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

Willow Creek

I think Willow Creek is my favorite whitewater run in a packraft.  Of course you've got the classics, Campground Rapids (local stomping ground), Six Mile (big smiles at low water), Bird Creek (short but technical), Lion's Head (really silty)....but for some reason I love going back to float the Willow.

The water is crystal clear and relatively warm, yeah you still need a drysuit.  The rapids are technical, but won't absolutely thrash you due to the "pool-drop" style characteristics of the river.  Meaning if you swim a drop, you'll likely be able to swim to shore at the bottom of the recovery pool.

There are two runs on this river, Redgate and Guardrail.  Redgate is the more beginner float at CLI-II, and Guardrail being the more intermediate run at CLII-III.  The Upper Willow is run by the hardshellers and experts at CLV+.

The Hoff and I made an early morning jaunt to take advantage of a recent rain spike in the gauge.  The trail was super slick, and I ended up on my ass more than twice.  This would be the M.O. for the first rapid, "Warmup Rapid".

After scouting the put-in, we chose to run "the drop above the Guardrail put-in".  There aren't any pictures of our run, but here is a vid put together from our run about 2 weeks ago.

Shortly after this 3-4 foot ledge drop, you enter "Warmup Rapid".  I viewed most of this rapid upside down, as the burly water took me for a ride.  It was good to cool down in the recovery pool.  The rest of the run was all smiles.  I'd look back at Marc, and see grins had by all.  We got to surf a lot of waves on the Redgate section, and made the run in about 90 mins.

Here is a map of our adventure.

 Definitely one of my local favs, and even better with a Summer Ale at the take-out.