Spring Forward Effect?

Twenty-three hour day, I don't know.
















Today's session ended with a lecture by a ski patrol. I was mistaken in my belief that they don't mind people traversing from outside into open ski runs.

Geo, WK, and yours truly skinned to the Max's weather station from Timberline Drive. Our ascent stayed well outside of the ski area. They do not want BC riders to cross the boundary regardless of whether the particular run is open or not due to avalanche concerns, etc.

Max's weather station: 26F 4 mph avg




















A 2009 US report per Wikipedia claims that workers get injured more often and more severely on the 'spring forward' Monday. We were a day early, but survived the spring forward ski day without injury, save our beaten brows.

But, it was worthwhile with the remarkable snow up high yielding those huge exhuberant smiles all around.

Geo shredded the slough.















WK found the fresh.

Max Tracks

Max's Mountain overlooks Girdwood and provides a portal to some incredible ski country in southcentral Alaska. Eruk and I followed the Virgin Creek Trail from the end of Timberline Drive through the dense and steep hemlock forest up to the glade on Max's flank and on to the weather station at Max's summit (aka Baumann's bump.) The west face of Max's had ten lines on it. While Eruk and I gazed at panaroma, we saw two skiers drop down the north face of the southerly ridge above Virgin Creek. There were tracks on Little League and Big League, and we watched three people ascend Little League and ski over the ridge out of sight.

Litte League

Summit Glacier

A dusting of snow at the trailhead and friendly skies portended the conditions on high. Only 3000 ft vertical hiking and maybe we would find the fluff on Summit Glacier. As it turned out on this occasion, it was worth it.

Worth it, it was in 2009 as it was 25 years ago when we first ventured here. In 1984, we used 3-pin bindings, leather boots and skinny skis. We skinned without heel elevators and we turned by telemark. We even jogged back down the trail at the end of the day. Youth has left our bodies, and we've adopted the superior technologies of wider skis, alpine touring bindings, and plastic boots, but the essence remains the same. That essence of self-reliantly ascending to the glaciated slopes, and then descending the deep snow, floating and gliding and feeling free.

Crystal Lake in the background.

Summit's bergschrund, a great place to de-skin!

Looking over the 700-ft abyss from the Summit saddle to the Milk Glacier.

The light was bad.

The snow was good.

Experience was golden.

Jewel wasn't skiable 25-Oct-2009. The line down Summit was very nice and rock free. The far northern descent (blue line, ascent routes are red) is called Patrick's after the late Patrick Hallin, our dear friend. He was lost long ago in the cold waters of Cook Inlet.