The Hallway Couloir is an absolutely beautiful chute that is
easier to ski than to find the entrance to. Until you know the
way in, it’s almost best if you boot up it from below as
the entrance from the ridge is very unlikely-looking and riddled
with sweeping avalanche potential, cliffs and rocks. The key
element is the long snaking “Tube” that runs through
the woods down below the chute itself and finishes at an old
abandoned mining structure on a protected bluff in the middle
of a forested area (Montreal Hill).
To get into it from the top, there are three entrances: the high
entrance, which would require a huge snow year to fill in and
some rope work (not recommended); the middle, which involves
a chute with a tight choke; and the lower entrance, which has
great skiing. The middle is nice, the lower is the safest. Starting
from the top of Flagstaff Peak, follow the ridgeline to the north
around the head of Day’s Fork to a small summit. From here,
go down the ridge about 200’–300’ and look for
a sheer rock wall and some dead snags on your left. This is where
you start down. The entrance is well hidden, but if you pick
your way down, looking to your right for openings, you’ll
find it.
The Hallway Couloir is one of the last runs that Doug Hall took
in the Wasatch before dying in an avalanche while ice climbing
in Provo Canyon January 25th, 1997. As the Alta lift ticket said
soon thereafter, “We love you Doug Hall & will miss
you.” |
