April Fools Update

March skiing sucked in Alaska....April Fools!

Just the opposite, as an east coaster would say "it was wicked pissah".

Dang, i've got a lot of updating to do.  I apologize, to be quite honest, for being down right lazy.  I've been getting after that March powder, visits to the cabin, the Last Great Race, and celebrating.

As part of the Iditarod weekend, we all met in Hatcher Pass for some skiing on Saturday.  I made the reverse commute from Talkeetna and met the crew.  We headed up Pk 4068 and skied a lap in Wimp Bowl, and then skied Lodge Run (north face of 4068).  Here are some pics of those powder pursuits:

Its all about the Uptrack.

Seff enjoys the slash fest.

The CD killin' it with the DPS's!

Gnarly Gnicki proves there are no wimps in Wimp Bowl.  Notice the contrails 3 turns back. #maching

Picture of the Year!

Heading home.

Lodge Run.....check.

Yours truly and LB - needing a chiropractor after wrecking that spine :)

We all retired to the cabin where the festivities commenced.  What would an apres ski be without the shot ski?!?!

(L to R): Birdcage, The Shrink, HD, Seff

$10 gets you a musher.  If your musher comes in first, you win the pot.  We picked from the favorites: Meg had a repeat of last year with Aliy Zirkle, and I had veteran Martin Buser.  Things looked good.

The group is stoked.  Bring on the Harlem Shake.

The ladies enjoying the Vitamin D (L to R): Em, HD, The Shrink, Dirty Diana, C-Lo, Gnarly Gnicki.

The Shrink gives well wishes and a high-five to Aliy Zirkle....second place two years in a row.

In mid-March I decided to go off the beaten path and ski the Willow side of Hatcher Pass.  Seff rallied and we enjoyed the sun, views, wind hammered alpine, and creamy tree skiing.  Meanwhile everything that was white got skied in Southcentral Alaska.  Wolverine, Big Chief, Captains Chair, SOD, Carpathian (NF), Silvertip, Twin Peaks...and the list goes on.

And I even got credit for a first descent!  First turns on "LB's Run" in Talkeetna. Yes it counts as a ski day.

Meesh and I met the HYT crew at Porcupine Meadows for some storm skiing.  HP reportedly received 23" fresh that day.  We skied about a foot.

Anchorage was also greeted with a late March refresh with as much as 15" in town, and 18" on the Hillside.  We skied the trees in the South Fork.  Mr. Cody chases Meesh's shadow.

Bout the only other news is that the CrossFit Open is almost done - featuring a fierce competition between me and my brother-in-law.  I'm 11 points in the lead going into the final workout (13.5).  And Syracuse (my alma mater) made the Final Four.  Go 'Cuse!

"March in Alaska is the reward for December in Alaska" --SF

Soft...Buttery...Corn

A few years ago, we all rallied at the Bear Tooth for the CNFAIC Fundraiser to listen to Kristoffer Erickson talk about his Alaskan spring skiing adventures.  It was a sweet presentation and this cat really got after it, but all he talked about was skiing some "Soft Buttery Corn."

Long days and warm temps rewarded us with some nice spring skiing last night in the South Fork valley. B-real and I hammered up Harp Mountain after work.  We arrived at the top wiping the sweat off our brows, dehydrated and looking for a Coors Light.

When the Mountains turn blue, It's as Cold as the Chugach!

I think Eddie said it right... "if you know someone who’s still looking rather pasty, tell em to get off their ass and get into the hills."  And if you haven't check his latest footie from his seggie, do so; it's pretty tight.

Its the time of year when all of the season ending parties take place like the Champagne Brunch and this years inaugural "Corn Harvest" sponsored by the CNFAIC.  And we all have those good "farmers" tans.

B-real harvests his own crops...

As this epic record-breaking winter winds down we all have to answer the question, 

"Whoa, where have you been, vacation?  

"Nope, ... Alaska!"

The Other Twin Peaks

I decided to head off the beaten path a bit out towards the Valley.  Usually I take that route to explore the granite spires of Hatcher Pass, but this time deviated towards the Old Glenn Highway with valley local Mitch.

The saddle between East and West Twin Peaks was the destination (the obvious low point in the center of this photo).

We didn't make the best terrain decision, as the back side of this skin track required us to descend about 300 vertical feet that had been baking in the sun all day.  We lived to ski another day.  We did see some other tracks over near POW/MIA, which appear to be these guys.

The approach and ski back to the truck was one of the worst i've experienced.  Alders and Devils Club as thick as thieves.  Made the beers back at the truck taste extra good!

Things will slow down here a bit.  Working next weekend, playing the last weekend in April, and then working again for my 15 days of mandatory fun!  Then we head to the Gulkana for Memorial Day, followed by the real work - building a cabin!

Until next time.  I'm still picking Devils Club out of my arms and legs...

Crossfit Open Games WOD 12.2

Quick update:

WOD 12.2 for the Crossfit Open Games is posted here:

Proceed through the sequence below completing as many reps as possible in 10 minutes of:
30 Snatch (M 75 / F 45 lbs)
30 Snatch (M 135 / F 75 lbs)
30 Snatch (M 165 / F 100 lbs)
Max Rep Snatch (M 210 / F 120 lbs)

This workout begins from the standing position. The athlete will complete all reps at the first weight before advancing to the next weight. Score is total reps completed in 10min.

The trouble about this workout is that i've never even done a snatch.  I feverishly searched the internet for instruction on this olympic lift.  I practiced with a piece of PVC pipe in my office...interrupted by Meg saying "what are you doing?!?!"

My score = 32.  Not too bad considering my new PR is 135 lbs.  That's a lot of weight to get over your head.

Nuff of that.  Check out this video of an avalanche that hit a fishing warehouse in King Cove, Alaska.  Pure destruction.  Luckily the employees left about 30 minutes for the day.

Ski it if you can!

Winner Creek

February has been a crazy month so far for storm snow.  Alyeska Resort has received 204" of new snow since the first of the month.  Get out the shovels, because another 8-12" is expected today.

On Saturday, Matt & Agnes rallied for their first BC outing since returning from NZ and Mitch rounded out the group.  We decided on the long slog out to the snowcat terrain past Winner Creek.  We made quick time on the cat track and met the large group of clients as we reached the base of Notch Mountain.  Every single one of them had some type of GoPro camera attached to various parts of their body.

Speaking of GoPro's, I put together this quick edit of the fantastic powder skiing.



And it's been a rough year for the lower 48 and avalanche deaths.  4 people were killed yesterday in two separate incidents at Stevens and Snoqualmie passes.  Girdwood native and freeskier Elyse Saugstad was one of the group members caught and carried.  6 people have been killed in Colorado this year.

Also interesting to note that she was wearing an ABS Avalanche Airbag Backpack.  Recent videos of an incident in Colorado of a BCA Float 30 avalanche airbag that went "viral".  Thoughts and prayers go out to all of the families.

Stay safe and enjoy all of the white stuff!

mlj

Bottomless Powder

I'm calling it the best day of the year!  Others call it "epic"; "bottomless"; "today was as good as it gets"; and "DEEP!"  Turnagain Pass received about 30"+ of loose, low density, bottomless, unconsolidated snow last Sunday/Monday.

Today we reaped the benefits of that storm by setting the skin track and breaking trail with JD and B-real.

-15F at the truck, we made quick time, little stops and hammered it out until we got into the sun.  And a lot of folks gave thanks!  I actually had one guy say "we should have to pay a toll".

This was your toll:  First Tracks!

The sock monkey gave me good luck on a phenomenal day.  But he didn't keep my feet warm.  I returned to the truck walking on two blocks of east coast ice.  Riding the "Mattawatts".

Justin and I after tending to our crops....(get it? farming our turns!)

I've got two weeks break to help a friend a build a cabin, and drill.  Gotta love it!

Level 3 Prep/Observers Course

I brushed up my forecasting and observer skills this past week with the Alaska Avalanche School.

The Level 3 Prep/Observers Course focused on the the standards presented in the Snow, Weather and Avalanches: Observational Guidelines for Avalanche Programs in the United States - also known as the "SWAG".

Led by Tucker and Brad, whom I always seem to run into, we spent the day touring and standing in snow pits on the lower elevations of Tincan.  It was a beautiful bluebird day in the morning, turning to greybird in the afternoon with the winds ramping up - with 70mph gusts on Sunburst and 84mph on Rendezvous!

The previous ~6" of new snow dried out nicely and made for some pretty awesome skiing (...or so i've heard).  We ran into some familiar faces who skied Tincan Proper and Todd's Run....dang jealous!

The view from our snowpit basecamp.  High winds over on Pyramid Peak and the north side of the Arm.

 2mm surface hoar...something to watch out for at mid-lower elevations.

 Five snowpits....looks like craters from a CBU-31 JDAM.

Any snow geeks can find my observation here.  We wrapped up the course at Chair 5 over a beer.  I always recommend brushing up on your early season avy skills with some type of "continuing education" - and the crew at the AAS is top notch!  Thanks Tucker!

Chinook

It was just too good to be true.  November was an awesome start to the ski season, with some phenomenal visibility, cold snow, and stability over the Thanksgiving weekend....and we gave thanks! (yeah this is a repeat photo, but it was an awesome day - Down Under bound Matt Hage slaying the big mountain powder!)

But the recent Chinook winds have produced gusts up to 101mph on the top of Rendezvous Peak at Arctic Valley, and Breal told me 118mph gusts on the Hillside at Glen Alps.  This is the only Chinook that i'm used to....the CH-47 type....

I can only explain it as "jumping into a big screen TV".

I'm glad I had to work this weekend, because it wasn't a good weekend to enjoy the skiing.  I think the upper elevations got some decent snow, but heavy rains blanketed the front range.

Time to burn some skiis in the name of Ullr.

South Fork Conditions Update

This November has been off to a good start, with over a foot of fresh snow in the past week.  Not to mention the decent start in October; but I've already got 3 1/2 foot snow banks in my driveway.

I headed out to the South Fork tonight for a quick after work "one run and done" conditions check.  I really didn't pay attention to the weather gauge, but there must have been some wind that came in with the recent storm.  By my calibrated eye, there was about 4" of new low density snow in the parking lot at the trailhead.  I could see the wind was transporting snow on the ridge tops, specifically Harp and some of the ridges deeper up valley.

I observed a small natural slide on the top of Lynx that had been obviously wind loaded.  There was a large party that had skied the main gut of Harp proper and it "looked" really good.  I would be leery and untrusting of ridgetops and gullies that had been scoured - play it safe!

Here are some GoPro pics.  They really don't do any type of justice, but better than nothing.

 And of course LB getting hers...

In celebration of Veteran's Day, i'll be out getting some turns.  Hopefully i'll have an update of how things flushed out after the "mega storm".

In other news, Matt Hage is getting stoked.

Echo Bend in HD

Luc and I floated Echo Bend twice for a double-header on the Eagle River.  The only other time we floated this was in September at lower water - around 300-400 cfs.  Our trips were pushing 800 cfs which made it pushy but fun!

Enjoy the video in HD shot with my new GoPro.

Echo Bend Twofer from Matt Johnson on Vimeo.

It's Rafting Season

It't been a little bit since an update on the Uptrack.  The snow has melted, so if you want to get after it, you need to hike long and hard for some couloir skiing or glacier turns.  But this is the time of year when the skiers turn to peak bagging, fishing, camping....and of course rafting.

On Memorial Day, we took a "fat" raft trip down the Chulitna River located in the Denali State Park.  This borders the Denali National Park.  We put-in at MP 185 on the Parks Highway, and floated 77 river miles to the take-out in Talkeetna.

The Boys (L to R): Ryan, Seff, Matt, Aaron-cito.

 The Girls (L to R): Marisa, Meg, Diana, Lobita

 Meg and I taking a lunch break.  Denali and the Moose's Tooth in the back left (a little hazy).

 Seff and his girl loungin'!!

Temps were in the mid 60's to lower 70's.  We had unrestricted views of the Alaska Range and great flows for a phenomenal trip!

At the helm with Denali in the background.

I made a quick video of our trip.  It can be viewed here:


Special thanks to OAP for the raft rentals! The reward was pizza and beer at Mountain High Pizza on Main Street in Talkeetna!

Hanging Valley Couloir

I got the idea to ski into the Hanging Valley last year from Joe Stock who ventured deep into the South Fork for "cooler season."

Although American-ized, we like to call them "coolers" or "coolies" - referring to the french term "couloir": meaning "passage" or "corridor," a narrow gully with a steep gradient in a mountainous terrain.

After a day of excessive partying for a friends 40th birfday party, we got the classic 11:00 late start and made our way into Hanging Valley.  Connecting the patches of snow and tundra, we put on/took off our skis about 10 times before making it to the base of the large chute.  Not to mention negotiating the rotten saturated isothermic snowpack....

Tyler expresses his need for "couloir love".  Our destination is straight ahead.

This couloir, which I dont have a specific name, required a 1500' boot pack.  Reference previous posts about boot packing.  We went from skinning, to booting, to booting with crampons, and finally to wallowing in waist deep powder wishing we had a pair of verts.  We made it about 100' shy of the top, finally peeling our skins and enjoying the fresh May powder.

After nearly 8.5 hours of slogging, we arrived back at the Harp Mtn. pull out.  Tired, sweat soaked, sunburned, dehydrated, hungry, blistered, and aching.  The "body destroyer" pretty much says it all:

Taming the Lyon

“Even the boldest zebra fears the hungry lion.”

I guess that's how we approached Mount Gordon Lyon.  The tallest looming peak in the Arctic Valley drainage begs to get skied as you drive down the Glenn Highway and stare at its inviting north face.  Fellow Eagle River skiers B-real, Eric and The Hoff set out to climb and ski the inviting powdery slopes of the Site Summit ridge.

B-real makes his way towards the Cook Inlet.

Eric being chased by his own lion, Stella.

Contemplating why they call this Mount Gordon Lyon...

So I looked it up.  Its ironic that Gordon M. Lyon was an employee at the Corps of Engineers in the Alaska District as a project engineer in charge of construction of the Army Nike Missle site , and later engineer in charge of the Site Summit Nike station. 

Fall Packraft Season...its on

Pictures of packrafting don't do the sport justice...that's why you see all the video's posted.  And still the videos don't do the rivers and creeks any justice...that's why you just need to get out there and do it, and maybe swim a little, and throw your buddy a rope once in a while.

I've had some firsts this year, to include the South and Fork of Eagle River, what I would call "Middle" Bird Creek, and hopefully Canyon Creek to Six Mile before freeze up, and I should prolly mention - thigh straps!  Others have been hitting some huge lines (CL V) to include the Magic Mile on Kings River (check out Timmy J's boof at 2:23) and the Upper Willow.  Be sure to check out these videos, as they are the pioneers of packrafting.

Marc and I toured up Echo Bend at higher water (600 cfs) and found this to be very pushy, yet enjoyable.  View Marc's first hand video of what it's like to swim the best beafy part of Echo Bend.


I recently had the opportunity to boat with the Roman Dial's, as the old man gave us a run at a good stretch of Bird Creek.  His video shows some good carnage on Center Falls, much like mine does.  I took some newbs back on Columbus Day for the goods.  Here is an account of how things went down.

I suppose "The Birdcage" is my first named rapid.  The "Birdcage" was my nickname after my last trip to the desert.  Frank "Rage" Palestini nicknamed me the "Birdcage" after our hellacious upper body workouts.  Seeing that I suffered from lagging chest development, he deemed it appropriate to give me some birdseed for the parakeets.

So i'm anxiously awaiting my new paddle purchase, a Werner Powerhouse, 4 piece, 197cm, 30 deg feather.  Thank you PFD.  Lets go paddling...

I'll leave you with a quote that I saw on Forrest McCarthy's 2010 video compilation:


"Ironically as they paddle more and more whitewater, their reward circuitry (for dopamine) dulls, which makes the easier runs less satisfying and drives them to still harder runs and bigger drops to compensate. They are essentially chasing the high of earlier, heavenly thrills on easier water. This is precisely what we see with chronic alcohol or substance abuse." 


This explains it all.