5/4/2008- Erik Kling, Tom Courtright, Marc Barella, and Carl Dowdy(skier) rode the upper West Face into the Hourglass Couloir then climbed back up and rode an unnamed North facing couloir down to Como lake. This is a difficult and steep line. This is the earliest recorded snowboard descent of Little Bear. Check out Carl Dowdy's Trip Report at http://www.tetongravity.com/forums/showthread.php?t=122238 .
pictures: upper-members of Erik Kling's group ascending the Hourglass Couloir. below Tom Courtright making a jump turn through a narrow section of the Hourglass Couloir. photos by Erik Kling, 2008.
photo- Erik Kling, Tom Courtright, and Marc Barella nearing the summit, photo by Carl Dowdy, 2008.
photo- A view of the Hourglass Couloir, You can see the tracks in the lower snowfield. photo by Erik Kling, 2008.
photo-Tom Courtright riding the Hourglass. photo by Erik Kling, 2008
Little Bear sits as one of the high points of the Sierra Blanca, a sub range of the Sangre de Cristo mountain range which encompasses much of sourthern Colorado and New Mexico. This peak is steep and involved. The Hourglass couloir offers the only viable snowboard/ski descent to date. It is steep. During the summer this route is often protected by a rope.
photo-Sunrise over Little Bear. photo by Brennan Metzler, 2010
photo-Jarrett climbing the west ridge of Little Bear. photo by Brennan Metzler, 2010
photo-Jarrett Luttrell jump turning down the "Baby Thunder" chute on Little Bear. photo by Brennan Metzler, 2010
