Mt. Bradley (aka Jumbo) Couloir

If you’re a skier who’s visited Juneau, you’ve probably stared at the massive, deeply incised couloir that starts near Mt. Bradley’s summit. Plainly visible from downtown, the line projects a siren song for backcountry travelers…if you’re lucky enough to be there, and have a clear day to ski it among the otherwise relentless precipitation in Juneau’s winter.

Mt. Bradley, also known as Mt. Jumbo, is the highest peak on Douglas Island. Although much of the island’s ski terrain consists of moderate and low angle rainforest and meadows, Mt. Bradley’s north face is a sheer rock face. Improbably, one narrow couloir slices through it, starting near Bradley’s broad summit and descending some 1,500 feet to a bowl far below. If you hike to Bradley’s summit in the summer, you could easily miss the couloir, as its entrance is steep enough to seem undifferentiated from the horizon line that marks the edge of the north face’s cliffs. Upon closer inspection—in winter, at least—the chute can be accessed, by slipping in from the skiers’ left.

Due to the couloir’s orientation, expect it to be wind hammered and rime-flecked at the top. It’s steep enough that a fall would need to be arrested immediately, or result in rag dolling a thousand feet or more to where the slope mellows out slightly. The upper thousand feet of couloir are sustained steep, so bring a whippet if you have one. Even scared skiers will be distracted, however, by the cathedral-like stone soaring above. After skiing down the couloir, which wraps to skier’s right, you’ll look back at the massive cliff face and wonder how there was a way down it.

To approach Mt. Bradley, drive to South Douglas, and park near a tiny trailhead sign on 5th St between Sumner and Treadwell Streets. Online map applications and paper maps are inconsistent in labeling the trailhead, but it’s worth locating for an easy walk up through mature forest. The trail climbs a few hundred feet to a wide bench where forest gives way to meadow. Cross the Treadwell Ditch Trail and continue toward Mt. Bradley. At this point the summer trail is probably buried deep in snow, but on the kind of day where you might want to ski there may be enough visibility to see Bradley. After walking several hundred yards uphill through the meadow, above the Treadwell Ditch Trail, you can ascend Bradley’s east ridge, following the summer route to the summit. Alternately, contour right (north), then generally follow a creek or snow machine trails into the bowl near the base of Bradley’s north face. In decent snow conditions, you could skin from here up the mellow north facing bowl to gain Bradley’s ridge right at tree line. This is an easier skiing ascent than navigating the summer route ridge line, but is a little more complicated navigation. Either way, after gaining the ridge head up for the summit, traversing to the left of the summit block to wrap up its gentle west slope. This west side of the summit also provides access to the entrance of the couloir.

Juneau is a generally challenging place to ski, with near-constant precipitation, frequently high rain lines, heavy wind, and most trailheads far below reasonable snow line. Nonetheless, skiing to snow-capped peaks that overlook an island kingdom has an incomparable magic to it, like visits to a nautical rain forest utopia blanketed in snow. The combination of panoramic views and a steep, skiable couloir makes Mt. Bradley an essential destination for any backcountry skiers who find themselves in Juneau.