Skiing Mt. Thielsen's Lightning Rod Couloir
The Line: Lightning Rod Couloir *, ~45° max The Mountain: Mt. Thielsen , 9,184', "The Lightning Rod of the Cascades" May 2025 * This name is one that Julian and I created, and it has stuck for us. We asked in several community forums whether anyone knew of a name. We received just one response with a name, from someone who said he called it the East Face (boring). We feel that Lighting Rod Couloir better captures the topography and or personality of the route. We are sticking with our name, but feel free to disagree. Driving west on OR 138 a few years ago, en route to skiing Thiely Dan for the first time , something caught my eye. The long fin of earth running north-south through Thielsen, culminating in the summit, appeared to be an impenetrable cliff for over a mile. Impenetrable, except for the possibility of a path offered by a long, rock-choked strip of snow just south of the summit. Would it go? Internet and guidebook research in the intervening years did not offe...
