Fold up your Imus Geographic Chugach State Park map and the peak nearest the exact center is Compass Butte – a “fugitive nunatak… escaping from the icy clutches of the Organ Glacier which surrounds all sides of this peak except the north” (Tim Kelley, November 1994, Scree). Compared to surrounding peaks like Polar Bear, Organ, […]  [ Read More ]

West Kiliak and Nantina Point lie 4 miles south of the Nature Center.  With Yukla they make up the 5000’+ cirque around Icicle Glacier and the walls facing northwest loom above as you trek up valley.  While both peaks have relatively moderate routes to the summit, neither are particularly accessible due to thick brush and […]  [ Read More ]

Baleful Peak (7,990′) lies in the southeast corner of the Bold / Bashful / Baleful massif that sits tucked between the East Fork of the Eklutna and the headwaters and glacier of the West Fork of Hunter Creek.  The summit is a sharp buttress that juts sharply 1000’ above the surrounding ridgelines and Rod Wilson […]  [ Read More ]

Peril Peak (7,040’) is the peak that forms the boundary between the West and main branches of the Ekultna glacier.  It is a dramatic peak rising 2,500’ above the surrounding glacier with the East Face being one of the larger and steeper walls of the Western Chugach.  Draw a polygon around the peak and the […]  [ Read More ]

Magpie Peak (5,812’) lies hidden in a southern pocket of Chugach State Park just due west of the Crow Pass Trail and tucked between Raggedtop and Crow. It is generally is overlooked due to its proximity to other Crow Pass peaks, lack of easy access and especially rotten rock. There is no easy route to […]  [ Read More ]

In late April 2019, Todd Kelsey, Joe Chmielowski and I skied from the Eagle Glacier to the Nature Center (ERNC). It was a great ski trip through familiar terrain that felt foreign when covered in snow.  All together it was 50 miles of travel (38 miles on skis) with 11K of elevation gain/loss. We took […]  [ Read More ]

EDIT 8/30/2020 As of late summer 2020 legal access to Ram Valley is once again closed.  An influx of visitors were causing parking issues and the land owners blocked off access at the road with a sign saying that 57 visitors had come at one day. This closure shouldn’t come as a surprise.  Due to […]  [ Read More ]

North Suicide lies at the head of Rabbit Valley and is one of my favorite after-work jaunts in the mid-summer when sunlight lingers until 11pm.  You can leave the trailhead late afternoon, bike to Rabbit, hike up both North and South Suicide and be back in time for dinner. Elsewhere I’ve written up route details […]  [ Read More ]

Boisterous Peak (6,865’) sits on the ridge between Bold and Bashful and is often-overlooked due to its proximity to those peaks. However the peak is an exciting scramble and the various routes to the summit are such that one can find a route that is in shape for much of the year. Likewise the Northeast […]  [ Read More ]

By a stroke of luck I happened upon a full 3 free days over Labor Day Weekend.  With dry conditions I opted to head back into Eklutna in the hopes of climbing a couple of peaks above the glacier.  Joe Chmielowski was reeling from working too much at his new job and a single text […]  [ Read More ]