After long hiatus, I made a trip back to the east side of the Sierra range last weekend for the Eastern Sierra Avalanche Center fund raising party. This area is one of those places that after visiting it once, you swear you are going to return for annual skiing trips as it is incredibly beautiful and has fantastic terrain. But, in a perverse case of misery love company, the Sierra is having an even worse year than the Wasatch, which is currently on track to being one of the worse years on record. Given the choice between skiing a 12″ base of rotten snow over rocks in the Wasatch or going alpine ice skating, hiking and rock climbing in the snowless Sierra, California wins hands down. Continue reading ‘Skating & Scambling in the Sierra’
Archive for the 'Trip Reports' Category
It seemed hard to believe that anything could ever top the 2009 Ice Axe Antarctica Ski Cruise, but I think this year actually did. In 2009 we had freakishly good weather (clear, sunny and calm every single day), but in 2011, I think we were able to get into more interesting terrain. Part of this had to do with the ice pack conditions, but another part was Doug Stoup and company knowing where to go and when. As with both trips, the people and the energy of having 120 like-minded skiers on board a boat cruising around at the bottom of the earth is really what makes it all worthwhile. You go for the skiing, but in the end it’s the entire package that you remember.
We had six days of skiing in Antarctica with 2-3 in Ushuaia, Argentina beforehand. I kept a photo, gps and written log of where we went, which is available by clicking the photo below (2mb pdf file). Continue reading ‘Antarctica 2011 – Trip Report’
The 100 mile White Rim loop down in Canyonlands National Park in Southern Utah is one of my all time favorite bike rides. There is nothing all that hard about it (aside from the mileage) and I love the way it just keeps unrolling in front of you, even though towards the end, you might wish there was a shortcut or two.
I’ve done it about six times as a day-ride and once as a multiday car-supported camping outing, but when Brad Barlage suggested that we do it under a full moon, it seemed like an excellent idea. All went according to plan except the full moon was obscured by clouds. And there was some rain and lightning. And a large part of the road was washed out. And there was a LOT of loose sand due to the lack of vehicle traffic. But aside from those details, and lots of mosquitoes and being completely dark, it was excellent. We weren’t bothered by the pesky scenery until sunrise and I’ve never seen so many bats, toads and Kangaroo Mice in my life. Fascinating, really. Continue reading ‘White Rim by Moonlight’
I’ve owned an Alpaca packraft for about two years now, but am ashamed to admit that I have hardly used it to anywhere near its potential. Packrafts roll up to about the size of a small two person tent, yet when inflated they can easily carry heavy loads, bikes, packs, etc.. To maximize their fun potential, you need to find, or since it is still a young sport, create, a route that involves some logical mixture of biking, hiking, canyoneering, paragliding, etc, and rafting. There seems to be an unlimited supply of these types of adventures in Alaska, but you have to work a bit harder to figure them out in Utah. Continue reading ‘Candy-Hearted Rustler’
Alta’s Main Baldy Chute is one of my favorite little couloirs – little as in about 750 vertical feet and fairly easy to get to. When I first moved back to Utah long ago, it was at the top of my wishlist as far as lines I was dying to ski and I thought that I’d have to wait around and ski it when the resort opened it. I made the mistake of telling Alex Lowe about this desire and in typical Alex fashion, we ended up skiing it the next morning right at first light in about 3′ of fresh October powder. I think that was also my first, uhmmm, chance encounter with the Alta Ski Patrol, and although the area wasn’t open yet, unbeknownst to us, they were sighting in the avalanche guns and were watching our every move. Since then, I think I’ve skied Main Baldy about 25 times, although I have yet to do it officially during Alta operating hours when they are open for the season. Continue reading ‘Baldy Chute – August 10th. ??!!’
Eighty degrees north, not 80 degrees in steepness, although you never know…
One of the most influential things I’ve ever read was a fortune cookie which said “Practice Saying Yes.” It wasn’t even my fortune, but I adopted the philosophy and it has served as a starting point for many, many expeditions. Trips take on a life of their own, but the first step is to commit to it and then hope some of your skier buddies have read the same fortune and are also willing to say “yes.” From there, you never know what will happen.
My upcoming trip is to Svalbard, which is a chain of islands to the NW of Norway. I first heard of this area through Doug Stoup, then again through Kris Erickson and also through Kip Garre. This trip was originally going to be a trio, but with Kip’s passing, it is now Noah Howell and myself for the first two parts of the journey. To begin with, we are going to use kites to move around in an area named Dicksonland where we hope to find some nice couloirs which you can glean a hint of from the topo maps of the area. This trip has been on and off and only recently came together, so I won’t be doing any web updates or call ins.
Kiting to couloirs in 2002 on Baffin Island with Brad Barlage. This trip really set the hook for me on kite assisted skiing as I hate walking long distances on flat terrain. With kites, you can cover huge distances and have fun at the same time. Or, you can go nowhere if there is no wind.
After this ten day stint, we will return to the main town, Longyearbyen, where we are meeting up with Doug Stoup and about six other people to board a 65′ boat which will act as our floating basecamp while we scout for skiable lines from the sea. This is the maiden voyage of Ice Axe Expeditions (Doug’s company) Norwegian Ski Cruise, which if all goes well will be an annual offering.
The third and final segment of the trip is a second week on the boat with a new group. The idea with this trip is to push further north on Svalbard and potentially ski above the 80th parallel, which would be a fantastically unique experience in a dances with Polar Bears kind of way.
Hanging in the rain with Doug Stoup in Antarctica a loooong time ago. Doug easily gets my vote for most traveled person I know, especially in the higher latitudes.
Even after doing lots of trips, they don’t seem to get much easier to prepare for and there is always a ton of little details to take care of. So far, this trip has been nice as I’m already geared up with 96% of what I need (kites, skis, camping stuff, etc.) and hardly needed to get anything new. As always, I am deeply grateful for all of the assistance I get from companies like Mountain Hardwear, K2, Scarpa and Backcountry.com for helping feed my habit. Not only do they make and sell great gear, but they help to make sure it is thoroughly tested in wild places. Thanks!
And of course, my ultimate thanks goes out to my wife, Polly, who makes it possible to have my cake and eat it too. If I had to choose between trips and family, I’d take family in a heartbeat, but so far I haven’t had to make the choice.
Happy turns,
Andrew
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We interrupt air bag reviews for this skiing message… Continue reading ‘NE Face of the Pfiefferhorn’
