Dragon’s Tail Couloir is an aesthetic classic snow climb in the heart of Rocky Mountain National Park and arguably one of the best couch to couloir objectives! Our first of the season, what better choice than Dragon’s Tail with an easy approach from an accessible, although popular, trailhead.

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The four of us linked up plans and decided to climb the route together. Recent avalanches had left a large pile of debri at the base of the couloir, which is common for this route and this time of the season. We navigated over and around the debri until we were on better snow quality. 

The snow variability was all over this day from the avalanche debri to soft well booted stair steps to bulletproof ice and snow in shaded areas. This kept the climb exciting to say the least! We opted to take the right exit branch with an exciting top out.

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The moat was just starting to open up and ice was holding on around the melted rock sections. This was our friend Dana’s 5th couloir climb and a perfect option to get her blood pumping and add a little spice in that steep terrain with front point kicks. We all had a blast, but that’s expected!