Eight Hundred Six

inches and snowing at the top of Alyeska. Deep soft snow at the top skied sweetly. Dense is a euphemistic way of describing the base conditions.

End Better than the Beginning

Snowing and blowing on Mount Alyeska, storm riding at its finest. Kruser's rally got me going, and it was a good call. Markman, Kruser and yours truly found untracked lines on the North Face until its 5:30 pm closing. Heavy snowfall (medium light density) and wind filling in tracks between runs made exceptional skiing.

Kruser got it right: the end was better than the beginning

Springtime in Girdwood

Turk worked his big boards with a mastery of the mank.

Girdwood is a wet place. It's claim as the northern-most rain forest has me convinced. But, not far above the base elevation, the 'light precipitation' was falling in the form of a structured crystal in the late afternoon.

The snowpack down to 2000+/- ft el remained wintery all day, but by late afternoon, the 24" fresh in 24 hours had become a gloppy mashed potato base down to about 500 ft where it had become slushy.

The image below is Alex carrying some velocity.

Winter is Back to Back

Alyeska's North Face provided treats worthy of soldiering on to the end. We were the last two through Rag Doll gate. Thanks to the pleasant patroller who said, "No problem"; he had just tied the rope and flipped the sign down, but let us through with no hassle. High Traverse was very good, too with soft snow beneath the 6" fresh on top with a hint of the old tracks. North Face still reigned.

GB & Dr. Snow were amply rewarded for enduring the boney traverse to the Knuckles on North Face.



Storm skiing in Knuckles was excellent.

Winter is back at Alyeska

Expecting dust on crust, 20,000 verts and done, the snow gods gave us waist deep and 39k. The waist deep was in the slough-alicious sloughage in Christmas Chute and the Knuckles. Elsewhere it was 3-inch deep dust on crust, and very enjoyable.

The base at the base was boiler plate. Above the frozen snow zone, there was a sweet, soft base. Even the frozen base had enough fresh on top for carve-ability, though it was a bit scritchy.

Alyeska blogger-mistress & meister.

Kate, Kruser, & Dr. Snow dropped into Christmas.