Sunburst

Early season Hatcher's Pass is great, but nothing compares to the snow in Turnagain Pass. For my first turns in Turnagain, approximately 50 miles south of Anchorage, I headed up Sunburst Ridge with friends Jon and Jessica. While it was socked in back in town, the Kenai Peninsula welcomed us with bluebird skies and a little bit cooler temps.......oh yeah and 34 inches of new snow in the past week!

On the uptrack. Hannah, Jessica, and Jon. The "sunnyside" on the other side of the highway; usually reserved for snowmachiners, but there is not enough snow yet.

Pastoral Peak in the background; Magnum Ridge on the right, Sunburst on the left.

The word on the street was instability. A whole lot of new snow sitting on top of cold faceted October snow. Large natural avalanche activity was witnessed throughout the Turnagain and Girdwood area. We decided to play it safe and stick to low angle terrain. Fine with us...the snow was outstanding. Face shots optional, smiles required.

Jessica perfects expert tele turns into the main bowl of Sunburst.

The Powderhound makes her own tracks in her own "puffy" coat.

Chris skiis a pure southern aspect down Sunburst towards Taylor Creek.

Lobita joining the group after getting Chugached.

On the way out. With the shorter days ahead of us, alpenglow creeps in around 3:00PM. Looking towards the south end of the pass towards Silvertip.

Looking north towards the Turnagain Arm. You can see the highway and the motorized area of the recreation area.

A cool pic I took of all the snow on the trees and the sun in the background. It was a little bit of an alder bash on the way out.

Age old Question: why do dogs lick themselves?

BECAUSE THEY CAN!!!!!!