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Standing at the popular Emerald Lake in Rocky Mountain National Park, you would not suspect that one of the jagged peaks in front of you would have the name “Flattop Mountain." Perhaps someone was trying to make a dad joke or bungled up a cartographer's map. Either way, the southern aspect of Flattop Mountain rises above the ancient Tyndall glaciated valley and hosts a variety of ski descents among walls of steep and exposed rock. In between two prominent buttresses of marbled gneiss, you will see a thin band of snow that splits into a “Y” at the top of the line. This is the Dragon’s Tail Couloir, a classic Colorado Front Range ski descent that attracts hundreds of skiers and climbers per season.
Dragon’s Tail Couloir involves 1,500 feet of steep skiing and is found a mere two miles from a trailhead. The Dragon’s Tail Couloir is a steep but approachable line for a skier of the Front Range Climbing community. In good conditions, this line can be done in the morning and you can be home by lunch. All of this and you get to ski in the middle of Rocky Mountain National Park surrounded by some of the most impressive mountains and terrain that the Colorado Rockies have to offer.
While the Dragon’s Tail Couloir gets skied throughout the winter, a springtime descent is recommended. Even with the snowpack stability that springtime can offer, this line will come with objective hazards that will need to be mitigated. Be wary of rapidly changing weather, shedding snow and rocks, as well other parties that may join you on the route. Despite these hazards, Dragon’s Tail can offer incredible turns on a sun-radiated aspect if you get the timing right. Dragon’s Tail will be a great introduction to the wonder that is Rocky Mountain National Park skiing and will have you looking around for more.
There are a couple of options for approaching this line. The bottom-up approach follows a summer trail, this time to Emerald Lake, one of Rocky Mountain National Park’s most popular hikes. The trail is easy to follow and usually packed down through traffic. Once at Emerald Lake, you will have eyes on the entire line and can start skinning towards the base of the couloir. Pick a protected spot behind a rock buttress to transition and start botting up the couloir. Once you get about ⅔ up the line, you will see a fork in the couloir. Most take the climber’s left fork and continue climbing up the increasingly tight couloir. Near the top of the line, you will encounter a short rock band that you will have to maneuver in order to top out on the line. Many skiers call it good at this point and ski below the rock band. The classic line, however, takes the climber’s right fork and into a steeper and narrower line with a sizeable cornice at the top.
The top-down approach largely follows the Flattop Mountain summer trail and enters the line 0.7 miles short of the Flattop summit. There is some challenging route finding involved as there are a number of chutes from this aspect to pick from. Finding the proper entrance of the Dragontail Couloir can be challenging if not familiar with the line. Another disadvantage of this option is that you will not be able to assess the rock band before committing to skiing the line. If the rock is icy and you do not feel comfortable downclimbing, then you will have to turn around after only skiing a few feet. Also, consider that a benefit of this top-down route is that you will avoid booting up the line and subjecting yourself to overhead hazards.
Rocky Mountain National Park can be a wind tunnel. After a long winter of predictable winds, a sizable cornice forms at the top of this line, most prominently along the right fork. There is a significant hazard every spring as the sun warms this south-facing slope and collapses this cornice. An early start is recommended and timing is crucial for this line due to a rapidly warming southern aspect.
The Bear Lake parking lot sees a lot of traffic year-round. It is recommended that you arrive early to find a spot and to get the proper timing for corn skiing on this southern aspect.
