Alaska Jack

Hatcher Foothills

2012-02-12T22:45:00.000-09:00

A human lifetime, a flashing blip on a geologic timescale, can just sort of slip by you on a life scale. Ascending the skin track shifts the life frequency from a high pitched harmonic to a one breath after another, one step at a time meditation. The skin track culminates with a shift from ascent to descent, a discontinuity, from a breath-to-breath rhythmic ascent to a turn-to-turn exhilerating descent, up to down, slow to fast. The uptrack might be the means to the end, or it can be that rhythmic step-by-step freedom to go where your legs, lungs, and longing will take you.

AK HW and yours truly ascended the Talkeetna foothills below 4068 and rode the soft snow back down. Under blustery skies, winds picked up at the brush-tundra margin. Snow quality for the descent was stale, wind-affected yet soft. Warm winds have moved the snow and created a very thin veneer, tricky, but skiable and enjoyable.

Ascending above Hatcher Pass Road towar 4068

Down the Meadows below 4068

A busy schedule has kept her out of the ski track, but she rode her planks like second nature.

2012 Anchorage Front Range

2012-02-05T18:54:00.000-09:00

With double the normal snowfall at Anchorage airport, it's no wonder that the front range has an exceptional snowpack. From Rabbit Creek on the south to Ship Creek on the north, the front range has thousands of acres of great skiing terrain. Rising between forks of Campbell Creek, Wolverine Peak commands the central part of the Anchorage front range. The greater Wolverine Peak bowl area from Near Point to Rusty has so much great skiing that it's nearly beyond description. From classic crosscountry routes on established trails to alpine touring on 40-degree chutes, and everything in between is really good. Wind-blown, rocky ridges give the appearance of poor skiing, but like of other parts of the front range, it's really not difficult to find powder in the greater Wolverine Peak bowl.

Cruising around the below tree line the past couple of days with Sam, Fran and Julie was so much fun in the sun with powder. The untracked experience in the alpine country with Eruk today was a great tour. We skied the south face of Near Point, crossed the basin and skied the gulley of Rusty's north face.

Meadows of Near Point

One of many moose in the greater Wolverine Peak bowl

Reliable Lines in Greater Wolverine Peak Bowl

The descent lines on the map above show where I usually find powder, some more than others. Lots of alders can lead to some frustrating bushwhacking, especially on south facing slopes, but careful selection of the route linking open meadows will lead to Near Point nirvana. Significant avalanche hazard exists on several of these lines. Wind often loads the north-facing aspects with snow that I've seen avalanche. Rocks are another risk, especially above treeline, outside of swales and gullies.

Sam's Secret

2012-02-03T21:20:00.002-09:00

Neighbor Sam led me to a nice line on Wolverine. It is a fine route linking meadows on the flanks of Wolverine Peak. We found about a foot of super light and fast snow on variable base. We made a 2-hour lap with Sam's two dogs. Nearly perfect snow was falling at 2" per hour; temperature was about 18F.

CMH Kootenay

2012-01-14T20:23:00.001-09:00

Kootenay glades are a dream, a sweet dream of everything perfect. Towering Selkirk Mountains above the Columbia River valley catch the snowfall among perfectly spaced trees in a way to create perfect skiing conditions.

Conditions are extraordinary right now in the Selkirks near Nakusp, BC, home of Canadian Mountain Holidays' Kootenay area. And, the people of CMH create a wonderful, positive vibe, from snow safety guys to helicopter operations to the delectable British Columbian cuisine at the Kuskanox Lodge in Nakusp.

The Kootenay people of CMH have mapped and named all of the helicopter landing zones and ski runs, and the ski guides and pilots know them by heart. Names like Drambuie, Cognac, Depth Charge, Snakebite, Steam Vents, Too Much Fun, Vista West, Grand Marnier, Tina's Turner, Little Leary, Too Deep, Squarehead, Trout, ... Very creative and fitting of the run, the names are, but it's so difficult to decribe that feeling.

Feeling It

A gentleman of many extraordinary experiences from the south pole to the northernmost parts of North America and both hemispheres told me that it is impossible to explain it. That feeling of swooping down the mountain in great arcs of sinusoidal balance on an airy, billowing white cloud of powder snow... the physical act can be described, but my words cannot rekindle that feeling it evokes: some sort of exhilerating, euphoric, and focused sense of being in the moment of weightlessness, speed, and freedom. We soak up the elixir, but we cannot really relate it to the uninitiated. We sometimes make an attempt to explain it, and for doing so, we get quizzical or stark stares. That gentleman's wisdom accumulated over his 75 years and global travels reverberated through me. How did I ever expect to relate, define or describe the untracked experience?

Cold Smoke

Weightless

The Sun Also Rises (and shines sometimes, too)

Photos by Kruser

Windshield Time, No Thanks

2012-01-07T19:40:00.002-09:00

A long time ski buddy, RK, wants to go. Go skiing? Of course. With powder in the Anchorage front range, why spend windshield time to drive elsewhere? So, the Stoke Brothers met on the Propsect Heights-Near Point trail, RK came from Prospect and yours truly from Stuckagain, to ski up the Anchorage Hillside. RK and yours truly both ski on Dynafit Stokes, a very sweet ski with an exceptional combination of climbing and descending properties.

We skied up to the Rusty saddle, and back down to the Prospect Heights-Near Point Trail, a 2000-ft descent with a lot of powder. This is a great run in Anchorage's backyard of Chugach State Park. RK needed to get back, so he skied back to Prospect Heights, and I started the ski home. But, the need for powder and the fresh snow on Near Point were too much to resist.

The Near Point summit called, and I obeyed the mountain commandment. It was a fulfilling trip, a nice rock-free descent, well worth the work. On the trail home, I met Sam 'n Fran, a couple of neighbors/ski buddies. It was unanimous: we're having a great winter with more powder on the way!

Food for the Soul

2012-01-01T20:23:00.002-09:00

Backdoor Trail

The joy of skiing... cruising along a groomed trail, or diving off a cornice onto a 40-degree slope, or meadow skipping along a ski-set track, sliding on snow is food for the soul.

On new years day 2012, Chugach front range has exquisite snow - not a surprise, more like the norm below timberline.

Lost Cabin Trail

Highest Place in North America - January 1, 2012

Max's New Years Eve

2011-12-31T20:35:00.002-09:00

How do great ski trips happen? Great terrain, great snow, great weather, great partners... Great spontaneity might not be at the top of the list for things to make a great ski trip, but it was part of one today. We planned a long trip in the Summit Lake country on an epic mountain; they call it Spirit Walker. After we embarked on our trek to Spirit Walker, our spirits were drawn elsewhere. Great partners with judgment, spontaneity, and unanimity elected a course change and we literally turned around to ...

Sunrise on Max's Mountain

As we made our way down the Seward Highway toward Summit Lake, we talked about the great skiing at Summit Lake, and the great number of great places to ski between Anchorage and Summit Lake. We passed Max's Mountain, and we talked about the stability report for Girdwood: bombproof, snow report for Girdwood: heliquality, and the weather report for Girdwood: about 20 degrees F higher than Summit's minus 7. Why not go to Max's?

Our Max's Trackses

Our trip to Max's was even better than we though it would be. We had great terrain, great snow, good visibility, and great weather relative to other colder places. J-rock and Nathanael were exceptional partners.

We were nervous about the final descent through the northern-most rain forest and its scant snowpack - plenty of snowfall, but almost all of it is caught up in the canopy of hemlock boughs. With blessed karma, we nailed a terrific line through the forest and popped out in the Girdwood neighborhood on Vail. Max's: a great ski trip on the eve of 2012's New Years Day.

Near Point North Face

2011-12-30T19:52:00.000-09:00

After about 100 backcountry runs with Dante, I saw him crash for the first time on a "Manitoba-ish" 25-degree incline on Near Point. Of course, the crash was prompted by rock lurking beneath the powder. No, it was more like a boulder, but regardless of the terra firma mass encountered by DP, it was a spectacularly loud crash considering the foot-deep powder we were riding.

DP Carefully Entering Near Point North Face

Near Point summit bowl west face, like Manitoba, is a fine mountain for backcountry skiing. Manitoba is better, much less rocky, but further from our Anchorage homes. Near Point is thrilling on lightweight gear, but we were riding the heavy gear today. A nice trip, Near Point, but a bit of a yawner on heavy gear.

Ptarmigan Prefer the Near Point Front Side

After the nice-to-see, enjoyable but ho-hum low angle Near Point summit bowl run, albiet with a few rocks, we explored the north face.

Steep, craggy avalanche chutes and rocky cliffs dominate the Near Point north face. We checked three entry points and finally found one that seemed workable. We gingerly tip-toed over a rocky entry and dropped into some fantastic smoke-like powder and rode it down to the valley floor.

Near Point North Face

I paralleled DP's track, but don't float quite as well on two boards. It was my turn to bounce my board on a rock. We made a rock-free second lap on the backside when dusk began to set in, so we clambered back up the steep slope to the Near Point west face for our trip back to the house.

Knee Deep on Near Point

2011-12-29T17:47:00.004-09:00

Near Point in the front range of Anchorage is blanketed with knee deep powder on a soft base. Yours truly set a skin track up the south flank of Near Point connecting the open areas interspersed among the alder tangles. It was cold, single digit temperatures (Fahrenheit) with little to no wind. The snow quality on the tundra above tree line is slightly stiff with a soft wind crust in the beginning stages, but below the brush at 2400 ft elevation, the powder is nearly perfect. Chugach State Park has some great skiing right now.

More Anchorage Powder

2011-12-27T18:30:00.001-09:00

More new snow fell today, another 6" of fresh fluff. It's been a great season, but far from a record according the Anchorage Daily News. Doc and I set a ski track on Backdoor Trail with a few minor route adjustments around new deadfall. Without any skiers for the past couple of weeks and about two feet of fresh snow, trailbreaking was slow. But, we made it up to the hemlock ridge on Wolverine where we found even more fresh snow that skied fast.

Couldn't Last Forever

2011-12-26T16:02:00.000-09:00

DP, Eruk and Lucy rallied on Wolverine Bowl to find stiff wind slab resting on a deep soft base. The exceptional whispy, ultralight snow conditions of 3 days ago vanished with the breeze. Very good snow conditions remain below tree line, though very slow in the 5F temperature.

Variable consistency of the crust was difficult. Unconsolidated, cold facets lay beneath the unsupportable crust. Momentum would just die where the crust stiffened.

Sheep on Wolverine Peak

The sheep had been digging and grazing at my vantage point just before my arrival.

A Rusty Christmas Eve

2011-12-25T07:24:00.001-09:00

Back to the Anchorage Front Range: we found exceptional snow quality on Rusty. Slightly more settled than yesterday, it only ran chin deep on the descent. It was a bit cooler, 10F. Snow was knee deep on an icy to rocky base. Adrian, DP and I made some laps on a northwest-facing couloir/gully of Rusty. My skis found a few rocks at the top, but there was a good base in the gully. While the snow was not over-the-head like yesterday, it was very, very good!

We found significant avalanche rubble at the gully run out. The rubble was old, icy debris covered with new snow. It likely had avalanched during (one of ) the prior wind event(s) earlier this month.

Over-the-Head Anchorage Front Range

2011-12-23T20:00:00.000-09:00

For skiers, Anchorage Front Range peaks are notoriously rocky places that occasionally are blanketed with great powder. The December 23 front range snowfall was almost beyond description. Skiers just disappeared in plumes of smokey white. DP called it the best snow of his life. Adrian, the Wolverine master, had never seen snow on Wolverine like it. And it was clearly the best snow yours truly has ever experienced in the Anchorage Front Range, top 10% of my lifetime for all places.

Adrian's Plume

Adrian, Sam, Gus and yours truly made it a Stuckagain skifest. DP skinned up from a not-too-distant neighborhood. Actually it was a remarkable distance, 14 mile round trip on heavy gear, but not too far for Dante.

Dante's Alpenglow Shot of Yours Truly's "Best Side"

Fred's Place

2011-12-22T20:39:00.000-09:00

I hope Fred won't mind that I posted his good work on place names. Hap Wurlitzer has it posted in the Hatcher Pass Lodge. I heard that the rangers and troopers use Fred's map for search and rescue because it's the best reference. Fred knows the place; he lives there, that magical place we call Hatcher Pass.

Click to Enlarge

Eruk, AK Robb (by way of CA, aka RocketscientistRobb), and yours truly toured to Pinnacle Lake at the base of The Pinnacle. We caught some precious glimpses of that spire as the snow fell. We toured more than turned in the heavy snowfall, searching for the route in flat light on the shortest day of the year.

What a difference a day can make. Yesterday was crystal clear as we rode the lifts at Alyeska in extraordinary alpenglow.

Peak 4068 at Government Peak

2011-12-19T20:04:00.006-09:00

Eruk, Lucy and I skied a late lap to 4068 where we found wind-affected snow, but no wind. The winds of 4068 left mostly stiff, yet skiable snow above timberline. At the Hatcher Pass Road Mile 10.6 parking area where wind effects were apparent, but not as obvious, there was 4" to 6" fresh snow.

The state gave public notice of a proposed land exchange with the Matsu borough to enable ski area development. The exchange area is a sweet place for alpine touring, relatively safe and accessible. I have mixed feelings about adding a few chairlifts there, but have no objection because there are so many other places ski at Hatcher Pass in southcentral Alaska. Funding the Government Peak ski area may take a while, so gaining chair lift access and losing touring country at Government Peak may not happen any time soon.

4068

2011-12-18T07:17:00.003-09:00

4068 provided a powder escape in spite of the blustery ridgetop winds. Grey skies, moderate winter temperature, flurries and satisfactory visibility would have perhaps combined to limit the day to a single lap conditioning trip, but the decent snow convinced us to lap 4068 until sunset.

At sunrise, a solo venture was shaping up, but I met dp, Brian, Dan and dog on the mountain and lapped it with them. Thanks for breaking trail!

Frostbite ridge had excellent snow the day before, but had been worked by the wind overnight and looked crusty. The 4068 ridge looked better from a distance and turned out to have great snow.

Frostbite Friday

2011-12-16T23:23:00.001-09:00

We found excellent conditions on Frostbite. Very little wind, temperatures in the 20's, and a great snowpack with 6" to 12" of powder. The base varied from a remnant wind pack to soft depending on aspect and inclination.

J-rock, Pete, Bailey and yours truly went up from the lowest parking lot on Hatcher Pass Road. The Government Peak area is a real gem with outstanding skiing.

Chugach State Park Sweetness

2011-12-13T21:45:00.001-09:00

Conditions on Wolverine Trail are superb! Neighbor Sam, two dogs and yours truly found the sweetest snow of the season in Chugach State Park. Starry night, calm air and powder.

Maintenance Day

2011-12-03T17:59:00.001-09:00

Temperatures up to 40F. Wind driven rain saturated everything. It was a good time to make a few pesky places a little more skiable.

Ski Eat Sleep

2011-11-30T05:26:00.001-09:00

Break the trail
Breathe the air
Ski the powder
Eat sleep repeat

Gordon Lyon

2011-11-27T18:45:00.001-09:00

Southeast face of Mount Gordon Lyon has a very good early season snowpack, as good as some midwinter snowpacks on the ridge and gullies overlooking Hiland Road.

A couple of other skiers were on the Arctic Valley backside when I was there. They were skiing way below my turn around at the lower end of the blue descent line. It would be fun to ski all the way to Hiland Road. Other than the South Fork Trailhead further up the road, I don't know if there is an easement east of Mt. Gordon Lyon and Rendezvous Peak to avoid private property along Hiland Road.

Grayjay sent this update map with Gordon Lyon access from Hiland Road - Thanks Grayjay!

Back to Normal: Wolverine

2011-11-26T18:49:00.001-09:00

Anchorage from Wolverine Gully

Wind seems normal in the Anchorage front range; we get a really nice snowfall and then the wind normally blows it away. Today's trip to Wolverine was normal. Sam, Fran, Gus, and Yours Truly skied up the Wolverine Trail with two trotting dogs in cold temperatures, about zero degrees Fahrenheit.

As normal as front range windpack snow in the alpine, powder is normal below the front range alder line. Snow in the forest and lower alpine was like cold smoke. The upper alpine snow quality was pretty good, even though it had been worked by the wind for several hours. But, the steady breeze above timberline had teeth and one lap was enough.

Wolverine Peak in the Morning Light

Yesterday's Tracks Blown In

Chugach State Park Wolverine Peak

2011-11-25T20:12:00.001-09:00

Fresh snow, Thanksgiving, clearing skies, Wolverine Peak skiable ...

Wolverine Peak from Backdoor Trail

Backdoor Trail

Hemlock Gap to Wolverine Peak

Wolverine Peak Closer Now

Even Closer and Sunny!

Setting Sun at Latitude 61 Thanksgiving Friday

Anchorage from Wolverine Peak

Snowing and Getting Dark, Time to Go Home

Wolverine Peak with its 4500 ft front range elevation contributes to the desception that it's really close. It's one of those destinations that one can see for a long time, and hour-after-hour, it seems like it's never getting closer. Today, Wolverine summit was just as far as always, but it was a rare windfree day with excellent skiing.

2011 Thanksgiving - Anchorage Hillside Powder

2011-11-24T20:00:00.001-09:00

Anchorage Hillside up to tundra line is skiing exceptionally well. Above the tundra line looked good, but I didn't have time to try it. Maybe tomorrow...

Today's report for elevations 800 to 2500 ft: 6-12" powder on a soft base, no wind, single digit (F) temperatures, light flurries, terrific skiing!

Magnum Thanksgiving

2011-11-24T05:50:00.001-09:00

Returning to the place we were before: Several seasons of seeking the untracked experience have passed since my last trip to Magnum/PMS Bowl, and it was incredibly enjoyable rediscovering its vaguely familiar features, and skiing the blower powder we found there.

PMS Bowl

Jrock and yours truly took the Taylor Creek route up Magnum, then over to PMS Bowl for a couple of laps among the glide crack slides. We endured the steep wind-packed ridge, and booted the crux. Trusting the weather forecast, we were happily surprised by sunshine and calm wind. It was cold; temperature at the bottom of PMS Bowl felt subzero, but a layer of warm air persisted above 3000 ft elevation and the ridgetop breaks were quite comfortable. Other than several old glide crack slides on south aspects, we observed stable snow. Two other parties used the parking area, one went to Sunburst, the other to PMS Bowl via the creek between Cornbiscuit and Magnum.

PMS Powder

The return home via Magnum west face skied almost perfectly in the setting sun. With deep hues of blue and red swirling in that wondrous high latitude sky and alpenglow softly lighting our way, we floated down the mountain powder in a dreamlike trance. We gave Magnum thanks.

Go to sleep, go to sleep, Little Bruin

2011-11-21T21:24:00.001-09:00

Caught the big birdseed-eating bear in the act - it was a couple of feet from the back door pulling down the last remaining feeder hanging off a flower hook. Expecting the bears had gone to sleep for the winter, I set up our annual feast for the chickadees, magpies, grosbeaks, and redpolls - too early this year. It only took a couple of days for the bear to find the feast and eat up the 20 pounds of birdseed. Now we just hope that a big bellyfull of birdseed will make the bear drowsy.

Remnants of a Not Bear-Resistant Bird Feeder

Trust the Trail

2011-11-13T19:48:00.001-09:00

Skiing home in fading light with a toy-more-than-tool headlamp, had to trust it. Trust the trail. Trust the instinct.

My instinct this morning wanted to ski the front range, but we couldn't find that consenus having set a path toward Turnagain Pass. Doc, mw, blob and yours truly left a foot of fluff in Anchorage for Turnagain Pass. We had our reasons, but the muttering about a failed intelligence test spoke of the morning vibe on Cornbiscuit where we found good visibility with glide crack slide debris, hollow convexities, and a steady breeze. Snow in the alders was sweet, but we weren't feeling it and didn't lap it. Hope for a different venue such as the trees of Tincan faded after finding about 100 cars in various pull-outs.

Ya gotta go to know. And, the question of the fresh snow in the front range had to be answered. Resetting after the morning episode, I donned lighter gear, and headed up Backdoor Trail to powder in the Wolverine hemlock. Could barely find yesterday's track in the fresh foot of fluff.

It was inspirational: chatting on the trail with neighbor skiers, telemarking in alpenglow powder, and following a trustworthy trail.

Telemarking Hemlock Powder

2011-11-12T15:47:00.001-09:00

The winter weather was heavy and the Anchorage front range was shrouded in snowy clouds, but it was skiing serene on Wolverine in Chugach State Park. Up into the snowy clouds, I ascended through the stunted hemlock forest on the western flank of Wolverine Peak. This area is a favorite because huge amounts of snow accumulate in its microclimate with very little wind, and the hemlock not only shield the snow from wind, but also provide a great contrast for storm skiing when visibility nonexistant above timberline.

Stuckagain's Backdoor

2011-11-11T18:14:00.001-09:00

Backdoor powder! Neighbor Sam and yours truly set ski tracks in Stuckagain Backdoor Trails in Chugach State Park. In creating a fire break, Chugach State Park and Municipality of Anchorage also opened up some great ski country accessible from the Basher parking area at Stuckagain.

Bushwacked

2011-11-08T03:39:00.001-09:00

Bushwhacking with skis down an unnamed Alaskan creek through alder tangles, spruce forest, and thin snow cover, we chuckled about our choice of routes. Not an epic, but all agreed that we'd rather not repeat it. Little did we know that no-name creek would be a relative cake walk.

J-Rock, Blob and yours truly enjoyed a fine day above Turnagain Pass at the Bertha Creek headwaters, a lot of people call it Superbowl. Skinning up Taylor Creek with Viking, we listened to his musings on snow quality, aspects and lines. Our path diverged from his trail to Magnum, and we continued to Taylor Creek Pass and Superbowl. We weren't first up the ridge, and we were grateful for the terrific steps kicked by another pair of skiers.

Back Up Superbowl

There was plenty of untracked powder for the ten souls I counted on the Superbowl ridgeline. It was a thrilling adventure, but the best snow quality was somewhat lower on that aspect Viking foretold.

The combination of waning light and a sore knee convinced us to follow the Bertha Creek valley back to Highway One. We faced the route finding dilemma: ski a not totally unfamiliar powder fall line at our feet, or continue across the boring traverse to a very familiar, reliable descent to the car. Of course, we took the 'powder now' route and we giggled in powder delirium. Trail got boney about 300 ft above the road. We skied over semi-buried brush, occasionally grasped tree branches as we traversed a steep bank above open water, and walked a little. The pow was worth it, but we agreed that next time...

Next time came less than 24 hours later.

Down into Superbowl

Blob, mw and yours truly woke the next day to find Anchorage beautifully blanketed in a fresh foot of powder. Stoked by the fresh, we headed to Girdwood and Max's Mountain. Starting on the Virgin Creek Trail, we mostly booted about 1500 ft vertical through dense hemlock in 6-12" fluffy snow, and popped out into Max's glades and crotch-deep unsettled snow. The right superlative to describe the skiing above 1500 ft el: extraordinarily near perfect powderosity.

Ascending Max's

Max's lower elevation access on Virgin Creek Trail skis best after a thaw freeze cycle to create a hard crust over the rooty trail; add a little powder on top, and the dense hemlock forest can be a terrific descent. But, lacking the crusty base, we opted for a route that might be more skiable.
Our descent did have more skiable vertical than the ascent. But, the powderosity of the alpine and glades elevations was balanced at the opposite end of the spectrum by a 400 ft vertical hand-over-hand, spruce bough hanging, pack sliding, deadfall booting, alder tangling desent. Upon reaching skiable terrain for the final 400 ft vertical, mw searched for the proper superlative for our route and asked, it that i-e or e-i in heinous?

Max's West Face

Photocredits: J-Rock and Blob

Easier, Faster or Scarier

2011-10-24T19:27:00.001-08:00

Faster or easier? Is the uptrack objective ease or speed? Sometimes the uptrack solution is both faster and easier, especially a multi-lap track. Other times, it's just the subject of the uptrack conversation.

Faster or Easier?

The conversation yesterday gravitated to the technical aspects of the optimal uptrack. Kruser, mw, and yours truly had plenty of time to debate the uptrack fastness and easyness as we diverged from the Crow Pass Trail. Agreement on the optimal uptrack remained unresolved as we topped out on Summit Mtn, but Patrick's Line transformed the conversation into total agreement on the extraordinary quality of that line.

Powder Agreement

We had good snow and fair light conditions. On the return leg, the light was exceptional and we enjoyed the excellent base and snow on Barnes Mountain down to about 2000 ft elevation. Overall, it was unanimous: Patrick's Line is fabulous.

Viewing Patrick's Line in very early season, or late summer, and remembering the location of the big crevasses is recommended. It's not difficult to avoid them if you know where they are, but Summit Glacier crevasses are difficult to see with fresh snow or flat light, and some of them are big enough to fall into.

Patrick's is a long meandering line dropping 1500 vertical feet down the entire Summit Mountain Glacier, and then down to Raven Glacier via a north-facing gulley on skiers' right of Little Jewel.

Little Jewel has some terrific lines in its own right, though it has no glaciated base, i.e. it has some sharp Chugach rocks. Returning to the Crow Pass Trailhead from Patrick's can be accomplished by either skinning back up to the saddle shown above (easier and faster), or skiing down the west side of Little Jewel and following the Crow Pass Trail back toward Girdwood. The west side of Little Jewel has some terrific lines interspersed among cliffs (scarier).

Photocredits: Kruser
Theme Credit: mw

El Gato de Nieve

2011-10-18T00:01:00.003-08:00

The cat has nine lives, they say. El Gato de Nieve started the day with nine lives, and returned with six remaining after another Crow Pass adventure. High risk, high reward, I guess.

Reward

mw, Kruser, and yours truly trudged the Crow Pass Trail where we found avalanche debris about 1500 feet above the trailhead. While heavy snow was falling on our party and the foggy clouds were obscuring the slopes overhead, I pondered the weather pattern over the past couple of days and the evidence of a recent avalanche. What hidden hazard was perched above us?

It Begins

In the eery quiet of the heavy snowfall, inductive logic and instinctive reaction gnawed at my guts. We talked about it: obcured loading above us, prior wind and heavy snowfall, and avalanche debris at a place where avalanche has claimed victims near Monarch Mine.

The Monarch Mine operated seasonally until 1947 with peak production of 1160 ounces of gold in its 1930's heyday. Five men seasonally worked the mine in 1935. They worked from mid-May through mid-October. Snow in this region is just overwhelming.

Despite the evident risk, we pressed on, but settled on a safer route. Up into the clouds we continued climbing on skis. We decided on Jewel Mtn for our first run. Visibility was poor, but many prior descents enabled avoidance of the big cliffs of Jewel. With the winds in our favor, the snow floated down on an almost perfectly vertical descent, and the unsettled fresh snow skied like a dream. Ski cuts freed foot-thick soft slab and sloughs that accumulated in sizeable a basin fan.

Unsettled Fresh Fluff

We weren't feeling it in the flat light on the cliffs of Jewel, so we opted for the cross-basin slog to Summit Glacier with its moderate gradient and mostly cliff-free glacier lines. We each silently wondered whether the fresh snow would be too deep for the 25-degree slopes, but we happily found fast, unsettled snow that billowed around us as we arced down the glacier.

In a powder delirium, yours truly searched for that last untracked pitch on the final lap. Slighlty disoriented in the flat light, I entered a swale that might have led to powder nirvana, but instead I skied into a hellish predicament on the Bahrenberg property.

Barhenberg prospected for gold on the Jewel Mtn north slope and glacial moraine in the 1930's. Territorial Alaska Department of Mines' report on mining activity in 1937 described parts of the Bahrenberg property "so precipitous that it is entirely inaccessable." I must have found the precipitous part.

After nearly all of the snow slid from the 50-degree slope, I couldn't go up and couldn't go down. So, I resorted to a painstaking rock traverse on skis.

Almost across the rocky traverse

With waning enthusiasm, I ooched across the rocks fearing a cartwheeling tumble down the rocks. Finally arriving to deep snow on the glaciated base after a seeming eternity on a very steep rocky face, I was hesitant to crank a turn - would more rocks still be lurking?

It was getting late, so we descended to the Crow Pass Trail. Rounding the corner, we made the stunning discovery of multiple avalanches across the trail. The slides came down after we ascended, perhaps naturally triggered, or human triggered - seven skiers arrived on Summit during our 1st line down Jewel and they descended well ahead of us. Either cause was disturbing.

One of Multiple Slide Paths

We enjoyed incredibly sweet skiing with October face shots. But, risk versus reward? I would not repeat the Jewel-Summit trip in such conditions. El Gato de Nieve may have a few lives left, but this cat enjoys his life too much to accept such exposure.

Photocredits: Kruser

October Glacier

2011-10-10T21:27:00.001-08:00

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

Chileno de Alaska

2011-09-12T23:18:00.003-08:00

Living in a snowy clime from Halloween to May Day was not enough this season. This season would mark Kruser's 25th year of life on skis, skiing every consecutive calendar month for the past 300 months. How to celebrate 25 years on skis in September? Chile.

The celebration was an exceptional ski trip to a fascinating place with some great ski buddies. Kruser and I met Bob Yoder en route at Dallas, Vince in Santiago and Brett, Chick, Terry, and Paul in Farellones. We hailed from Alaska, Lake Tahoe, New York, Boston, Melbourne, and New Zealand.

L to R: Kruser, Terry, Bob, Vince, Brett, Paul, Chick

Bob organized The great trip to Tres Valles, El Arpa and Portillo. At the Argentine border on the now defunct trans-Andean railroad, Chile's Portillo, constructed in the 1930's and 40's, has a Hemingway aura around it.

Kruser above Laguna del Inca

Portillo is a unique place with its trail blasted out of the cliffs above Laguna del Inca, beautiful hotel, lift over the highway and Chilean switchback highway to the pass.

Wistfully pondering those 25 years of memories is a bittersweet endeavor, but my young man's perspective when Kruser started his quest is not so different now. And twenty-five years later, we're still riding two planks on snow seeking powder, el nieve polvo, with as much freedom and exhilaration as ever.

El Dia de Polvo y Sol en Tres Valle

2011-09-09T15:53:00.003-08:00

The day of powder in the Tres Valle sunshine provided more untracked turns in a single day than I can remember. Perhaps it was karma, because the day before we storm skied all day, and got totally lost at the end of the day trying ski home on a traverse the mile from La Parva to El Colorado in the cloudy fog. We took a wrong turn at a critical juncture and skied down the backside of El Colorado - they fortunately were still running one of the two backside T-bars and we were able to get back to Farellones without spending a cold night in the Andes. Ah, but the skies cleared overnight and we awoke in the warm Powder Lodge to the Tres Valles blanketed in 6" fresh snow.

Which way home?

We skied untracked snow all day long from the lifts of La Parva and El Colorado. One might expect crowds at Tres Valle with its eyeshot proximity to Santiago with a population of 5 million people, but no crowds on this day.

Where is Everyone?

Ski Track Art

La roca de La Parva

Powder Lodge de Farellones, Chile

2011-09-09T14:29:00.025-08:00

Lera y Pablo put on a beautiful spread at the Powder Lodge de Farellones. Cristian Schindler, nicknamed Lera, and hardworking Pablo took good care of our crew at our Tres Valle base, Powder Lodge with great access to the La Parva, El Colorado and Valle Nevado ski resorts in Chile. We're very happy at Powder Lodge with its excellent service and good food - Cristian and Pablo made sure that we were very, very comfortable. A few images of our abode:

Powder Lodge, like almost everything in Farellones, is built on a hillside. My room (door open) is on the entry level. There are two half-levels above my room in this section of Powder Lodge.

Chileno Vibe

Lera, the Splendid

El trabajador Pablocito

A local

View of Cerro La Parva from El Powder Lodge

Los Andes, Chile

2011-09-09T02:41:00.000-08:00

An enchanting Chilean town just below the Andes cordillera spine, Los Andes was built on the Aconcagua River. This river drains the western side of the highest point in the western hemisphere, Cerro Aconcagua with a summit elevation of nearly 23,000 feet. Los Andes is a great base for skier access El Arpa and Portillo. Copper mines, vineyards, and other agriculture, along with a little tourism and skiing, contribute to the economy.

Los Andes, founded in 1791, has a beautiful plaza in the city center surrounded by shops, hotels and government buildings.

The people of Los Andes were gracious, kind and helpful. It would be great to spend a little more time there, but our itenerary called for a move. A few snapshots around town:

Incas Hoteles, our Los Andes abode is locatedIn on this boulevard

Incas Hoteles is a modern, very comfortable hotel, perfectly suited to our pursuit of Chilean powder.

Mall with Apartments

Womes Boutique

El Arpa

2011-09-04T06:53:00.000-08:00

The Harp Valley above Los Andes, Chile is home for Ski Arpa, a uniquely Chilean cat ski operation.

In the shadow of Cerro Aconcaqua, Ski Arpa is located on a primitive road far from the grid.

Two Raptors on the Boulder (click to enlarge)

We travelled by van from Los Andes through San Esteban and Campos de Ahumada up to El Arpa, a high desert valley. Frost on cacti is probably a common occurrence here, but none of our party had seen it before this trip. Our driver, Polo, negotiated the primitive road with skill.

Rancho Avalanchas is a wood-heated, electricity-free operations base for Ski Arpa.

Arriving at Rancho Avalanchas on a frosty morning was like stepping into a Clint Eastwood western set in a ficticious high desert place. The rancho refugio with its natural lighting is unique, as was the entire Ski Arpa experience.

Everyone enjoyed the trip to El Arpa, guanaco grazing on the ridge, roosting eagles warming up in the morning sun, spectacular view of Cerro Aconcagua, the primitive refugio - and the skiing.

AK Jack with Cerro Aconcagua 25 years after summiting

Ski Arpa lived up to their catch phrase includes "skiing... in the shadow of Aconcagua". Ski Arpa is a unique experience and our group was unanimous in our affirmative decision to go. Guanaco grazing in the distance, clear views of Aconcagua... a unique place, but our luck with the snow was not the best. The snow was skiable and enjoyable, but the prior snowfall was several days prior and the snowpack was modest.

25 Years on Skis

Brett

Our Leader, Bob

End of the Trail

Ski Arpa was a fascinating experience. It was worth a 5th run for an additional fee. The guides saved the best for last regarding snow quality, but some clouds moved up the valley and made the lower 2/3 of the ski out a follow-the-leader exercise. The guide knew the route and we arrived exactly where they planned.

Day 2 Month 300

2011-09-03T02:36:00.000-08:00

Three hundred months is equal to 25 years. Kruser just completed Day 2 of his 300th consecutive month of skiing. Each and every calendar month for the past 25 years have been witness to his epic quest. Yours truly has personally witnessed the majority of these 300 months - my string is merely one tenth Kruser's - I made it 30 months. The master started his string during mine, but I stopped and he didn't. Now 25 years later, we're still getting down the mountain.

Some pretty big mountains today at El Colorado. Don't tell the Chilean cabarineros, but we went out of bounds for some fine snow and deadly cliffs. Our stellar crew of Chick, Bob, Brett, Kruser and me discovered the magic of the 'Tres Valles' road run - officially banned, but totally safe (with some common sense) and not strictly enforced.

Day 2 Month 300 Photocredits: Kruser

Farellones, Chile

2011-09-02T02:08:00.047-08:00

Brilliant sunshine and cold snow at Tres Valles, Chile was an enigmatic transition from the summertime grey skies of the Tsiu River on the Gulf of Alaska. Tsiu coho catching was typical - our arms hurt. Rough weather delayed our fishing trip to the day of our flight from Anchorage to Santiago. Could have opted out of the Tsiu, and some said, "it's a bad idea," referring to our plan to take a charter air taxi flight to the Tsiu on Alaska's Lost Coast, catch coho silver salmon all day, return to Anchorage, and then jump on a trans-equatorial flight to Santiago, Chile. But, we actually made it to Santiago with our gear, and we were riding our skis at Tres Valle about 30 hours after landing our last silver.

Tres Valles is perched in the Andes 7000 feet or so above the sprawling capital city, Santiago de Chile. First impression of Chilean life was enchanting.

El Powder Lodge en Farellones

Our accommodation is a hand-crafted dwelling in Farellones, the original village in the Tres Valles area. Three ski areas are easily accessible from Farellones: El Colorado, La Parva, and Valle Nevado; each with smaller villages around the base.

Farellones y La Parva

An immense area is accessible from the three resorts just above Farellones. We started at El Colorado, explored La Parva and Valle Nevado with the help of Vince and Christian. Vince is a ski instructor/guide/kite boarder/linguist/all around good guy Kiwi who met us at the airport and showed us a lot of Tres Valle terraine and made this exceptional movie. Christian is the proprietor of Powder Lodge de Farellones. Christian is also the retired national champion snowboarder of Chile. A delightful man, Christian was the chef, concierge, taxi driver, ski guide, rescue assistance (not life threatening, but one our guys seriously tweaked a knee), and resident remodeler of his ecclectic Farellones Powder Lodge, a very comfortable abode with good food and very cool atmosphere.

Traversing Across the La Parva Boundary above Santiago

Termination Dust

2011-08-08T20:24:00.000-08:00

Long days of summer give way to later sunrises, earlier sunsets and real night time with darkness, and ... termination dust. Termination dust is that white reminder of the oncoming season of riding two planks through deep powder.

We all have our little definitions for the next season, coho in the stream, ripening berries... But, can true termination dust occur before the fireweed's top bloom signals the end of summer? However one may define termination dust, signs of the season encourage us to quicken our pace of summer time pursuits and enjoy the cyclic continuum.

Alyeska Slusheroo

2011-05-27T23:00:00.000-08:00

Alyeska's last weekend for the season is a slushfest with temperatures at the base of the quad reaching 60 F on May 26, 2011.

One of Markman's Many 360's

Like going through a sports drill at half speed, skiing Alyeska's slush was a slow motion affair. The tram carried many more tourists than skiers. There is no snow below 1000 ft el, and downloading on the tram was our choice after our last run.

Ribbons of Snow on the South Face

Wild

2011-05-25T00:51:00.001-08:00

On a wilderness trek from Cindy's Ski Haus to my work-a-day world, I came upon two moose. Two bulls, each with velvety half-grown antlers, on opposite sides of the road, were ravishing the willow sprouts. I watched, inspired by the energy of these beasts to grow such enormous antlers, thrash about with them, only to discard them and then grow bigger ones the next spring.

Not far down the road, I came upon two bears, shiny and black with dark brown eyes. As these two ursines grazed on the newly sprouted grass, they did not care that I watched them. The bears had no fear, only hunger.

And so it begins again.

Is it over?

2011-05-22T20:18:00.000-08:00

It's NEVER over! It is harder to get, though.

But, biking is really pleasant. Coffee maker broke, had to bike for caffiene. Found a fun route to the coffee house, right through bear country. Not a lot of bear signs.

Raven Glacier ski time is approaching.

Touring in the Talkeetnas: Friendship Pass

2011-05-15T09:52:00.001-08:00

Bettjane, Geno, & Richard

We planned on skiing Talkeetnas powder. Touring from Hatcher Pass Lodge up through Independence, Goldcord, and High Grade to Friendship Pass with hopes of finding shady powder on the north side of Friendship Pass.

The nice, soft snow on the north side was slightly stale, but very good skiing ... for the first ten turns. Powder is possible in the Talkeetnas in mid-May, but we couldn't find much on May 14, 2011. Ten turns down, the snow became a scritchy, thaw-freeze frozen, very hard crust just below the pass. Supportable crust, but not a lot of fun. Falling here could have yielded an 1000-ft vertical slide - warning the others, I stopped a few turns into the scritchy snow and kicked steps back up to the pass. The crust was too hard and steep to skin, and beneath the crust, the snow was bottomless and slow going - thankfully, Dicky came down part way and broke trail back up to the pass.

The south side of Friendship Pass had excellent corn. We were all smiles at the bottom of the runs.

Geno's Genuflection at Friendship Pass

Well, mostly good coverage

Crusing below High Grade

We toured over to the Rock Garden and then down to Independence and back to Hatcher Pass Lodge where we visited with Hap Wurlitzer for a while. Hap has a nice map with place names and plenty of beer and food.
We found corn snow above the lodge, supportable almost everywhere with very few rotten spots on south facing rolls. Touring conditions were great with good coverage and easy travel with fun descents. We saw dozens of sunbathing ground squirrels who had burrowed up to the sunny snow surface from their long slumber. We also saw a coyote on the hunt for them.

Solitary Pastoral

2011-05-07T01:32:00.001-08:00

The Alyeska web cam showed severe clear bluebird conditions like a promotional picture. Was it real? It took a third look to be convinced that real sunshine was really shining on the Kenai Mountains. Believing there was powder and sunshine on Pastoral, like a video played in fast forward I got food in my belly, food and water in my pack, and skis, etc. in my car.

Pastoral View from Summit Basin

Spencer Glacier

In spite of a so-so weather service forecast, an inkling the night before foretold the good weather, but after five calls and no takers, a solo trip seemed like the right thing. Pastoral's northerly slope and almost 4800 ft summit elevation preserved boot top powder and exceptional May skiing.

Some Lines Remain on Lookers' Left with Uptrack

Temperature was 50F at the Sunburst parking lot at 6 p.m., and the corn snow was supportable except for a few odd spots on non-southerly aspects. Southerly aspects looked rotten, I avoided them and didn't actually ski it down low. The snow on the east side of the Taylor Creek saddle turned rotten by my return trip at about 5:30 p.m.

Bomber Traverse

2011-05-02T21:45:00.003-08:00

After ten hours, fifty minutes, and 25 years we arrived. Departing from the Mint Trailhead at 8:30 a.m., May Day, 2011 we embarked on the journey Tom Murphy had described 25 years ago. Tom was a mainstay of the Hatcher Pass Lodge and skiing advocate I met in the 1980's who skied all over the Talkeetnas.

On May Day 2011, we enjoyed terrific trail conditions and wondered whether the late afternoon would be rotten, and almost eleven hours later we found the snow was indeed rotten for the last quarter mile of our trip. But, after touring 18 miles with a net gain of 5600 feet, we felt incredibly lucky to find exceptional spring snow for all but that last quarter mile.

Krusing to Upper Reed Lake

End of the Trail

We skied up the Mint Glacier Trail on the Bomber Traverse to the Mint Hut in a reverse direction relative to Tom's route. Then, we sweated up to Backdoor Gap where were simultaneously snowed upon and sunburned, and then we swooshed down the PennyRoyal Glacier.

Backdoor Gap

PennyRoyal Descent

PennyRoyal

Bomber

We trudged up the Bomber Glacier, contemplating the ever deceiving distances our eyes misperceived to be 'just over there', and pondering the fate of the unfortunate crew of the wreckage on its namesake glacier. Haunted by the B-29 crash site where these men died, even though the crash occurred several decades past, I wondered but did not really want to know. Where and how would I die? Trudging, breathing, sweating across this place of rocks and snow and ice, devoid of nearly all signs of humanity except for our three souls and this wreck, I could not answer my question, but knew I did not want to die that day.

DP paced the old men up the interminable glacier, but we finally arrived at the pass above upper Reed Lake, 11 miles from our start, with a sense of relief that our journey was within reach.

Still, we had 7 miles to go, starting with a formidable forty-degree slope to ski. The south facing slope had baked all day in the May Day sun, and our skis would cut snow rollers that built up to truck tire-sized balls of slushy snow that shocked our fatigue-addled minds into sharp focus.

Bomber Pass Apron

Five-Mile Glide

We departed at 8:30 a.m. from the Mint Trailhead near the Little Susitna Roadhouse (aka Mother Lode) on firm snow and found excellent crust conditions in the upper Little Susitna valley. The skies were partly cloudy and we were happy for the shade. A few flurries fell during our ascent to the Mint Hut and on the Backdoor Gap section, just above the Mint Hut. The shortest route down the PennyRoyal took us across less than the best aspect. We were tempted traverse a half mile across the glacier to a shadier aspect with better snow, but were disuaded by our schedule (and the grueling ascent up Backdoor Gap). The PennyRoyal run we made was good, but the shadier aspect would have provided better powder. We traversed from the bottom of the PennyRoyal to the base of the Bomber, and skinned up the Bomber. Our route up the Bomber revealed how good the PennyRoyal snow could have been on the optimal aspect. The Bomber/Reed Lake Pass was intimidating. Snow was sunbaked and deep. The slope was steep and I was scared. We ski cut the slope, then one-at-a-time made our way down dodging big heavy rollers that would knock a man down. The apron of Bomber Pass on the Reed Lake side was incredibly enjoyable to ski, and our glide out to the Snowbird mine base was fast and fun. Even the Snowbird Road was fun. We skinned a short bit up to the Archangel Road from the low point of the Snowbird Road and skated and double-poled toward the Little Susitna Roadhouse. We followed the snow machine trail cutoff from Archangel Road to the Mint Trailhead, and arrived 10 hrs 50 minutes after we started.

More Armchair Traversing

2011-04-30T11:07:00.000-08:00

Bomber Traverse 'Tom Murphy' route is plotted below with an alternative "Idaho Peak Circumnavigation". Murphy's route is 18 miles, 5000 ft vertical with two main ascents. Alternate route is 14.7 miles, 3500 ft vertical. Also added hut locations from Mountaineering Club of Alaska coordinates.

Summit Lake Springtime

2011-04-18T20:47:00.000-08:00

From Hatcher Pass to Summit Lake, spring skiing 2011 in southcentral Alaska has redeemed the February/March dry spell with sunny powder days. Aspect at this latitude is not much of a consideration until the spring equinox passes. Now, nearly a month beyond the equinox, aspect is everything to powder preservation at the common backcountry skiing elevations here; 1000 to 4000 ft.

Tenderfoot Ridge Northwest Face

DP and yours truly found the shady sweet spot on Tenderfoot Ridge at Summit Lake under mostly sunny skies. We discussed whether to call this TelePete's Line; made a good case for it.

DP Tracking TelePete's Line

New Facebook Profile Photo

Swiss Bowlagain

2011-04-17T19:36:00.000-08:00

Geno and yours truly found the powder aspect again in Swiss Bowl. But, great conditions in the South Fork country were a little less widespread after another week of bright blue skies and spring time sunshine.

There is still some avalanche activity as a hapless couple discovered as they traversed below a sun-baked slope. One skier was beyond the path, but the other skier had to run for it as it came down. This same pair had earlier dug a couple of holes at the top of the shaded run, but skied down elsewhere.

The experience of the two skiers digging and (I assume) analyzing the snow pack on a shady aspect, and then triggering a slide on a dissimilar, sunny aspect was thought provoking.

Geno and I avoided the sunny slopes and skied as much shady powder as we could find.

After Work Powder Party

2011-04-13T22:56:00.001-08:00

About ten powder seekers were tracking it up at North Bowl above the South Fork Trailhead tonight. Kruser, Doc and yours truly joined several others and enjoyed the after work powder fest with beautiful weather, beautiful snow and an all around beautiful evening. Photocredits: Kruser

Spring Time Moonrise

South Fork Swiss Bowl

2011-04-10T21:37:00.001-08:00

Why? Staring at the Three Bowls avalanche, feeling the whoomphing of the basin snowpack, and pondering the question, one must come to terms with propects of avalanche. Ephemeral powder is the eternal answer, of course. But, is it worth dying for? A single lap on low angle terrain, less than 30-degree slope, would be a test case.

Failed the test. Remotely triggering a slab, even though a small one, was not a confidence builder. The steeper powder-covered slope just over the horizon went unskied.

The Dragon's Lair

2011-04-10T08:57:00.000-08:00

We felt the dragon's breath. Like the sirens, the glistening powder beckoned us into his lair. He breathed upon us, whoomphing and settling in the brilliant sunshine of 4068.

4068 North Aspect Photo by Geno

Jon jumped into the exhilarating line and swooped down to the valley floor, unaware of the terrifying earthquake-like settlement behind him. Matt, Geno and I were stunned by the massive whoomph. We moved down the ridge a bit to a slightly lower angle slope. Then, one at a time, we each followed J-Rock into the dragon's lair. We all agreed that going back was not an option and we live to ski another day.

Temptation

2011-04-05T20:13:00.000-08:00

Click to enlarge. One route from Stuckagain to Temptation is shown above, an ambitious day trip: 16.5 miles with 7500 feet vertical. A couple of shorter options would be available on the approach: Knoya and Tikishla. Expect some gouges in your ski bases with this year's snow pack.

Hatcher 4068 Corn and Powder

2011-04-03T19:38:00.001-08:00

4068 is a non-descript, commonplace peak in the Talkeetna Mountains, notable for its exceptional access. Today, Peak 4068 near Hatcher Pass was both a powder paradise and a sunny respite from the big storm blowing in from the Gulf of Alaska. 4068 southeast aspect softened into terrific corn under today's mostly clear skies, and its shady backside facing northwest held excellent powder.

Looking Up 4068's Backside

Looking Down 4068's Backside

Hatch Peak Avalanche March 19, 2011

2011-04-03T19:14:00.001-08:00

It's hard not to think about the recent avalanche that killed Jim Helling on March 19, 2011, may he rest in peace, and may his family and his ski buddy find solace.

A tragic turn of bad luck and really not predictable with precision, the slide that killed Mr. Helling was a slab of a few feet at its crown. Skiers and riders were venturing into seemingly more dangerous terrain; several had earlier skied the same slope that slid and caught Mr. Helling and his partner. We can only hope others may learn a lesson from this sad episode.

Highlighted Fracture Line of 19-Mar-2011 Hatch Peak Slide

Fracture Line of 19-Mar-2011 Hatch Peak Slide

Hatch Peak 19-Mar-2011 Runout Zone

The slide funneled into a narrow ravine where the avalanche material accumulated. News media reported that Mr. Helling was found beneath 14 to 16 feet of avalanche rubble. The slide started above Mr. Helling and apparently pulled him into the ravine.

There were tracks that crossed the starting zone and several ski tracks parallel to the slide path. A report is posted here with close up pictures and a technical description of the slide.

Hatch to Microdot

2011-04-03T08:46:00.000-08:00

Hatch Peak to Microdot sunny aspects offered crunchy crust varying in thickness from a thin veneer to a three-inch armor, while north facing tilted terrain held cold powder. 'Thousand' run off Hatch was unworthy of a second lap, so a short lap on Microdot was the next best alternative.

The Hatcher area south-facing slopes had been cooked in last week's sunshine, but did not soften in the grey light of yesterday. We happily found smokey fluff in the north facing chutes. There were lots of tracks in the Nose Bleed area, but we found some fresh lines.

Avalanche Fatality on Hatch Peak

2011-03-21T04:46:00.000-08:00

Jim Helling died in an avalanche on Hatch Peak on March 19, 2011, a very sad story.

His partner was injured in the same slide.

Another group reported skiing the same line earlier on the same day without incident. It can be a fine line between life and death, joy and sorrow. Let us learn from this accident.

Party Train

2011-03-20T19:50:00.000-08:00

Nordic Skiing Association of Anchorage resurrected the party train to Curry on a perfect day with blue skies, calm winds and mild temperatures. Hundreds of folks packed the train with skis, snowshoes, food and beverages for the festive Anchorage-Curry day trip. We started rolling north at 7 a.m.

The ridges above treeline at Curry were bereft of snow, apparently vanquished by wind and sun. After the recent drought and witnessing the bare ridges up high, we were delighted by the beautiful touring and telemarking conditions in the birch forest north and east of Curry and Deadhorse Creek. We found a 3-foot pack of sugary snow with varying amounts of crust, occasionally thick and strong, but most often a very thin veneer that was barely perceptable on the descent. Bettyjane, Geno, Josh, Daniela, Eruk and yours truly skinned up above the Susitna River for 2-1/2 hours and back down to the train for its 4 p.m. departure.

Deadhorse Creek Crossing

Dani

Geno Genuflecting

Yours Truly Telemarking

Yours Truly Aldermarking

Climbing the first couple of hundred feet vertical just above the valley floor was tedious, but worth the effort to reach the bench above Curry for a well deserved refreshment.

We had a wonderful 13-hour trip to Curry and back, but I have a yearing to return to Grandview.

Photocredits: Bjane & Eruk

Ship Creek without a Paddle

2011-03-14T22:15:00.000-08:00

Arctic Valley to Indian Ski Trail: mountains and streams, sun and snow, skiing and friends.

Oh yea, pain and suffering.

MK, TK, BettyJ, Geno, Kruser, Doc and yours truly started our 20-mile trek with an ignominious track which failed to meet expectations of a pleasant alternative to the main trail. With some effort, we completed the alternative track, and made our way to the valley floor on the hard fast track of Ship Creek Trail.

'Wrongway BettyJ' went right instead of left (not a political statement) at the 5-Mile/Ship Creek Trail unmarked Y. She kept her bearings and meandered back to the Ship Creek Trail to Indian, and we soon regrouped.

Bettyjane

Then, BettyJ proceeded to demonstrate her prowess for freeheel skiing steep narrow trails. While some flailed, and others walked and carried skis, she skied fast and controlled.

Up Ship Creek we skied through forests of spruce and birch, hemlock and cottonwood toward its source in the alpine country. Trail was smooth and skies were clear. And ice was thick... enough.

We had not seen snowfall in nearly four weeks, but trail conditions in the valley were excellent, and we found a nice ski track along the creek. We were happy.

Team Outtabounds (minus TK)

Our entire party of seven were riding Fischer Outtabounds, terrific skis for the Arctic Valley-to-Indian traverse. Our varied binding system and boot combinations all worked reasonably well, but the telemark boots/3-pin bindings with cables worked best on the steeper, icy trails.

The Indian Creek Trail was like a luge run, icy with banked turns and very challenging in a few places. Geno ripped it with gusto and led us to the end of the trail. And, we all survived another A-to-I tour and very happily made it to the Indian Trailhead.

Photocredits: TK & Kruser

Arctic to Indian Route

2011-03-10T20:16:00.000-09:00

Alternative starts for Arctic-to-Indian. Western line was my earlier suggestion, but anything between the western route and the dashed eastern route would probably be better than the main trail from the normal trailhead.

Contour intervals are 20 meters.

Armchair Traversing

2011-03-08T21:46:00.000-09:00

Proposed variation on Bomber Traverse: I believe this route was the 1980's classic. It seems better to go up the Little Su and down the Pennyroyal Glacier, then up the Bomber Gl. and down Reed Lakes. It But, wasn't the 80's standard route was up Reed Lakes and down Little Su?

Sunny South Fork Tour

2011-03-06T19:16:00.000-09:00

We followed Eruk's ski tracks and Lucy's pawprints toward Eagle Lake on a sunny South Fork ski tour. Eruk posted a good report on Cross-Country Alaska, a nice place to get updates on trail conditions. Doc and I saw only two other skiers on the springlike day, and about 20 hikers and snow-shoers. The trail is pretty well used.

We skied a couple of hours out, and turned back shadows enveloped the upper valley. We followed the sun.

Cantata Peak, Calliope Mountain and Triangle Peak

The Calliope massif towers over the South Fork valley like a sentinel guarding the heart of the Chugach.

Four Letter Words

2011-03-01T20:38:00.000-09:00

Wind

Dust

Rain

Take heart, our powder will return.

Murphy Meadows

2011-02-26T21:28:00.001-09:00

Palmer's front range is the beautiful Arkose Ridge south face overlooking Palmer with the Chugach Mountains rising above the Matanuska River.

Terrific touring can be found in the mature birch forest of Arkose south face which is interspersed with meadows and a few spruce trees with a lot of moose browse. Snow machiners use this area a little.

Today's snow was wind hammered above timberline, but sweet and soft in the trees. The sunny calm morning gave way to a windy and still sunny afternoon.

Bundled up against the cold wind, Geno and BettyJane with the Chugach Range in the background. Mount Marcus Baker can be seen in the distance just above and right of Geno.

The best snow was found in the forest, as usual. Arkose south face lower elevations were very pleasant. This area is just east and upslope of the Matanuska Ski Club Moose Range Nordic Trails. We saw four of the big ungulates.

Tikishla Reconnaissance

2011-02-20T19:16:00.000-09:00

Knoya and Tikishla are so close to home, but yet so far away having been on "the list" for a long time. Teletips posts by like-minded backcountry skiers were all the inspiration needed for some Tikishla recon. Five and a half hour round trip to the base of Tikisha were required today with slow solo trailbreaking for about half of the outbound portion.

Snowpack is typical front range: powder to sastrugi to breakable crust with brush, tundra and rocks. It stormed today with more wind than snow up high. Winds were absolutely howling in the alpine country at the base of Tikishla.

Start of Descent to Campbell Ck North Fork

Touring skis (Fischer Outtabounds Waxbase) worked great with the long approach distance to Tikishla. Walking the steep, narrow descent to the North Fork is recommended.

Campbell Ck North Fork Bridge

Knoya Bench

Wind Scoured Lower Tikishla SW Aspect

Looking Up Basin WNWof Tikishla Summit

The wind (and a lazy start) assisted with the turnaround decision, and the recon provided confidence that Tikishla is a reasonable day trip. Depending on the trailbreaking, 6 to 8 hours would be my planning time. Decision on gear would depend on conditions. Alpine touring skis/boots would fit the alpine country best, but the rugged touring set up is adequate and is superior on the approach and retreat.

Pete's Lil Tincan

2011-02-19T20:23:00.001-09:00

"Ay-eet!", she blurted, repeating in two syllables the my answer, eight. After hearing my response to her question about the headcount of the oncoming party, she wasn't happy. Both shocked and chagrined, her voice revealed what her forced smile belied. Her voice with a tragic tone said it all: Pete's North powder will be pulverized. I gave an equally forced smile and knowingly nodded as if to say, "what is the world coming to?". Her party didn't stay long.

It wasn't a mere eight snow riders oncoming, it was more like a twenty souls seeking Pete's North powder. At the end of the day, the safest alpine area on Pete's looked like Tincan on a popular day, totally tracked out with mogul precursors. But, DP and I certainly found our untracked lines throughout the day in fabulously rich powder.

The sunny skies were energizing, but the steady wind took its toll over the day and worked the ridge top into sastrugi. Single digit temperatures on the summit ridge, 20F at the parking area. Sloughs on the steeper terraine ran a long ways, the longest ran from the ridge top to the valley floor. We observed a lot of natural releases on the east facing slopes on the motorized side of the road.

Cat-apalooza Powder Mania

2011-02-19T07:01:00.000-09:00

Robin and friends tracked up the exquisite snow of Notch Mountain and (not very) Sunnyside.

Thanks, Robin!

South Fork Whiteout

2011-02-13T20:39:00.000-09:00

Ascending in a whiteout into an avalanche debris field was nerve wracking - where did it start? are the slopes in the fog loaded and ready to come down?

It was 10 deg F at the South Fork Trailhead with very little wind and light snowfall. The upper half of North Bowl had a couple of inches fresh snow on a very hard, icy base. It wasn't worth a second lap.

Moving to the west wing of the bowl was a mistake. Stumbling into the debris field, finding the avalanche starting zone much higher, kicking steps up an incredibly hard cornice in the snowy fog were enough to make me want to bail. Bailing out was the plan, but where was the pass to the front side?

Traversing back to the pass, the fresh snow deepened and the fog lifted. After 4 hours of up and down wandering in the whiteout on sketchy snow, a sweet line with deep snow presented itself in good light. The 'secret' line was accessible from the uptrack of about 3 hours prior; skinned right past it oblivious to the treasure. Better late than never. The best snow was between 3500 and 2000 feet on a north-northwest aspect.

Five Below at Milepost Forty Nine

2011-02-12T21:33:00.000-09:00

Seward Highway Mile 49 was shady and cold at 9:30 a.m. this morning. Moving quickly and adding layers made the -5 F temperature a little more bearable. Just a few hundred feet above the road, we found warm sunshine, calm air and boot top powder. We were happy.

BettyJane, Daniella, Geno, Josh, Eruk, Lucy and yours truly hit the track early, and were later joined by about 7 others. Fresno Ridge has so many lines that we didn't see the others' tracks on the way down.

Classical Mystery Tour

2011-02-12T06:31:00.001-09:00

Got everything you need
Satisfaction guarranteed

Hoping to take you away take you today

The sold-out audience was taken away by the Anchorage symphony, conducted by Randall Craig Fleischer and the Faux Four. Steve Craig (John), Paul Bronson (Paul), David John (George), and Beaver Parker (Ringo) were fabulous! The entire ensemble deserved the standing ovations and reciprocated with encore performances of Twist and Shout, and came back again for Can't Buy Me Love. After taking us from Liverpool to Abbey Road with authentic, rich orchestral sound, the 'boys' and symphony had the audience standing, screaming, dancing. Shake it a baby now!

If there are tickets for tonight's show, the last, you gotta go!

Sunny Again at 4068

2011-02-06T18:11:00.000-09:00

Sunshine (again), a set track, and plenty of untracked lines called me back to 4068. Both the sunny and shady sides were sweet. OK, Hatcher place name experts, what do they call the line down the northwest side of 4068, Halibut?

The Girdwood Gang, Doc, AKRobb and others, planned a Turnagain trip with reports of great snow from the day before and improving stability. Worried about the Turnagain Pass weather, and called by the 4068 sunshine, the difficult decision for me was north to 4068.

4068 had sunny skies, calm winds, 15F at the parking lot, and boot top snow.

Sunny 4068

2011-02-05T19:06:00.001-09:00

We were shown the way by the brilliant sun. Climbing upward to the great white expanse, knowing not what we would find there, we were called by its brilliance.

Beckoned by it, we were drawn to it, warmed by it, blinded by it.

We found good skiing with boot top snow, slightly wind affected in places and sparkling smoke in the swales. The +13F temperature at the parking area felt much warmer on the incline reflecting the warm sunshine. Light wind on the ridge in the afternoon, but otherwise calm.

A State Parks Ranger told us the area was closed to motorized vehicles. We saw and smelled an outlaw pair riding a single, loud 2-cycle snow machine. One carried a snowboard.

Geno and BettyJane found the untracked experience in the sun.

Highly Recommended: Chugach State Park

2011-02-04T18:12:00.000-09:00

Sunny skies, calm air, fresh snow.

Near Point View Point

Temperatures were in the high teens in the shadows, felt much warmer in the sunshine. The 10" snowfall earlier in the week settled to a blissful boot-top. The snowfall was warm, then the clear and cold skies overnight pulled moisture from the fresh snow up toward the surface where hoar frost crystals formed.

Skiing was excellent on Backdoor Trail, Wolverine and Near Point in Chugach State Park. There is some great touring in the Anchorage Front Range. The rugged touring/light telemark worked perfectly in today's tour with plenty of turns.

Lost Cabin Valley Trail

I've never found the 'Lost Cabin'. Chugach State Park is a jewel.

Not Recommended - CSP

2011-01-31T22:11:00.000-09:00

Chugach State Park snow was very thin, stale and hammered by foot traffic. Fine for hiking, but skiing was sketchy. Falling with any speed would likely yield abrasions and blood. But...

It's presently snowing with snow in the forecast for the next three days! AY-OH!

Pete's Lipps & Summit Lake Avalanche

2011-01-30T11:27:00.002-09:00

Backcountry skiing in Chugach National Forest is a dream that turned into a nightmare for four hapless skiers in the Summit Lake country. Kevin Wright, a forecaster at the Chugach National Forest Glacier Ranger District, reported Butch Mountain as the sad scene involving a helicopter rescue of the four skiers, some with broken bones. Wright's report stated the slide started well above the four as they ascended Butch Mountain.

Butch is steep. Above Lower Summit Lake, it rises 2500 feet at an average 28-degree angle with localized angles in the mid-30's to 40's with clear avalanche chutes that many have safely skied without incident. The slide that ripped above the four fellows yesterday is a cruel reminder of the risks of backcountry skiing. Snow science and avalanche hazard reporting can mitigate, but the perfect slope angle for skiing coincides with the perfect slope angles for avalanches and these slopes tempt us to take risk.

Breezy Ridge

Avalanche risk was at the center of our conversation as AKRobb, Dr. Snow, Zach and yours truly contemplated Pete's North southerly 38-degree slope. We started with a Lipps lap, and we crossed Spokane Creek above its canyon to ski Pete's North. Wind was blowing hard on Lipps and Pete's N ridgelines and loading the southerly slopes. Winds recorded on Sunburst averaged 25 mph with gusts to 40. After some discussion, we opted against testing Pete's N 38-degree slope, and returned to the mellower slopes down valley. Would the steeper slope have avalanched had we skied it? We'll never know.

Pete's Steeps Wait to Ski Another Day

Temperatures on Lipps/Pete's ranged from the high to low 20's from the 800-ft road elevation up to the 3500-ft ridgelines. Snow was sugary with a thin film of crust. Skiing was good, not great. The forested elevations of Pete's N were extremely crunchy and slide slipping was necessary in few places after we milked the very last bit of Pete's glades.

Dr. Snow's Diagnosis: Powder Fever

All photos by AKRobb

Change of Direction

2011-01-23T21:10:00.001-09:00

Pyramid looked so good in the sunshine yesterday, but as we peered into a black hole at the end of Turnagain Arm, we questioned the wisdom of our decision of its pursuit. The 40 mph gusts on Sunburst at 7 a.m. with an increasing trend disuaded DP and yours truly from pursuing Pyramid on this day.

Reversing our decision and our track toward Pyramid, we turned around at Beluga Point and headed toward Hatcher Pass where the anemometer on Marmot indicated only 20 mph gusts. Thank goodness for wireless internet via cell phone - it provided the key information in our decision to turn and run from the big storm.

You can run, but you cannot hide from a storm like this one. Though it was less intense than the peak 78 mph midday gusts recorded on Sunburst, the wind blew all day on 4068 and Govt Peak gradually increasing over the course of the day, but there was a fresh 4-6" since Geno and I visited on Friday, 21-Jan that remained relatively untouched below the brushline. Skies were grey. Temperatures were in the 20's.

We heard the snow settle in a few places on the southeast-facing slopes southwest of 4068, and noticed some small natural releases near the bottom of the valley at wind lips just above the creek, but stable snow with good skiing on the SE-facing slopes. The wind on "Frostbite" was blew all day out of the south, and loaded the north-facing lee with soft slabs that ski cut with crowns up to 2 feet thick and run-outs of hundreds of vertical feet.

Binding Blues

2011-01-22T20:26:00.000-09:00

Eddies alpine bowl was stable enough today with a few inches on a hard base, sloughy. SRJesse, J-rock and yours truly made our way from the lower parking pull out up to Eddies in nearly perfect winter weather, mid 20's, no wind, good visibility. It all vanished at Eddies peak.

The alpine wind picked up and blew, the visibility declined. The longer we stayed, the harder it blew, it seemed. One of J-rock's heel bindings refused to cooperate; it just wouldn't click into his heel. We worked on it with the wind blowing on the summit ridge until our hands were frozen. With frozen hands, Jon freed his mind and rode the summit bowl semi-free heeled with one heel properly clicked in and the other free.

"Free the heel, free the mind" probably wasn't Jon's first thought. We tried to adjust the binding again, down below the alpine bowl out of most of the wind, but it just wasn't happening. Jon surmised that his Quiver Killer mount in the morning before our trip was one screw pattern too far back.

The summit bowl had 4-6" new snow on a hard base. Middle elevations had deeper snow with a sublimely soft base. The lower mountain forest had the typical frozen snow bomb crust. Ingram Creek had nice fords, and the slog in/out was quite pleasant with a couple of inches fresh, fast snow.

Turning and Touring in the Talkeetnas

2011-01-21T19:55:00.000-09:00

Geno rallied the two-man team. Thanks to the report at HatchYourTrax, we decided to try the Talkeetnas. We skinned up toward Government Peak in flat light before sun up, encouraged by the 4 fresh inches on the lower mountain. We found a rain crust above the brush line with variable strength.

Visibility improved late in the morning and we enjoyed the funky snow much more on lap 2 in good light. The snow looks better in the photos than it felt. We found the best snow on the front face with thicker and stronger rain crust back on 4068.

Front Face

The tour over to 4068 from Govt Peak front side was a beautiful trip, but 4068's snow was trickier with a thicker crust.

From 4068, Backside of the Front Side

The crust was absent below the brush line, and there was no evidence of wind on the new snow up high (wind had worked the underlying base.) The top layer was like rain crust with the cold snow below the crust.

Silver Star - Vernon, BC

2011-01-12T14:00:00.001-09:00

Exhausted after skiing and then driving across Monashee Pass to Silver Star, near Vernon, BC, I rolled in at 9 p.m. and hit the rack at Silver Star above Vernon, BC. It was a both-hands-on-the-wheel drive from Nakusp, snowy and slick on a windy Highway 6. With it snowing at bed time, I dreamed of powder.

Dreams come true. I awoke to 16" fresh, dry Okanagan powder! Following some locals, we had several nice laps with nearly continuous face shots on the front side while the good patrollers worked on getting the backside open. The faceshotfest contined as the backside lived up to its name: Powder Express.

After a morning of fresh snow without lift lines, I had to pack up and return home. BC had some terrific snow over the past couple of weeks, and Silver Star continued the trend. Spending more time exploring Silver Star is part of the plan; back/side country potential is intriguing, and its location is perfect for powder circuit trips kicking off from Kelowna's airport.

Back to Nakusp

2011-01-11T21:12:00.006-09:00

Thanks to my buddies and friendly folks at CMH Kootenay in Nakusp, yours truly picked up another heli-day after some guys dropped out of their session. It was great to go back and ski epic terraine with good conditions, a great group of skiers and excellent guides. Starting with 9 skiers, 5 dropped out midday and our afternoon was incredible with only 4 strong guests and 2 guides. Lead guide Patrick was truly exceptional; he set great lines, put us on the sweet snow and gave us lots of freedom. This afternoon was very clearly the best ski session I've experienced in my life time, thanks to Pat and the group. We racked up a lot of vertical, something around 31000 ft of the untracked experience.

KRUSER!

Doc showed his bases all day

Patrick Not in Front

The guide almost always skis first, but with a small group that understood the line, Patrick let us go first. His tracks leave the snow often, but I was rarely in a position to see it.

Skiing with Patrick was just fun. He clearly defines the line, skis long pitches, and skis FAST.

Take a Bow, Patrick!

Illecillewaet Redux

2011-01-10T21:55:00.001-09:00

Being invested in the uptrack somehow made the return to Illecillewaet more appealing than the dozens of other Rogers Pass options documented in the official guide. Thanks to Gordon and friends leading me there, having some knowledge of an area is good when travelling solo. Greeted with clear skies and low temperatures, yours truly trudged up Illecillewaet with frozen eyelashes and a little worry.

Mt. Sir Donald's Morning Plumes

Worrying about the plumes blowing off Mt Sir Donald. Would the windchill be tolerable? Would yesterday's smokey fluff be transformed by the wind into deadly unstable slabs? Would the wind render the fluff into breakable crust? The positive answer to all the worrisome questions was: no.

Later in the Day: Clear and Calm

Following the same track as yesterday, but with much better visibility, I reached Lookout Col early enough to make a few laps up high before descending the Great Glacier Trail. Yesterday's trailbreaking didn't go to waste (thanks, Ken & Gord!), though a few spots were totally blown in.

Lookout Mountain, Rogers Pass, BC

The difference in comfort between the shade and sun was amazing. The shade was just tolerable, and the sunny side seemed balmy. Needed sunglasses, even in early January.

The scale of Rogers Pass is immense. I saw three other skiers on the uptrack, but they diverged and crossed the basin to ascend the Illecillewaet Glacier. Their tracks are barely visible on the 'calm' photo of Mt. Sir Donald, above. It was a 2-hour trip for the 3 young men to make their way across the basin.

Mt Sir Donald towered 3000 ft plus above my high point for the day.

Vantage of Grizzly Mtn, Shoulder, Teddy Bear Trees, & Glacier Park Lodge

Lookout Col backside down to Alsukan Trail was tempting, maybe next trip.

Illecillewaet at Rogers Pass

2011-01-09T19:20:00.001-09:00

Kindred spirit Calgarians let me tag along again today on the skin track up the Sir Donald Trail to the Illecillewaet River headwaters above Rogers Pass, British Columbia. What a wonderful place with an immense scale and fabulous snow!

We enjoyed an established skin track well up toward Lookout Pass, and also enjoyed the solitude of having the entire basin to ourselves all day. Snow was deep and trail breaking was slow going, but well worth the effort. The men teamed up to push the trail a lot further up, almost to the pass. Maybe tomorrow, I'll return and break a little more.

Ken

Ken's Close Up - always in perfect balance

Beth

Deb

Gord

After ascending the Sir Donald Trail and then diverging toward the pass just below Lookout Mountain, we skied down a terrific line to the Great Glacier Trail, and followed it to the flat country down low. Gord navigated from the Great Glacier Trail back to the Sir Donald Trail for a return safe and sound. Wow, what a day!

Mt. Sir Donald

Middle of the Illecillewaet Basin toward Skiers' Left

Great Glacier Trail

It was just great skiing with the lovely Calgarians, wonderful folks. They were so kind to set up the Rogers Pass weekend and showed yours truly some truly great touring.

Rogers Pass

2011-01-08T21:05:00.004-09:00

The Trans-Canada Highway and Canadian Pacific Railway cross the magnificent country of Canada at a mountain pass named for Major A. B. Rogers who documented it in 1882. This pass through the Selkirk Mountains is well known among the back country skiing community, and it is a long desired destination for yours truly. Here, uberskier Greg Hill recently completed his quest to climb and ski two million vertical feet in a year. Skiers from around the world come here to sample some of the world's best skiing in awe-inspiring terraine. Gord, Deb, Ken and Beth were very kind to show yours truly some terrific touring at Rogers Pass.

Ken

Beth

We found somewhat unsettled snow, in other words, BLOWER!! The good folks showed this lucky Rogers neophyte Alaskan a great time at Connaught Creek's Teddy Bear Trees area. A very enjoyable time, I called it; Gord called it 'sporty' and I think he meant not ideal. The trees were tight with a few alders, but lines were there and I loved it!

Rogers Pass Accommodations

Deb

Gord

Crossing Connaught Creek

Marching Up Connaught Creek

Kootenay 4

2011-01-07T21:44:00.001-09:00

We finished our breakfast by candle light because the power went out at about 7:20 a.m. Regardless, the pilot and mechanic fired up the magic machine and we went skiing!

A fresh foot had fallen overnight, and it heavily snowed most of the day. Temperatures rose to a very wet state up to about 4300 ft, our lowest pick-up of the day. The snow was deep and we needed steep to ride and we got it. Sloughs were less frequent than yesterday, but some were quite large and dense. Skiing was great with over-the-head plumes.

After completing the CMH 4-day trip, yours truly left the Kootenay operation for self-propelled ski touring at Rogers Pass. I followed Gord and Debbie from Nakusp back to Revie. Like the opposite direction, we made the ferry with not much contingency. I was the last car on the Revelstoke return trip, versus next to last on the Nakusp-bound ride.

The avalanche report is not promising. We'll see what tomorrow brings.

Kootenay 3

2011-01-06T16:37:00.000-09:00

More snow (big sigh), more weather down time (wah!). But, thanks to pilot Sluggo and the guides, we were able to get out at 11 a.m. in heavy snowfall; 8 a.m. is normal departure. We skied untracked lines in 14 inches (35 cm) fresh snow until dark: Pleasure Center, Shotgun and Squarehead, 12,100 ft vertical by my count.

Slough management was key today as the fresh snow was moving a bit. There were sloughs that could knock a man down, but skiing out of them or skiing faster than the sloughs were good enough solutions to safely keep us in powder paradise.

Kootenay 2

2011-01-05T16:28:00.000-09:00

Day 2 weather delay, rotor icing. Finally got up and out for 8600 ft vertical at Pleasure Center, Shotgun, Squarehead.

Kootney CMH glades are perfect pitch, perfect spacing and perfect snow. This trip is their first of the season, so the only tracks we see are ours. And later in the season with the frequent Selkirk snowfall, the untracked experience is the norm.

Kootenay 1

2011-01-04T17:38:00.001-09:00

Kootenay is a heliskiing operation based in Nakusp, British Columbia staffed by some the warmest, friendliest people you'll ever meet and guided/piloted by true professionals. It is one of eleven heliskiing areas in the Canadian Mountain Holidays portfolio of premier skiing experiences. Kruser cast the lure, and I hit it like a Northern Pike. My third visit to Kootenay with said powder pusher started off like all the rest - EPIC!!! We had a very nice group: Debbie, Gordon, Lori, Geo, Scott and son Greg, Dr. Snow, mw, Kruser, and yours truly led by the esteemed Guide Patrick.

Patrick also capably presented our orientation to all three of this week's groups. We viewed our safety video, an interesting piece put together with excellent examples and extremely important information that stuck. Then off to the heliport for instructions from pilot Mike and avalanche transciever training by the guides. Then we flew away in the magic machine to the powder paradise in the Selkirks.

We skied.

Bowling Alley, Rim, Little Leary, Pleasure Center, Shotgun,

Revelstoke Mountain Resort

2011-01-04T05:36:00.020-09:00

The town of Revelstoke is blessed with a truly marvelous ski area, Revelstoke Mountain Resort. Its gondola and chair lifts carry skiers to the greatest vertical rise of all North American ski area on Mount McKenzie. From a base elevation of 1680 feet, the chair lift tops out at 7300 feet.

Dr. Snow, Kruser, mw and yours truly started 2011 with a couple of days of powder prospecting at RMR. Fresh snow had fallen about a week earlier, and all of the obvious powder lines had been skied. But, we found a fair amount of untracked powder in the glades of the North Bowl, served by the "Ripper" high speed quad chairlift, as well as the higher "Stoke" lift on the front side.

Doc Surviving the Cliff

Kruser found fresh in the next alley

The "Back 40 Glades" funneled into an interesting creek

RMR has exceptional terraine with a lot of cliffs. We found so many cliffs, mostly marked with unobtrusive signs and downclimbed by our party in only two episodes, that we joked about doing the cliff run... Which one?

Road to Revie

2011-01-01T21:56:00.003-09:00

A skiers’ paradise, Revelstoke is aptly named. Situated at the Columbia River crossing by the Trans-Canada Highway, the town boasts backcountry, lift-served, snow cat, and helicopter skiing in the epic Columbia Mountain ranges with arguably the world’s best snow. Revelstoke, originally a railroad town, is the kickoff for world-renown Rogers Pass alpine touring area; it has North American ski industry’s greatest vertical lift of 5600 feet at Revelstoke Mountain Resort; and it's home to multiple heli- and cat-skiing operations.

Powder paradise seekers Doctor Snow, Kruser, mw and yours truly jam packed our mid-size SUV rental with baggage, ski gear, and four men. We stuffed the baggage in the very back and our ski bags formed a partition down the middle of the cabin effectively isolating each of us in a personal powder capsule. Our plane touched down at 4:30 p.m. in Kelowna and we were settled in our Revie motel by 9 p.m. after gathering our gear, passing through customs and making the 2-1/2 drive to Revie.

Kruser's Alyeska

2010-12-31T09:31:00.000-09:00

Good conditions at the lifts even with the Kruser scale adjustment. Markman and Kruser divulged the secrets of North Face untracked pockets. Creamy top layer with cold snow underneath. With a one to two tram wait most of the day, the good crew ran the ascension machine back-to-back all day without significant down time.

The Kruser scale adjustment is like Fahrenheit to Celsius; zero C just doesn't feel the same as zero F. Everyone has an individual tolerance, and Kruser has a notoriously high pain threshold. He is skiing day 76 of this 'season'. Seventy-six is not a typo. He shrugs and says that number includes backcountry and skating, like it's only partial credit, and he 'only' has 30 at the lifts.

Season is another Kruser conundrum because as he loudly proclaims, "It's never over!" He's on consecutive month 293 or something like that, but I've started counting years anyway. October 2011 will be 25 years of skiing every month consecutively. Rumor has it this next milestone will be celebrated on skis.

Re-Pete

2010-12-28T20:30:00.000-09:00

After our reconnoiter a couple of days prior, Kyle and I were glad to go to back to Pete's Creek headwaters. Clear skies and one degree above zero (F) at our dawn departure from the Johnson Trailhead pull out. We entered the dark hemlock forest and emerged in a brilliant light and much warmer temperatures.

We extended the glacier trail to the saddle overlooking Center and Bench Creeks. From ridge of Peak 4173 we ventured down toward Center Creek with trepidation into a classic bowl funneling into an avalanche ravine. Several consecutive green light days influenced our decision to our venture up Pete's Creek to begin with, but we felt like we were at the end of a gun barrel on 4173 south side.

Looking Up the Gun Barrel

The south side had variable snow with some hollow-sounding wind pack, exposed Thanksgiving Rain Crust (TRC), along with some excellent powder. We hustled back up to the saddle to ski the dark side.

Extremities of Pete's North

Kyle Liking It

Entering Pete's Darkside

Kyle Liking It Again

One Last Look

We lapped the shady side of Pete's Creek headwaters in the most consistently sweet powder we've skied in several weeks. We stretched a 4th ascent up to the saddle at sunset and enjoyed the 3300 ft vertical run home. The lowest 400 ft vertical is challenging with a lot tracks set up on the TRC on steep slopes with partially buried alders. The Johnson Trailhead was still only 2 deg F when we returned.

Pete's Creek

2010-12-26T22:47:00.001-09:00

No fresh snow at the Johnson Pass trailhead with temperature of 7 deg F and no wind at 9:30 a.m. Pete's North had a glide crack with an opening more than 50 feet wide. The snow pack was only about 2-1/2 feet deep at the wide crack. Just up valley from the wide glide crack, the snow had avalanched some time ago and run about 600 feet vertical to the valley floor.

Glide Crack - Snowpack thickness from pole tip to my hand

Kyle and yours truly skied back to the Pete's Creek headwaters glacier where we found beautiful powder and sporadic crust patches. We couldn't resist making a few laps on the Pete's North ridge before heading back to the glacier. Snow quality above 2500 ft elevation was inconsistent on Pete's North ridge, and below the snow quality was best below tree line. The temperature was 7 deg at the car when we returned, same as our departure.

Kyle ready for a sunset ski home

Merry Christmas 2010!

2010-12-25T19:35:00.000-09:00

Mount Gordon Lyon was sunny and warm with its temperature inversion hovering above Anchorage. The wonderful winter weather was contrasted by the breakable crust snow. By a good margin, today's breakable crust was the toughest of the season.

Worried about Arctic Valley
Would ski packing this slope keep it from blowing away?

My daughter and I made a Christmas afternoon lap up and down Mt. Gordon Lyon under the winter sun. Snow conditions were downright tough, but tougher than the conditions was that young woman who paced me up the hill. Up she went, called by the sunshine without a whisper of wind.

Blue Sky, Sunshine

With effort, we cranked a few telemarks through the crust. The descent had me muttering, but nary a complaint from my partner. All rosy cheeked and cheery she was, a bright and inspiring soul that one.

Telecrank

Telecrust

Temperature was increasing, 15F at departure, 25F on our sunset return. No wind. Snow was crusty icy breakable crust.

Princess of the Chugach

Seven Below Superbowl

2010-12-23T22:28:00.002-09:00

Seven degrees below zero Fahrenheit was cold enough at our predawn departure for Superbowl from the Cornbiscuit Creek (unnamed on USGS map) trailhead. Geno and yours truly bundled up and trod up the well worn trail. With the last snowfall at Turnagain Pass 20 days prior, there are a gazillion tracks, down and up.

Superbowl Side of Cornbiscuit

Emerging from Darkness

As many tracks as there are, we had no problem finding broken trail for the uptrack and untracked descents. We toured up Superbowl, planning to spend the day there but succombing to the sunshine, we lapped a sweet south-facing line into Bertha Creek. We skied out the Bertha Creek drainage, traversing well above the creek to Cornbiscuit's northwest face picking up 20-turn fall line shots of incredibly good snow here and there along the traverse. We made one final trudge back up the northwest face and skied down to the highway in the dusky alpenglow.

Returning to the car, we found the same temperature as when we departed 6 hours earlier, 7 below. There was a chilling breeze for much of the day, and I was glad to have an extra layer and big mittens. The snow quality on Cornbiscuit was exquisite. We kicked loose sizable sloughs that ran a couple hundred vertical feet. A few glide cracks are still open and others are filled. The snowpack upper layers were faceted with zero cohesion.

Geno in the Warm Solstice Sun

Campbell Creek Middle Fork

2010-12-22T08:18:00.000-09:00

Glen Alps to Stuckagain is an easy 6-mile ski tour with a gross 2200 feet downhill. Waxless or wax base skis work well with 800 feet of gentle climbing gradients. An occasional sidestep or herring bone may help in some conditions. Present conditions are exceptional with plenty of fluffy snow and a very fast track. We used VR30 kick wax with a little VR40 underfoot.

Campbell Creek South (Main) Fork Bridge

True Telemarkers

Solstice Sunset at Latitude 61N

The trail is unmarked for the most part and some route finding is necessary, especially between the Near Point Trail and Basher. Eruk, Doc and yours truly made the trip a little longer yesterday by skiing to the Near Point Homestead site and then telemarking down a rugged winter trail.

Solstice 2010

2010-12-20T20:46:00.001-09:00

Could it be better? Maybe, but not much on the Anchorage Hillside.

After a morning lap on Near Point below timberline, a couple of hours downtown, and an alpine lap at Arctic Valley in the post-sunset alpenglow, the Hillside gets the blue ribbon.

Touring on the Anchorage Hillside in Chugach State Park is exceptional! A fresh 6" fell today at a temperature of 10 to 20 deg F, and created nearly ideal conditions. The track is soft and fast.

Arctic Valley was runner up with 6" fresh, very low density powder on a wind-packed or rain crust, scritchy base, and 11F with an intermittent breeze, Gullies with a lee shadow from the north wind have caught a little deeper snow. With a sunset start in a wistful sort of light, Mt Gordon Lyon was a worthwhile lap. The vivid colors of the solstice sunset were inspirational while setting an uptrack. Descending in very late alpenglow through the boot top, airy snow was an other worldly experience. Gliding back toward home, over my shoulder I caught a glimpse of the full moon, just above the horizon, looming large and yellow-orange in a very slight haze.

Work in town was very necessary, but a distant third place in the powder sweepstakes.

Back to Normal

2010-12-19T15:37:00.000-09:00

Alpine country of the Anchorage Hillside is back to normal: snow in the gullies and bare rocks on the ridges. Chugach State Park main trails are hard and fast, and a little bumpy from the boot packers. Below tree line, a foot of sugar-like snow rests on the Thanksgiving Rain Crust. If you look for it, terrific touring conditions can be found. For a quick 1000 ft vertical tour, the Near Point/Lost Cabin Valley Trail is at the top of the list with some nice 10-turn telemark shortcuts on the downhill.

Wolverine North Buttress

Trail Breaker

Turnagain Ho

2010-12-19T09:59:00.002-09:00

Subzero temperatures at the Bertha Creek pull-out about an hour before sunrise had us moving quickly to get on our way up Spokane Creek to Lipps. The well worn lower trail to Lipps is a little painful just below the power line, and the upper trail has seen a lot of traffic. Turnagain hoar frost has grown through much of the snowpack resting on the Thanksgiving Rain Crust and has become a nice soft, sugary, and fun-riding top layer.

Lipps Lap

Although plenty of powder seekers have enjoyed her flanks over this dry spell, Eruk, Lucy, DP, Kyle and yours truly found the untracked experience on Lipps. After lapping the fall line for a couple of Lipps laps, we felt the allure of exploring up valley and decided to tour up toward the Spokane Creek headwaters. The exploration was a success revealing more Spokane moraine topography than expected. We added Spokane Glacier Bowl to the gotta-go-there list.

Click to enlarge

If I understood DP, the peak west of Spokane Gl is named "Grandaddy"; peak 4173 south of Spokane Gl is another one perhaps they call Grandaddy. Can a Turnagain place name expert please let us know the consensus Grandaddy location?

Uptrack under Grandaddy's South Side

Sunny skies on 18-Dec-2010 with temperatures in the high teens at 2500 to 3500 ft el, and subzero below 1000 ft el. Eruk and I both lost skins just above the road, but made the first climb with the help of some tape. Stowing skins next to my base layer during the first run left them rejuvenated, and they stuck for the subsequent three ascents (in 10 to 20F warmer temperatures). Variable winds occasionally sprayed plumes off the 4000 ft el ridgelines and freeze-dried us as we transitioned around 3500 ft el.

Campbell Creek North Fork

2010-12-12T19:27:00.000-09:00

Anchorage Hillside touring is very good with cold snow and packed conditions on the main trails. Eruk, Lucy and yours truly ventured to the Campbell Creek North Fork in the shadow of Near Point and Wolverine Peak.

North Fork Valley

We skied up the North Fork from Stuckagain Heights, skinned up to the saddle between Wolverine and Near Point, and skied back down the Wolverine Trail to Stuckagain. Campbell Creek North Fork sees very little traffic. We saw no one as we followed a solitary snowshoe track up toward Long Lake. A couple of miles up the canyon, we parted ways with the single snowshoe track and skinned up toward the sunshine. Campbell Creek North Fork is a shaded valley without sunshine for several weeks each winter.

Snow conditions are seasonally thin in the North Fork valley and on the 'front side'. Temperatures were in the single digits with a very slight breeze, except at the pass. Plumes were blowing of the peaks above 4000 ft el, and the snow up high appeared wind-worked. Below 3000 ft el, the snow was fluffy, but thin. Big hoar frost crystals have formed on the snow surface.