Solitary Pastoral

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.

Swiss Bowlagain

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.

Hatcher 4068 Corn and Powder

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

Party Train

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

Sunny Again at 4068

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

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

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

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

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



Seven Below Superbowl

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

 

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.

Back to Normal

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

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.

Turnagain Update

Turnagain Pass again had very little to no wind, ideal winter temperatures in the teens to low twenties.  Glade snow is still the best, though the alpine snow quality is catching up.  Some light flurries blew in and out over the day.

Our December day offered 5 hours 35 minutes between sunrise and sunset, but there was plenty of daylight to wend our way toward exhaustion.  J-Rock and yours truly spent 6 hours 40 minutes on skis, starting the day with an ambitious objective of Sharkfin and settling for laps on Eddies.  We luckily happened to depart the parking area with Ron and Todd, and they helped us find our way across Ingram Creek.   They were headed for Wolverine.  Our plan was a lap on Eddies and then over to Sharkfin.  We stayed on Eddies, and we heard some happy hollering over on Sharkfin.

Ingram Creek with a lot of open water

Cutting Eddies Bowl

Tincan Sunset

Aldercation