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Wondering what the descent options are when doing this in early April? Glissading down Avalanche Gulch would be great but "avalanche" gulch might not be very safe that time of the year. Any other options for a fast descent (as in glissading) ?

Does Casaval Ridge top out at 13k? From the pictures it seems to be roughly the same height as the Red Banks. Do you continue towards Misery Hill just like the AG route?

When are you going in April ? I will be there the weekend of the 16th doing a couple of summit attempts from Helen.

When I climb Casaval Ridge, I usually retrace my steps back down. I've skied down from around 10,000 feet, but the skiing isn't always great. I came down Green Butte Ridge once, but that was later in the year. As you pointed out, Avalanche Gulch may or may not be very safe in April.

You seem to have a good idea about how the route goes. It's fairly obvious in good weather. If the clouds roll in while you're above 13,000 feet, you may need wands, a compass, and some luck to find your way.

Yes, exactly as you say, just traverse over to misery hill, watching out (in low visibility) to not wander too close to either side of the ridge above the whitney.
If not going down AG, there are other descent options, but none are as fast as AG. One of the safest is to retrace casaval which Bob already mentioned. You can also go down the WF, a few sections of which can be stable and glissadable even if AG isn't (and a few parts, esp. lower down, that can be prone even if AG is stable), but of course this wildly varies.
It's also possible to follow casaval and contour around it, popping over only near the bottom.
Going down GB/SR is slower than either of these options though, assuming you're not on skiis.

I've seen people skiing West Face Gully in April and May.

When I did Casaval in 2006 I camped on the ridge at about 10300'. After summitting I descended the west face to about 11500' and then traversed back to my camp. There was a well-travelled descent path (the left end of which is cut off in this pic).


http://www.summitpost.org/image/199667/ ... ridge.html

The usual route goes up some steep snow through a weakness in the cliff bands, then heads right to the Catwalk, or you can traverse left into West Face Gully.

Thanks for the info!! Tentatively going the first weekend in April.

How is the snow up Casaval usually that time of the year? Is it somewhat soft? Really hard and icy would be extremely taxing.
If soft enough, retracing our steps might not be too bad if plunge stepping is possible. That's usually quick and not too hard on the knees.

dynamokiev98 wrote:

ScottyP wrote:When are you going in April ? I will be there the weekend of the 16th doing a couple of summit attempts from Helen.

from lake Helen you mean by AG? I might be there too around the same time.

We plan pn a base camp at Helen and summiting Day 1 via Casaval, day 2 butte/sargents Scott

dynamokiev98 wrote:Does anyone know is the West Face the best place on the mountain to Snowboard/Ski down? Which time of the year would you do it?

Best is dependent upon what you are seeking and the time of year. If you want ski/board descent info/beta hit up telewoman.

Conditions can vary depending on time of day, aspect, how long it's been since the last storm, weather, etc. Don't count on being able to plunge-step or glissade -- know how to downclimb safely, weight over your feet.

rhyang wrote:Conditions can vary depending on time of day, aspect, how long it's been since the last storm, weather, etc. Don't count on being able to plunge-step or glissade -- know how to downclimb safely, weight over your feet.

Thanks!! Just trying to get an idea on how fast we can get down but it sounds like we might only know a few days in advance.