October Glacier

We were searching for powder, Crow Pass powder.  We found it in October, 1984 on what we simply called October Glacier.  A few trips later, and after we read the map, we began calling it by its United States Geological Survey-given name, Jewel Mountain.  Kruser and I made it back to Jewel on October 9, 2011, and we found powder again.

Jewel Summit Ridge - Chugach Mtns Alaska

Again, 27 years later, Jewel was still an amazing place, skiable in October after several Octobers with too little snow.  The other side of the Jewel basin, 'Summit Mtn' on the USGS map, is a more reliable source of October powder with its glaciated base.

There were a lot of people in the area - 13 souls on the Milk Glacier, and I lost count at two dozen on Summit.  Summit is a standard for October powder, but it was amazing to see so many skiers on the Milk after skiing the Milk or looking at it from Jewel several dozen times and never seeing a soul. 

It was an amazing day on Jewel in 2011, as it was in 1984.

Kruser, 27 Years After

The powder mantra back in 1984 was, "Live to ski, ski to die."  Now it's just, "Live to ski".  A couple o years after that October discovery, Kruser's 301st consecutive calendar months of skiing started in the powder at the Jewel of the Chugach.

Making Tracks in the Shadow of Jewel

Photocredits:  Kruser