Drift Peak was fun. To those unfamiliar with the name, it’s worth noting that Drift Peak isn’t actually a ranked summit. It rises 280′ from the nearby saddle with Fletcher Mountain, a Centennial. So if you’re one for peak lists, Drift Peak is often ignored.

But the fact is, Drift Peak is a really cool summit and its northwest side has an awesome, steep-ish ski line. And its proximity to Highway 91 makes it an obvious call if you’re looking for skiing with easy access.

Park at the trailhead for Mayflower Gulch, on the east side of Hwy 91, a little bit north of Fremont Pass. Skin up the valley with the Northwest Face of Drift in the distance.

You can opt to climb the route, which would make for some fun booting and cramponing. As an alternative you can skin to the lookers right of the ski line, and gain the NW Ridge of Drift Peak. From there some moderate booting will get you to the 13,900 foot summit. That’s what we did.

The view from the summit is pretty good. You’re kind of in the middle of the Tenmile and Mosquito ranges, and there are a lot of ski lines of which to take note.

When you’re ready to ski, drop down the Northwest Face. Once you’re a good distance down from the summit, you’ll have a choice of a couple of gullies what will let you exit to the valley below. You can look down them from above. A lot of trip reports make the gullies sound like a crux of the route, we thought they weren’t any more challenging than the rest of the route up to that point.