
Looking at the Tairn Chutes of the day from the Cheeseman boundary
Mt. Cheeseman ski area itself doesn’t have very challenging terrain, although it gets tracked out at 1/100 the rate of any American ski area I have been to. Behind the ski field, however, is amazing access to super backcountry skiing. I have been able to do great skiing when I get the chance.
I had an afternoon off of work a few days after a nice dump. The avalanche danger was low, and there were almost no tracks in the Tairn Chutes, which are less than half an hour hike from the ski area boundary
Stu, a fellow Cheeseman employee, and I were able to get some amazing runs in Tairn Basin. It is amazing that 4 days after a storm, as whole faces are usually still without tracks a mere 20 minute hike from the top of a lift. I guess that is New Zealand for you, pretty mellow; just not that populous. We made one run in Tairn Chutes, and two in an area dubbed Tairn Forest, for the snow plastered rock outcrops that surround the chutes. It was all amazing powder turns, and I was back in time to do the evening sweep!

I skied the chute on the right, Stu took the one on the left

Best July powder ever!

Stu ripping up Tairn Forest.
Louie Dawson earned his Bachelor Degree in Industrial Design from Western Washington University in 2014. When he’s not skiing Mount Baker or somewhere equally as snowy, he’s thinking about new products to make ski mountaineering more fun and safe.