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!

Getting Back to Alaska...

My return greeted me with high pressure, clear skies and sub-zero temperatures.  B-real and I headed south to sniff out some softer snow.  The last storm rolled through nearly 2 weeks ago.  With longterm instabilities, we made the slog out to Eddies for a couple of runs.

It was -8F at the truck when we left, and at the bottom of Ingram Creek the temps read -15F on my thermometer.  With the cold temps and moisture source, we witnessed some of the largest hoar frost crystals i've ever seen.  They were the size of potato chips.

It was so cold that I didn't take any pictures of our ski runs.  I was too busy trying to get my hands and feet to stay warm.  Our skins didn't even stick to our skis on the second run, so we only made it about half way up.  Eddie's was pretty tracked up, but we managed to find some nice soft snow on the lower elevation flanks.  Tyler slogs it back out to the road

Pausing for the ever-so-famous "end of tour group shot i'm freezing so lets hurry up".  Like the beard?

But this never gets old.  Redoubt Volcano taken from the Seward Highway.

Oh yeah, the only cars in the parking lot were Toyota Tundra's.  Seems the only folks who can hack the cold were Tundra drivers....go figure.

Green Mountain Backcountry Adventures

I miss the fabulous tree skiing of the east coast.  I recently spent 30 days in Upstate New York visiting the family, and was rewarded with a ski trip in Northern Vermont to ski the steeps of the East.  Long time ski partner Pat Cuffe and I spent 3 days skiing in the Green Mountains.  After a lift served mandatory penance at Killington, we headed north to unchartered territory (for us) in the Jay State Forest.

The night of our arrival greeted us with 8" of low density blower powder.  All the groomers were boilerplate, but the trees held the goods.  Skiing runs like "Timbuktu", "Andre's Paradise" and "Beaver Pond Glade", we stuck to the glade skiing all day long - making the brutal ride up the chair facing 60mph wind gusts worth it.  After a burger and brew at the Tram Haus Lodge, we got after it the next day with some Jay Peak side country.  Not before some medication for my knees....800mg Motrin and all the whiskey my stomach could handle.

We broke trail from Jay Peak to Big Jay, on an illegally cut trail by the Jay Peak Resort crew in 1998.  But this makes the access relatively easy via the 1 mile trail to the wooded plateau summit of Big Jay.  The drifted soft snow wasn't a challenge and the views were epic, with both Mount Washington in New Hampshire and Mount Marcy in New York visible on our ascent.

I've skied with Pat for nearly 20 years.  And I think this single run down the east face of Big Jay was the pinnacle our our ski pursuits.  From skiing across the street from his house in Chadwicks, New York to dropping the "nipple-deep" powdery riches of Vermont's Yellow Birch and White Pine gladed runs - this one certainly comes out on top.  Just minutes before dropping into the white room...

I couldn't possibly explain how good the skiing was, so I put together a small video.  This tour can be found in David Goodman's eastern backcountry bible, Best Backcountry Skiing in the Northeast: 50 Classic Ski Tours in New England and New York.

May in AK: Pastoral Peak and the Grandaddy Couloir

Well its been an awesome run of high pressure to welcome the month of May.  So good, that I had to bag work the first two days of this week and go skiing.  I didn't have much going on, so local photographer Matt Hage and I had plans to ski Mount Alpenglow after returning from Girdwood on Sunday.

Conversation in the car:
#2: "Hey what are you doing tomorrow?"
#1: "Nothing....why?"
#2: "Lets ski that [pointing to the large north face of Alpenglow]"

This run taunts every backcountry skier on their way to TPass.

But mother nature and the Six Mile Creek had their vote.  We got turned back here:

We brought hip waders and sunscreen.  But we forgot the packrafts.

So we headed to Turnagain as the backup plan, and toured up Taylor Creek in hopes of skiing Pastoral Peak....a run i've been wanting to ski for a long time now.

Matt making his way up Taylor Creek.

We got to the pass, and these were the sights.

I left #1 at the pass with some boot issues, and I pressed forward.  I made it up to summit in just over an hour to find powder preservation.

While on the summit taking in the views, I noticed this obvious couloir on the adjacent ridge - the Grandaddy Couloir.

Conditions, weather, and snow stability were so good that I had to go after it again today!

I got an early start, and was climbing by 0930.  I toured up Bertha Creek and made the pilgrimage in about 3 hours, taking my time.  I ran into a guy yesterday who was going to ski a line essentially on the northern side of Pastoral that drops further into Lyon Creek.  Here they are on the top.  They had plans to continue on and ski the Grandaddy...good on them.

The view from the top was terrific.  Carpathian is the obvious peak in the center.

Looking down the Lipps ridge.  The cooler is below.

The B-I-G P-O-P-P-A on the approach.

This way back home.

The entrance to this chute was hairy.  There was a massive cornice, and I didn't feel like dropping it with me on top.  Mandatory air was not in my vocab for the day.  I skirted around the skiers right and entered from the side.  It was boot-top powder goodness!  It got a little punchy and scrapy down low, but it was powdery the entire run.

All in a days work.

Another look, riding the sepia bandwagon.

And the parting shot...

My legs are smoked, blisters on my feet, i'm sunburned and dehydrated.  And now I have to go back to work.  Here's the trip route:

Note: no Yellow Labradors were harmed in the aforementioned powder pursuit.

Swiss Bowl

Its back to my old stomping grounds.  After a morning of Eagle River being socked in, overcast skies, and snow (that's right, May 1st and its still snowing), I headed to the South Fork for some spring turns.  I received reports of an isothermic snowpack in the SoFo, but I certainly didn't find that on the shady northies.

The backyard.

After a short hike, I found myself at the bottom of Swiss Bowl, a run I usually do this time of year.  But it seemed that the peak was just socked in with low hanging clouds.  I continued to climb, and found myself on the top of the ridge.  I wanted to ski this line, from upper right to lower left.  Notice the lower flanks of Eagle Peak in the sun (Note:  future ski destination)

Just my luck.  As I reached the summit of Peak 4219, it started snowing and heavy thick clouds blew in.  After a bite to eat, I was forced to ski in the soup.  This area got a freeze last night, so there was no collapsing underfoot.  The skiing was heinous.  I did survival turns down most of the run.  The snow was almost boilerplate, with a dusting on top, and very grabby.

Skiing solo.  The lower valley of the South Fork, Eagle River.  (Note: future packraft destination)

I was able to ski all the way back to the parking lot.  I couldn't do that a year ago....cuz Mount Redoubt had a vote on last year's spring skiing season.

Swiss Bowl on the right, and my run in the center.

I heard of a skier triggered slide on Hiland Road this past week.  Temps reached 60 F this past week.  Shown below is an area that slid on Superbowl Sunday, caused by some F-15 pilots.  This avy slid all the way to some dude's house.  This run is called "Leighow".

Q: How do you know there's a fighter pilot at your party?
A: He'll tell you...

ok, one more...

Q: What's the difference between God and Fighter Pilot's?
A: God doesn't think he's a Fighter Pilot...

Lobita all loaded up.

And the finer things in life.  Thank you Alaskan Brewery.

After Work Commute

Tis the season for after work skiing.  Newlyweds Matt and Agnes Hage headed up to Peak 3 for a quick ski.  Conditions didn't look like spring skiing from our point of view.  We saw other usuals headed up to get the goods, like Billy Finley.

The Anchorage Ants making the nightly commute.  It looks like Peak 3 is erupting.  Not another Mount Reroute, I mean Redoubt.

The weather was calling for high winds.  Spindrifts and plumes coming off of Peak 2 and Flattop.

Conditions were better than expected.  We found decent wind buffed powder on the top 1/3, and breakable styrofoam wind slab on the lower reaches of the valley.  Not bad for an afternoon jaunt.

"The Misses" (AKA Agnes) ripping it up.

"The Mister" (AKA Matt, #1, The Shralpster) dropping the knee.

Quotes I heard during the tour:
"Lets go find some windslab!!"
"If you want summer, go to Fairbanks"
"It doesn't look like spring up here."

Happy April 20th you hippies!

Champagne Brunch

Well it's that time of year again.  Every third Saturday in April we head up to the Rae-Wallace bowl in Hatcher Pass for the Formal Champagne Brunch.  This event is sponsored by the Anchorage Nordic Ski Patrol.

Bottom Line: dig a table in the snow, drink beer/bubbly, eat good food, ski.  Nuff said??

Here is the table shown and everyone enjoying themselves.

Meg and Gretchen all dressed up, enjoying the drinks.  Jasper providing rear security.

Meg behind our grill.  Yes, I said grill.  I almost had a heart attack dragging our Coleman portable grill up to the festival in a sled.

Indiana Chamberlain.  Sam gets to wear this tie once a year.  And its like 60 years old.

Who's hungry?  LB waits patiently for someone to drop some food.

This guy's all dressed up.  Did I mention this is a formal event.  Nice flannel.

It's time for some skiing.  Cowboy Sam dropping the knee.

Meg showin' us how its done.

Our setup, shown from above.  And LB headed back to the ranch.

Let's go make some turns!

Pigot Bay, Prince William Sound

Sam C and I have been planning a ski trip to PWS for a while now.

We reserved a USFS cabin in Pigot Bay, and skied for 4 days in and around the cabin and surrounding drainages.  I took some good advice from friends who had done a similar trip last winter, and brought along a 14' Zodiac and 15hp motor.  And it paid dividends...

Sam, Justin and I landed on the beach to find bluebird skies and lots of snow.  Estimated snowpack depth was about 12-15 feet!

Preparations started early.  I brought the Zodiac, Sam brought the kitchen sink.

We got a water taxi from Cap'n Mike Bender at Lazy Otter Charters.  His boat, The Explorer, devoured all of our gear.

The shooting gallery.

Yes we have a maritime snowpack.  Heavy and wet gives way to cold smoke.

After setting up camp and downloading gear, we headed out for a maiden voyage of the Zodiac to ski from the USCG Communications Tower.  Enroute to our objective.

Lots of up and down, bushwhacking, deep snow, trailbreaking.....and sunshine.

Lobita enjoying the cold smoke April powder.

A look at our tracks just left of center below the tower.  Beautiful steep tree skiing.  Reminds me of glade skiing on the east coast.

Out of our front door on Saturday morning.  Its gonna be a good day...

A rare view.  Skis on a boat?  Putting a new meaning to "sea to summit".

Just about the only wildlife we saw.

We climbed in the sun and gained the ridgeline.  Justin drops over the north side to find more April powder shots into Pirate Cove.

Another run of the goodness.  We actually wanted to ski the couloir in the background, but were thwarted by cliffs/nogo terrain, and tidal flats.

Dogface got quite the workout.  I've never seen her do this before.  She made a bed and took a power nap, like a sled dog.

Literally skiing to the ocean, from summit to sea.

Cabin life.  The PB cabin was really nice.  It got an upgrade recently, and has a nice propane heater and some new furniture and woodwork.  Thanks CNF!!

Sunday was a bit of a touring day.  We were headed for the backside of the cabin, but Jack got quilled by a Porcupine.  We returned to the cabin for first aid, he wasn't having it.  We headed out again in the Zod, and were turned around after a puking snow storm, bad vis, and one hell of a bushwhack.

The staples of a skiing trip.  Summer Ale, pontoons, and a PFD.  Glad we had them.  We received about 12" of fresh the morning we left.  We ate like Kings.  Sam C grilling steaks from Mike's Meats in Eagle River.

Storm skiing in the P-dub!  Justin contemplating the drop in.

All in a days work.  The Cap'n and his second mate (Meg would be the first) headed back to the beach.

Not sure exactly of the totals, but somewhere in the neighborhood of 7000 vertical feet skied.  Here is a map of our climbing (red) and ski descents (blue).

This type of trip is certainly on the agenda for each spring, and to explore what else PWS has to offer.