Spring is a time of variable snow conditions, and skiers are forced off the beaten path to find any soft snow. The Argenta slide path on the north side of Kessler Peak is a good place for the search, as it’s north facing and hides many nooks and crannies.
Argenta is easy to see from the Big Cottonwood Canyon road as the path is an obvious, white slash that goes from the creek all the way to the top of Kessler Peak.
Access to the skin track is easy. Just park the car at the turnout, cross the creek, and begin the long, steep slog right up the slide path. The trail alternates between dark forest and open slopes with nice views of Mount Raymond and Gobbler’s Knob.
Once the ridge top is attained, most people continue to the summit and ski one of three couloirs that spill from the top. But when Mason Diedrich and I checked the snow conditions near the bottom of the main Argenta Couloir (which was hard packed and icy) we decided instead to ski the powder off the west ridge.
Hoar frost was abundant on the west ridge, where the terrain consisted of excellent, steep tree skiing. The frost, made of huge crystals an inch deep, made a cool hissing sound when our skis turned through it. The skiing was very good, and we realized that the correct decision was made in avoiding the crusty couloir.
To make the most of our vertical, we would ski about ten turns, then traverse for a while until another nice shot opened up below us. That way, we could avoid the low-angle bottom of Argenta’s main path for as long as possible. After all our powder options were used up, we skied through the brush and natural half pipe back to the car.
To ski Argenta, drive up Big Cottonwood Canyon road until you pass the Mill A trail head. You will see the Argenta slide path on the south side of the road. Pull over at an informative, historical marker, gear up, and begin following the skin track that ascends Argenta. Once you get to the ridge top, go left to the top of Kessler Peak to ski the couloirs, or go right to explore the trees on the west ridge. You may also ski down from here and do laps in the trees on Argenta’s main face.