Lynx Peak Ski - 1.11.2020

Note: updated below the original post to include the north face of Lynx plus Three Bell Spire on 4.1.2023.

As we climbed out of the Webfoot couloir in the fading afternoon light a few weeks ago the Reed Lakes Valley was painted purple, pink, and gold by winter light. Looking at Montana Peak, I smiled back on the ridiculous day we had there a couple years ago, and drooled over the southwest face of Lynx Peak.


The image of Lynx was still burned in my retinas on the following Friday, so Zack, Nyssa, and Eric agreed to forgo easy powder skiing in favor of a long cold approach for variable wind-affect.

The Pinnacle was getting the first soft light of the morning as we turned away from Archangel and towards Reed Lakes. Its amazing to think that snow sticks to the other side of that vertical block. At least sort of.


Done with the approach to the approach, we wound up through the boulder fields of the valley as the arctic air carried by the north winds bit into our faces. Looking behind me, Nyssa looked more like an icicle than a human.

Behind Eric is Higher Spire which Alex, Alec, and I skied a few years ago - it links up nicely with several other nice lines behind the Snowbird.

Three Bell Spire Ski - 4.1.2023

Three Bell Spire first came into my consciousness many years ago on the Bomber Traverse as we skied down the Penny Royal Glacier and stared up at the beautiful blue jewels of ice crowning the spire. As is often the way with these obscure objectives, years slipped past waiting for conditions, stability, interest, schedules, and the cosmos to align.

This spring, Three Bell finally emerged out of the depths of the gray matter and into my consciousness. On a beautiful April day, Nyssa, Erin, Tom, Carolyn, Scott, and I loaded onto one widetrack snowmobile and lurched out of the Goldmint parking lot.


Somehow we managed not to dislocate any shoulders, get the sled stuck, or catch it on fire, and soon were parked at the motorized boundary at the bottom of the Reed Lakes trail. Six people on one sled is certainly a proud highlight of my ski career, though now my goal is at eight people.

In the warm sun of the spring morning we skinned away from the sled and towards Lynx Peak.


As we rounded the corner and stepped onto the top lake, Lynx Peak rose above us at the head of the valley. I remembered the last time Nyssa, Zack, Eric, and I were here on a particularly chilly January day. It was -10 °F and windy, covered in icy-cold frost, they looked like snow ghosts; I probably did too.

Fairangel Valley Skiing - 4.27.2014

Note: updated below the original post to include a glorious Fair Five linkup on 4.2.2023.

By late April the high pressure that had been hanging over Southcentral for a month briefly broke down, but the warmth didn't. This left us with a predicament, how to get above the rain line? We needed something high and north facing, so we picked the highest Archangel of them all: Fairangel Valley. Perched at the top of Archangel Valley, it hides five perfect couliors: the Fair Five.

We planned to skin past the Pinnacle to Dogsled Pass, then drop into Fairangel. Looking back at the Lost Couloir:


Hard to say if that's a rain crust or just a sun crust, better keep going.


Closing in on Dogsled Pass, vaguely soft snow starting to appear.

Anchorage Ski Outlook - 4.5.2023

THURS - FRI: partly sunny, light winds, moderate temps (moderate confidence).

Quiet weather for the end of the work week with in-and-out sun and light snow showers. Thurs will be sunniest in the Kenai Mtns; Fri will be least cloudy at Hatcher. Light ridgetop winds. Sun affect on southerly slopes if/when the sun comes out. Decreased confidence due to timing of sunniness and showers.

 

WEEKEND: stormy, cloudy, dropping temps (moderate confidence).

A stormy weekend is on tap with all of our mountains receiving snow. The mountains closest to the western Prince William Sound are favored (moderate snow for Turny/Gird) with lighter snow elsewhere. Heaviest snow (and highest winds) will be Sunday in the WPWS mountains when temps will be cold for this time of year. No rain concerns.

EARLY NEXT WEEK: mostly cloudy, light snow, cool (low confidence).

Light snow, showers, and clouds look to continue for our zone into midweek. Low confidence in timing of snow with some sun possible in between. Moderate winds Monday for the mountains around the PWS and the ANC/ER FRange. No rain concerns.

 Read more >>

Telemint Ski - 4.13.2022

Solo backcountry skiing is an uncommon treat for me. What makes it special is also what makes it rare: travel in avalanche terrain is inherently dangerous. We reduce that risk by the shared reliance on the experience, observations, decision making, and rescue abilities of our partners. 

The valuable presence of these treasured partners also inevitably decreases one's connection with the land as its drowned out by the connection with other humans and the slight decrease in awareness that is impossible to avoid when someone has your back.

Winter mountain objectives (and the requisite stable conditions) that are within my solo risk tolerance are few and far between, but Telemint has been on my mind as one such option for awhile. So, on a partnerless weekday when I thought conditions were lining up, I decided to give it a go. 

It was around noon by the time I finally left the Goldmint Parking lot and started the familiar approach up the Little Susitna valley. Fond memories flowed past me as I kicked up the fast crusty spring trail: like Souvenir, which gets hit by gap winds bleeding over from the Matanuska Valley much more than the core of Hatcher Pass does:


In addition to the echoes of days past were lines, peaks and bowls that have been on my to-list list for years and are gonna stay there for at least another year. There's just so much to ski and explore here - its a paradise. Teacup Bowl and its north couloir are ones that we've been staring at forever while exploring the Independence Mine valley:


As the valley curved north, its crown jewels, the Mint Peaks, rose in front of me. Montana Peak and Spearmint:


Montana Peak was a great climb and an adventurous ski that found us racing loose snow avalanches out of the upper Kashwitna River drainage late on a spring day years ago. I'm still plotting about Spearmint, and I'm sure others have it on the mind too.

Rae Wallace Skiing - 3.18.2016

Updated below on 3.17.2020 and again on 12.22.2021 to include more memorable days on this Hatcher classic.

Friday was Ethan's last day in town, so we wanted to take him somewhere fun. We'd done a lot of great adventuring, and as such were leaning towards a higher ski to bushwhack ratio. Maybe even something without dirt on the approach!

Cody watches Alex wrap up his warm up run.

Though we often ski Rae Wallace on our way thru to Archangel, I've never just spent a day lapping its steep and rocky chutes and spines, but I've always wanted to.

Mary

Alex and I spent Thursday chewing on weather forecasts and avalanche data as we decided between another Eagle River adventure and Hatcher. As soon as I dropped into the sheltered north facing terrain I was happy with our decision. Alex was too:

Souvenir Peak Skiing - 3.17.2018

Note: Updated to include a frigid March day in Lone Tree Gulch.

Guarded by its twin vertical summits, the west bowl of Souvenir has been an obsession this season. With a foot of fresh and a break between storm systems, we set out last Saturday from Gold Mint to check it out. Rounding the corner of the valley, the Mint peaks came into view:


At the corner, we left the Mint Valley and skinned into the hanging valley below Souvenir. Thanks to Josh for the artwork. Meow meow!

Photo: Josh Gray

The valley floor is filled by mounded moraines from a glacier long gone, while the walls are carved by that same glacier.

Skiing the Pinnacle - 1.4.2020

Note: Updated to include an optimized Pinnacle linkup.

When I was a young grasshopper in Colorado I drooled over the exploits of Alaskans like Peter Knape, Billy Finley, and Joe Stock. Peter's writing had me dreaming of Turnagain spines in alpenglow. From Billy I was fantasizing about exploring the Chugach. And one of Joe's posts stood out: the Pinnacle.

Since first reading about the Pinnacle, I've been waiting for the right weather, snowpack, partners, and schedules. On Saturday, after seven years, the stars aligned to ski all four sides of the massif.

The morning light was starting to kiss Independence Mine as we approached the Pinnacle. Under the southwest Pinnacle chute we turned right, threw our skis on our packs, and headed up.


Per usual, the southwest chute was a mix of powder, windboard, and breakable crust. As we booted past the col the snow deepened and the pitch ramped up to the summit cone. I began to have visions of peeling backwards off the face and felt like I was going slab climbing not skiing. I made a pact not to become an alpinist. After the 30 minutes of alternating between using our hands as shovels and as snow pickets the slope began to back off.


I'd never been on top of the Pinnacle before and was surprised by how big the summit was. I think Zack was stoked about it too.

Delia Peak Skiing - 4.1.2018

Note: Updated to include a sunny weekend in Two Mile Creek.

2018 was a Hatcher year. It was stable, deep, and soft, and we had a great time exploring new zones, revisiting old ones, and linking up favorites. With a fat snowpack down low, the Mint Valley alder jungle was buried, and we focused on Arcose Ridge. After years of staring at Delia Peak from Rae Wallace, Sidney Creek, and, well, everywhere else it was time to check it off.

As we climbed out of the cold inversion of the valley bottom and into the sunshine of the basin Alex, Charlie, Josh, and Zack raced for the chance to break trail.


The peloton of skinny fast dudes quickly had us on top of Arcose Ridge from where we looked behind us into the heart of the Mint Valley. We'd ski Montana Peak a week later. I'm dreaming about another window to get more of those.


We followed the wide ridge east to the summit of Delia. At the high point we could look straight at the twin peaks of Souvenir and the west bowl they guard. I remembered lying on Souvenir's overhung summit, looking 500 feet straight down, and feeling the tickle in my grundel.

Valley of Sin Skiing - April 2012

Note: Updated to include another indulgent double dip in the Valley of Sin.

After an exciting tour checking out Hatcher Pass on the previous day, our friends Danny and Emma joined us for another day at Hatcher. This time we decided to head to the valley to the southeast of where we had skied the day before. We followed an existing skin track up a face that must have already had at least 200 sets of tracks down it.


More rad views, never made it back to this zone, but it will happen someday!


Hatcher Pass is one of those zones where all of the terrain clearly visible from the parking lot gets hammered by skiers, while the bigger terrain barely gets touched. Nick drops into our first run (just out of sight of the parking lot, of course):

Delia Creek Skiing - 3.4.2018

Updated 3.17.2020 to include another great day.

Despite years of drooling over its faces, bowls, and couloirs guarded by tilted conglomerate walls, I've never skied Arcose Ridge before. With a fat snowpack at Hatcher I was out of excuses about alders, so on a beautiful Sunday we parked in the Gold Mint parking lot to check out Delia Creek.

Ahead of us, the west face of Souvenir and its twin summits were still in the morning shade. I'd really like to ski that one.


Working to stay away from major terrain traps, we contoured east thru the hanging valley, and then onto the ridge above Delia Creek. Behind our skinner is Goodhope Creek and the Snowbird Mine Valley. Goodhope is stacked with couloirs, bowls, and pillows, but is a bit tricky to hit right due to its solar aspect.


It was hard to leave the warmth of the spring sun and drop into the cold shade of Delia Creek. Well, it wasn't that hard.

Archangel Valley Ski Linkup - 1.20.2018

On Monday, I followed Zack down a steep, rocky, and blind couloir on the Pinnacle that I was sure didn't go. When it did, I realized that all five north facing valleys of Archangel could be linked together into one tour by a series of couloirs.

It wasn't hard to convince Brady, Alex, and Neil to forgo good snow and sun at Turnagain to try it. By sunrise we were high above Dogsled Pass and wrapping towards the entrance to Fairangel Valley. Across the way, the Mint peaks were lit up in the morning light.


In the cold morning air, Brady dropped first:


Buttressed by big granite walls, the aesthetic couloirs of Fairangel Valley hold a special place in my heart. Maybe someday conditions will line up to ski the Fair Five in one day.

Photo: Brady Deal

Goodhope Creek Ski - 3.14.2015

Skiing in Alaska is hard. There's a reason that film companies come here, get shut down for a month, then barely squeeze out a few good days. Meanwhile, they trigger big, scary, and dangerous avalanches.

Dreamy zones around the Pinnacle and Fairangel Valleys.

No helicopter, a full time job, and low interest in Russian Roulette via avalanche makes it even more of a challenge.

Leaving the sleds behind.

And it makes it even more fun.

Still assessing stability, we picked a short line to start.

Pinnacle Ski Tour - 2.1.2015

Tucked away at the top of Archangel, Fairangel Valley is one of my favorite places. With our non-stop window of high pressure, Alex and I wanted to visit the hidden gem.

The Lost Couloir behind us, a great low-vis line. 

Pulling into the Independence Mine parking lot last Sunday, we were greeted by strong winds flowing down the valley. Well, crap, there was high pressure parked squarely over the Gulf of Alaska, these weren't gaps winds. Hopefully just local katabatic winds from the night air draining from the mountains?

Still a bit thin in the Talkeetnas.
 
The winds persisted as we approached the last steep pitch into Fairangel, and crossing above a small convexity, cracks exploded from Alex's feet. We needed to figure out what was going on before moving on. I found a test slope that matched the aspect, elevation, and pitch of Fairangel. It slid as I skinned under it.

6 Inches - Hatcher Pass, April 2014

6 inches, maybe 8 - that's how much it has snowed at Hatcher Pass in the last month. I think that the last significant storm was the incredible dump in early March. With great conditions throughout the Chugach and the Kenai we haven't been to the Talkeetnas much lately.

But, its been getting warm, so we did a quick after-work investigation last week. Nicole, engineer by day, snowpack investigator by night:


Who could resist that? Saturday we headed towards the spines, flutes, and cliffs of Government Peak. The (shirtless) boys bronzing on the approach:


1.2 meters. The total snow depth at 4,000 feet on a due north aspect. 1.2 meters never skied so well.

Cold Smoke - Three Days in the Talkeetnas

On March 5th a jet of moisture pushed north into Southcentral Alaska. Snowfall would be the heaviest at the end of the jet, but, the devil would be in the details. As I sat at my desk avoiding work and checking the SNOTEL, it looked like many zones had ended up high and dry.

Except for Hatcher. Hatcher was reporting 15 inches of new snow, but only 0.6 inches of SWE. Had the Talkeetnas really received almost a foot and a half of cold smoke? Or was it wrong? As the day went on reports started trickling in...

At midnight on Friday morning I picked Lindsay up at the airport; it wasn't hard to convince her to drive north for dawn patrol. As we skinned into Eldorado, the sun greeted us with soft pink light.


Looks like a good place to start.


Foraker, Hunter, and Denali waking in the morning light:

12.1.2013 - All Time???

After an absolutely awesome day at Hatcher on Saturday, we couldn't wait to head back north the next day. We pulled into the parking lot just as the midwinter sun was beginning to color the mountains with incredible oranges and purples.


I used to think Colorado was a small world, then I moved to Alaska. The previous day we ran into one of our good friends from Cordova, and familiar faces were parked all around us. Then on Sunday, one of my coworkers parked next to us. Then, of course, on the skin track we passed a group of skiers from Crested Butte. Of course they knew some of our friends from back in CO.

With clear skies, warm temps, and a calm breeze we were happy to be out of the car and climbing into the sun.


We started our day on a sunbathed east face that we drooled over the day before, working our way from one safe zone to the next.

Eldorado Ski - 11.30.2013

Alyeska finally opened this week, so we figured that our passes were a good excuse to avoid touring in the arctic temperatures. However, I forgot that anyone can look good skiing powder on a reverse-camber fat ski, I on the other hand, look and feel like an inbred donkey when I try to ski ice on edgeless park skis. Looking forward to looking good in powder again, we headed towards Hatcher Pass this morning.

Last weekend we skied the lower pitches of Eldorado in flat light that rivaled any of the alpine stupor I've experienced growing up at Loveland Ski Area; I was looking forward to going back with clear skies. But, as we drove north towards Palmer morning the thermometer climbed from -10 to zero, seemingly benign, but I was worried. This pointed towards the valley inversion breaking down, which meant that the winds aloft were pushing towards the surface. Somehow, we pulled into a nearly still parking lot and spent the day watching the channeled gap winds rushing down the Matanuska Valley towards the low pressure over the ocean.

Snow plumes on the lower hills of the Chugach, not much left to blow away up high:

Heading up the skintrack, we slowly left the crowds behind, but had plenty to watch across the way:

We started with a mellow rib back towards the skin track. Alex: