Oh man have I been a bad little blogger..! Nothing new for weeks, well OK, months. We have been putting an addition on our house which was suppose to be quick and easy, but of course it spawned a whole slew of other upgrades that have consumed most of my summer. Hopefully the end is in sight.
Before ever skiing in Valdez/Chugach I had heard so much glowing praise about it that I figured there was no way that it could possibly live up to all the hype. This all changed the first time I actually skied there and I had to eat my all my sarcastic thoughts. Valdez is one of those areas where all the components come together perfectly to create excellent backcountry skiing – the access, mountains, snowpack and logistics are all ideal.
This fact was lost on me, but not on 5-6 heliskiing operators, various snowmobile events and a few Valdez locals, including Matt Kinney. Matt is putting on a presentation this Friday titled “Backcountry Skiing in Valdez – An Environmental Perspective” which should be interesting, and in the very least, it is being held in a cool outdoor location, the Storm Mountain Amphitheater in Big Cottonwood Canyon. As a long time Valdez local, Matt has seen an incredible amount of motorized development in the last two decades.
Matt has kindly donated the proceeds of this show to our own local snow wizard, Bob Athey, who injured his shoulder in an avalanche accident last season.
The show is Friday, August 27th from 7-9pm with an encouraged donation at the gate.
