot; effortless turns. About four hours up. About 20 mins down to car.

The final climb to the summit was straightforward. Cornices all along the ridge were very large.

Looking down the W face as we left the 13800-foot summit. We could glance down Moonshine Couloir, but did not check if entrance was possible.