Grand Couloir, Remarkables
- Mike Morelli
- Nov 11
- 2 min read
Updated: Nov 18
Date:Â November 12, 2025
Location: The Remarkables, Queenstown, Otago, New Zealand
Total Trip Distance: 4.14 mi / 6.7 km
Total Elevation Gain: 2,234 ft / 681 m
Trip Duration: 2 hr 38 min
Team:Â Solo
Field Notes: The Grand Couloir is the obvious snow-filled couloir that splits Double Cone and Single Cone. The average slope angle is somewhere around 30 degrees, with one short section hovering around 40 degrees depending on snow conditions. Avalanche and rockfall prone.
Grade:Â I, 1+
Coming off of a fantastic trip from Pioneer and Centennial Hut, the weather was still beautiful and I wanted to take advantage of as much sunshine as possible.
I had a light day of work on Wednesday and figured a good idea was to ski the Grand Couloir - a route I've only climbed but not skied.
My original intention was to be up early with a high freezing level, but when I woke up at 5 a.m., I put my head back down on the pillow and fell asleep for another hour and forty-five minutes. I woke up thinking I was probably going to be too late as everything would be too warm, but I decided to head up anyway and have a look.
Skinning up to Lake Alta, I was blown away to see how much snow is still present. Lake Alta was completely frozen. As I got to the base of the climb, my concern of the snow being too warm was reversed. I realized I was probably going to be several hours too early.
I slowly and methodically cramponed up the couloir, hoping it would magically thaw out. Although the sun was shining, there was a hazy high cloud that was blocking the sun from having its full effect and I knew I would be most likely skiing ice, a repeated theme from the last few weeks.
At the top of the line, I wasted no time as this line wasn't going to thaw out anytime soon. I did a combination of jump turning and side slipping through the steep bit, and eventually linked turns when the terrain mellowed out.
Next time, I think I'll have a go on the Petit Couloir, which looks a little bit more exciting. Either way, it was a fun day out, and glad to take advantage of some late-season turns.
Happy days...