Thorington Route

The Thorington Route drops from the Jupiter Traverse ridge into the Asulkan side of Rogers Pass, a steep glaciated face with a big convex roll and complex crevasse pattern. It is serious ski‑mountaineering terrain, usually linked after tagging Castor, Pollux and Leda, when legs and brains are already tired.

From the ridge you transition on exposed ground, often with cornices and pockets of wind slab right at the breakover. The upper pitch rolls over quickly and feels blind; strong route‑finding is needed to stay away from crevasse fields and hanging seracs, and to avoid getting funneled into terrain traps lower down. This is not a place to be feeling out stability—arrive with a solid read on the snowpack and a conservative plan.

The line skis best in cold, settled winter snow or in a well‑frozen spring cycle; solar input and wind can turn the surface into a mix of powder, crust and ice, and make any fall hard to arrest. Parties commonly trend towards the long moraine that borders the Mousetrap to exit, then work back out the Asulkan drainage to the Illecillewaet lot. Expect full glacier kit, efficient transitions, and guide‑exam‑style decision making from ridge to valley.