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!"

Powder Baskets

The easter bunny greeted the day with baskets filled with powder, a whippet, and Utica Club.

Not to mention an early morning run to Hatcher Pass before brunch.  B-real and I toured up into the Rae-Wallace bowl, looking left and right, debating on what to ski.  To the right was a nice north-facing chute from atop Fish Peak (or Marmot or the Rae-Wallace Headwall depending on nomenclature).  To the left was my all-time favorite run off the north side of Microdot - Nosebleed.  This is a top contender for always holding good snow.  We decided to ski Nosebleed and were pleasantly rewarded with soft powder in April!

B-real makes his way out of the Rock Garden.  Sorry I don't have any good ski pics - we were doomed by flat light.

 Lobita shakes it off....aint' nuthin' but a thang.

In other news, some folks have been getting after it - skiing Mount Bold.  It seems that this is the time of year when people start slaying big Western Chugach peaks.  I've heard that Mount Rumble and Yukla also got tagged.  Others have slogged it out to ski Bench Peak in the Kenai's....very nice and worth the powder preservation. 

And you can tell its that time of year.  Roman and Timmy J made the first run down Six Mile.  This always happens....the skiing is so good that I dont want to give it up; but boating season is upon us!

Front Range Adventures

After the "Thanksgiving Hurricane", we finally got some fresh snow in the Anchorage Bowl.  By the snotel counts, about 11 inches fell on the Hillside, and about 6 inches up our way in Eagle River.

We got a late start after the feast on Thursday, and headed local up to Hiland Road.  I had thoughts of hitting up the standard run to North Bowl, but it was nice to get some turns in the sunlight.  We headed up Harp just in time for sunset.

Marc laboring away at the essence of this blog.....The Uptrack.

Gayle was nice enough to be the "Pro-Pho" and graciously took some pictures of our descent.  This is one of my favorite runs on this side of the road.  Not too steep, but protected from the wind and usually holds good cold smoke.

Both Marc and I had our virgin run with our new ski setup's.  Here is Marc cashing in his hard work with the Icelantic Nomad's. 

I got a killer deal on the K2 Coomback's (thanks Luc and www.telemarkdown.com).  And I loved every turn...

After a resort day on Saturday with Meg, where I skied with every snowboarder from Anchorage on the "East Coast Ice", Tyler (AKA. B-real) and I headed out for some turns on the front side.

Big mistake.

I thought the 11 inches of snow, and the recent 5 inches of snow would have helped.  We found some windswept snow up high on Peak 3, and nothing but rocks underneath.  Needless to say, we trashed our new boards.  Now the brand new Coomback's are in desperate need of some shop time with the base welder.

We linked about 10 turns, and then lots o' rocks.  Not to include the frustrating climb and descent through the Alders.  I don't recall Peak 3 being so hard to get in/out of.....

Tyler making his way through the shooting gallery on his new setup of Icelantic Nomad's.  Copy Cat...

The skiers reward.  Specially imported Utica Club brewski's.  Nothing goes better with skiing than an "Uncle Charlie's".

LB is on the injured reserve today.  She got pretty scraped up on the breakable rain crust, as did all the dogs I saw out skiing on Friday.

Where's my Dad?