Doug Roggow crossing Chasm Lake on July 3rd after an ascent and ski descent of the Lambslide Couloir on Longs Peak.

Doug, his son Chris, and guide Eli Helmuth made a pre-holiday trip up and down the Lambslide Couloir on what turned out to be a perfect day for steep backcountry skiing in Rocky Mountain National Park.  Thick cloud cover the preceding night kept the snowpack soft and the threat of rain all day gave us cool hiking conditions (45-55F) and perfect step-kicking snow for the ascent.

A few minutes of sun greeted us near the top the couloir and it quickly transformed the surface into a perfect 'corn' texture.  Considering the impending dark clouds that released copious rain over RMNP's highest peaks all morning and had turned back almost all the summitters who started early, we managed to hit the peak hours (7am-3pm) for our endeavor as only a few minutes of rain mixed with fast-moving clouds and flashes of sunlight made for an exciting weather day.  We should have a fun video of this mid-summer skiing available soon!