On Saturday Todd and I went in and skied Graddaddys.  We weren't able to ski the North couloir (which we were hoping for) due to a huge crown and icey slopes... but it was a beautiful day! 

Todd had skied Pastoral a couple weeks ago with Yvonne.  His video is after the jump.  [Read More... ]

More pix after the jump...  [Read More... ]

Spring… it means something different for everyone.  For my mother in Virginia it means peas and corn sprouting after a short winter; for grumpy Anchorites unwilling to venture higher than 1500' it means mud and muck and 22 trips to the car wash to keep that shine.  For me it means the annual Chugach migration into valleys and up couloirs I’ve never climbed or skied.

After a long overcast spell a sunny April day appeared and Eric rallied Dan, Pat, Todd and I to Ram Valley where we ventured up and into Falling Water Creek to try Raina’s North Couloir.  The beautiful North face of Rainia has 3 striking lines that  range in difficultly from (climbers) left to right.  The far left (NE) couloir is a long moderately difficult couloir that drops right from the ridge where you top out when climbing the normal route up the South slopes.  The middle (N) couloir is a striking direct line that splits the face in two.  On the right side of the face is a beautiful thin couloir that is more of a climb then ski and would require a couple roped pitches and some screws / pins (at least for me).  [Read More... ]

Peak 3 season is in full swing here on Hillside. For those who don't know what Peak 3 season is; It's that time of year where every day at 3pm the schoolteachers start calling you and saying "Want to go ski Peak 3? Want to go ski Peak 3?" If you can avoid them you'll get in another hour of work before the 8-4'ers start calling and saying "Want to go ski Peak 3? Want to go ski Peak 3?" If you can say no again - then you get another hour of work in before the 9-5'ers start calling. Usually I cave in to one of the above... and last week Peak 3 was really good!

The trek up Peak 3 usually involves 25+ people of all shapes and sizes headed uphill on everything from alpine gear to dusty tele skis. Last Friday I was huffing my way uphill chasing Todd with a backpack of water bottles (trying to get in shape for spring shovel season) when a guy and girl blitzed past me on scaled skis with Dynafits. I reached the top just as they prepared to ski down and briefly overheard that Ptarmigan's north couloir was in shape.

So... the next morning Yvonne and I awoke to cloudy skies and after hemming and hawing we decided to go give Ptarmigan a shot. Yvonne had been wanting to ski the couloir for a while, and even though I gave her the "the run is freakin' scary" lecture she was amped to go. A few phone calls rounded up Dan and Eric and we set off at noon.

Eric made it about half way in before he realized his bronchitis was still acting up, so he veered off and headed up Peak 3 while Dan, Yvonne and I continued on.

We reached the base in about 1 1/2 hours and then headed up. The snow was pretty much perfect; crunchy Styrofoam down low that soon turned into shin deep powder. The neck of the couloir - which last year had been almost ice - was in perfect shape and we continued uphill quite pleased with the snowpack. As the kept going - and as the snowpack continued to get deeper yet stay stable - my (and Yvonne's) anxiety of the run evaporated and we booted up the entire run in 1 1/2 hours.   [Read More... ]

For years I’ve put off writing about the Bomber Traverse due to various reasons... but the primary reason being that I feel it's a very popular trip and I don’t really want to encourage people to head to the area. It's a pretty selfish reason. I love the area - I love the huts, I love the climbing and I don’t want to share the areas with strangers. But given recent events I feel it's time to stop trying to keep areas to yourself and to encourage responsible non-motorized usage in the High Peaks areas.

Yeah it can suck to share a hut with a bunch of 20-something tele skiers… especially when they ski harder and faster than you and make you look like an old man. But like I said… it's time to change that attitude.

The Draft Hatcher Pass area Management Plan was recently announced. It's the first time the Hatcher Pass area has seen a new management plan in 25 years. Too long given the changes and population growth in the region. And given the number of people you see out rock climbing, cross country skiing, hiking, back country skiing and mountaineering you’d think that the Division of Natural Resources would be implementing a plan that is more geared towards non-motorized usage in this area.  [Read More... ]

We had the worst avalanche report of the season - multiple weak layers, 6 plus feet of new snow, warming temperatures - and to top it off, the threat of a rumbling Mt. Redoubt 130 miles to the west. But we couldn't stay home; the forecast was calling for a blizzard warning that evening. We had one day to give it a go before going back to the wait game.

So the Friday afternoon discussions began; where to go what to do who wants to go. I cast big in the hopes of netting some trailbreakers and got 1 yes and 4 definite maybes. Saturday morning we called around and again more reports of indecision filtered in. Eventually we set up a meeting time and at 9:30 we all gathered. First there were 2, then three - until finally 7 people showed up. 7 people is 4 too many for my comfort level, so we chose a spot with low angle trees, jumped in the car and drove south.

We chose to head into Wolverine via the circuitous route through the woods which I had eventually unlocked after 6 times of wandering about in circles in the dense woods between the highway and the peaks. Technically I wasn't lost during those forays - but some had taken to referring to these forays as "getting lost" - a semantic blunder that I always countered. I don't get lost. Lost is when you wander about in circles with no direction... sort of like that TV show where they shoot polar bears in Hawaii and struggle with inner demons. I might, at one time, have wandered about in circles - but I always had a clear direction: to unlock the secret route from the highway to Wolverine. As the cliche goes, Not all who wander are lost.

Tolkien and pop-culture references aside, there is some basis to the notion that people get lost in the Turnagain-equivalent of the Bermuda triangle that exists North of Eddies and South of the highway. On my first foray into the area I tromped into the woods with Dan in the hopes of skiing "Sharksfin" - a fin-like projection North of Eddies on a sunny spring day some years ago. We set out in the morning eager for turns... only to end up at the base of Eddies looking up a slope that we ski fairly regularly. We then set about wandering up and down a canyon before finally figuring out that we needed to ski down a hidden drainage and approach it from another direction. We had fun that day touring to the back of the ridge and skiing some fun runs and returned the next day with some more friends to ski immaculate tree runs in dense powder. However... upon leaving Wolverine we opted for a direct route back to the highway and ended up wandering in circles in the dark.   [Read More... ]

A bomber snowpack and high pressure gave us all the itch to get out. Both Eric and I had caught the spring climbing bug after ascending Ptarmigan the previous weekend, and Dan was itching for some steeper runs - so after dozens of ideas tossed back and forth via email, we met at 8am on Saturday and headed south.

Unfortunately our high pressure was forecast to end by early afternoon. The winds were already picking up and NOAA was calling for 12 inches by midnight. However - everything still looked good from the parking lot, so we headed up to give Pastoral a try.

In front of us was another usual Turnagain crew who we caught up with at Taylor Pass where we chatted for a while and then set off once again towards Pastoral. We reached Pastoral Pass at noon; the north couloir looked to be in excellent shape so Dan headed up. Eric and I threw our skis / snowboard on our back and followed behind him. The boot up was fun Kenai range climbing - nice solid snow and a tiny firm snow step to give it some spice. I sunk my trusty whippet into the solid crust and pulled through grinning widely!

Soon we were on the top looking all around and talking about what lines to ski. North, south, east, west - everywhere we looked there was something inviting! Eric and I continued to gawk - but Couloir Dan put us all in place and forced us to focus. We scouted the north couloir - and then Dan dropped in. The first few turns were dust on crust and pretty mellow. Dan stopped at a notch that dropped us down into the north couloir proper - and Eric and I followed down to his stance. He then took the next pitch - traversing out across to the top of the run where he assessed the snowpack. The entrance to the couloir proper had an obvious pillow on it - so he continued traversing skiers right - not willing to risk an avalanche at the top of the run. He skied about 150 feet skiers right and then pulled off in a safe zone to spot Eric and I as we dropped down to his stance.   [Read More... ]

On Sunday March 15^th I headed up Rabbit Valley with Dan, Eric, Todd and Pat. The winds were howling on the ridge lines and once again, prospects did not look good!

We skied back the base of Ptarmigan, sat around discussing options and then headed up. The normal gully coming off Ptarmigan Pass was in good shape - but as we got higher the snow turned to hard pack - and eventually ice.

As it got steeper the snow got worse - and lots of grumbling could be heard from the skiers who had come to ski powder based on my glowing review from the previous day on Peak 4. After a while it got ridiculous and we all regrouped and commenced our usual discussion about where to go and what to do - a discussion which usually last for 15 minutes and 9 times out of 10 ends with no decision. This time no one really could say whether they wanted to go up or down - and after some more indecisive remarks I told Eric to head on up. He took this to heart - and set off at his usual breakneck speed - and before anyone could voice a differing opinion he had set a boot track half way up the West Face.

The "skiers" followed grumbling about the conditions but I assured them the South face would ski just fine. And so we climbed - skis on back, whippet in hand, and boot deep firm styrofoam all the way to the ridge.  [Read More... ]

High pressure and fresh snow makes the front range quite inviting so Yvonne and I opted to stay near town for the weekend and go ski in Rabbit Valley for a day.

On Saturday, March 14th we slept in, ate a lazy breakfast and then headed up Rabbit Valley for a morning ski. We reached the parking lot in a total fog bank and then skied up valley in zero visibility. Prospects did not look good, but we continued on - luckily finding a skin track that lead up towards Peak 4 - at least that's what we thought!

We continued on - at times being able to see all of 100 feet - then it began to get brighter... and brighter... until suddenly we popped above the clouds into beautiful March sunshine.

We booted up to the ridge, looked down at Anchorage and the cloud bank - and then dropped into a beautiful bowl of hard pack snow dusted with 4 inches of low density powder with clouds below our feet.

4 hours (and 2000') after leaving the front door we were back home and soaking in the hot tub!   [Read More... ]

The dreary days of November, December, January and February have ended.   While many of my friends embrace the cold deep powder of Alaskan winters, I never seem to totally enjoy the days where we are slogging through deep powder to ski the same runs again and again up and down.  Thus when the sun finally comes out and avalanche conditions improve, I seem to wake up from hibernation and start beating myself into shape. 

Suddenly old clients who ask for jobs that will force me to work on the weekends  are no longer even considered (whereas I'll happily work every weekend from October - January) and new clients who need something done right away are pushed off to other developers.  From now through July I pledge to only work a 9-5 job!

With all that in mind, on March 7th I headed down to Turnagain with Dan, Bryce and Todd.   The sun was shining brightly and avalanche conditions pretty solid, so we headed up Magnum and skied 4 runs in PMS bowl.  We were able to ski off the nose twice for some 40 degree turns on the infamous "glazed donut crust".  I hucked off the cornice a couple times... only to eat it pretty hard each time.  (I must learn to learn forward.)

In short - a beautiful day with good friends in good snow.  And a wake up call to end my winter hibernation!

Pictures after the jump.   [Read More... ]