Tag Archive for 'Alaska'

Alaska 2012 Trip Report

Published on April 27, 2012 in Trip Reports. 3 Comments Tags: , , , , , , .

The skiing in Alaska is always good, but this year was exceptional. Not only did the weather hold out for almost the entire three week trip, but the snow was so stable it was almost scary. I kept having to remind myself to be careful of overconfidence, as all of the aspects and elevations we skied were covered in about 6″ of recrystallized powder, which is a dream to ski.

Most of the trip was in the Wrangell-St.Elias National Park & Preserve, but we had a few spare days at the end, so we went over to Thompson Pass for some car based skiing. The trip started out with three days of warm up skiing out of the Ultima Thule Lodge with the Claus family, Eli Potter and Hombi which set the stage for the fantastic conditions to come. Continue reading ‘Alaska 2012 Trip Report’

Up, Up & Away to AK

Published on March 27, 2012 in current conditions. 4 Comments Tags: .

It seems like almost everywhere in the U.S. had a below average snow season this year, except the Pacific Northwest and Alaska. Apparently Mother Nature was throwing low, inside, sliders this winter that didn’t have enough umphh to go very far or blast over the Cascade Mountains, so while most Americans were skiing rocks and dirt, AK is phat. I talked to Joe Stock in Anchorage about this a few days ago and he described entire ravines being filled in this year – ahhhhh, yessssss! My Alaska plans this spring include being part of the Wild Alpine Wilderness Ski Week in the Wrangell-St. Elias area, and then extending that for another ten days of skiing in the area with Jim Harris. Continue reading ‘Up, Up & Away to AK’

AK Family show – SLC, 3/15

Published on March 1, 2012 in Announcements. 3 Comments Tags: .

In 1994 I attended a slideshow on climbing Denali at the Black Diamond Equipment shop in Salt Lake City. The show was put on by Conrad Anker and I was there with my good buddy Mark Holbrook, a coworker at BD. One of Conrad’s photos was of the Messner Couloir in all of its glory, which prompted Mark and me to put together a trip to try to ski it. I didn’t know it at the time, but Denali forms the father, or “Great One” of the Alaska Range family with Sultana/Foraker being the “mother” and Mt. Hunter being the child. Through a series of circumstances, luck and one failed attempt, skiing all three of these peaks became a 14 year obsession for me. Continue reading ‘AK Family show – SLC, 3/15′

Wilderness Ski Week – Wrangell-St.Elias Mtns

Published on November 2, 2011 in Announcements. 5 Comments Tags: .

Without a doubt, Alaska is my all time favorite place to ski as it has it all – huge terrain, the longest skiable lines on earth, three different snowpacks, massive glaciers and everything in between.  Within Alaska, the Wrangell-St.Elias (WSE) National Park & Preserve tops the list of best-of-the-best and is one of those places that is hard to put into words as nothing really compares to it.  If you have been heli skiing in the Valdez area, multiply that by 1,000, double (or even triple) the size of the peaks, erase all of the roads, eliminate 99% of the people and double down on the sense of commitment.  As far as AK experiences go, it’s the real deal.

The downside of the WSE is that it is difficult to access, to say the least.  There may be a few places where you can do day trips, but for the most part it is Expedition Central and to get anywhere beyond the fringes  often involves winter camping, sled hauling and lots of shivering. With this in mind, I’ve teamed up with Wild Alpine and the Ultima Thule Lodge  to put together the inaugural “Wilderness Ski Week” from April 1-7, 2012.  This will be my forth time up to the Ultima Thule lodge and I’m sure it will be the highlight of the 2012 ski season. Continue reading ‘Wilderness Ski Week – Wrangell-St.Elias Mtns’

Revelation Mountains – Alaska

Published on June 30, 2010 in Trip Reports. 9 Comments Tags: .

This trip began two years ago as a brain-child of Noah Howell. Noah had heard vague rumors of a remote, rugged mountain range called the Revelations and had tried to fly in there from Talkeetna but was thwarted by the weather.  In the big AK picture, the Revelations are about 140 miles west/northwest of Anchorage and form an almost perfect equidistant triangle between them, Talkeetna and Anchorage.  You can fly there from either Talkeetna or Anchorage, although Anchorage has more planes to choose from, better weather and better down-time distractions. Continue reading ‘Revelation Mountains – Alaska’

Ultima Thule 2010 Trip Report

Published on June 29, 2010 in Trip Reports. 1 Comment Tags: .

Well, okay, it is really more of a photo gallery with captions, but it hits the highlights of the trip.

This was my third trip to the Ultima Thule Lodge in the Wrangell-St. Elias Mountains and I was there with Eli Potter, Aria, Hombi, Reto and the Claus family to do some skiing and discuss the 2011 Wrangell Ski Week.  The conditions were about as good as Alaska gets with only one true down day out of the entire outing.

This area had a bit of a low snow year, and between that and being there towards the end of April, there wasn’t much snow at the lodge, although there was plenty of snow up higher in the mountains.

Click here for the Ultima Thule Lodge 2010 trip report.

Backcountry Wedding

Published on June 23, 2010 in Announcements. 3 Comments Tags: .

I’ve never gotten bored with skiing as it seems like some new twist on the theme always shows up and keeps my interest alive (that plus it is just fun).  But, I don’t think I ever would have anticipated our trip to Iceberg Lake in the Wrangell-St.Elias Mountains to turn out quite the way it did.

We were out for a Claus “family day” of skiing, which involves loading ten or so people into a million-dollar bush plane and flying around until we found the tastiest looking place to ski, then setting down and doing a few laps.  In this case, we ended up at Iceberg Lake, the name of which later became apparent. Continue reading ‘Backcountry Wedding’

Solidarity Peak Video

Published on June 15, 2010 in Trip Reports. 6 Comments Tags: .

Two videos in two days?  Yes, that’s what living in the shadow of the Sundance Film Festival will do for you.

This one is a video of a single run, Peak Solidarity, in the Wrangell-St.Elias Mountains.  Before skiing this peak I happened to see it in a photo book and of the entire book, this is the one that really stood out as it is such a beautiful, classic pyramid peak.  It has a 5,000′ plus ridgeline that snakes all the way up it, but aside from that, it is steep and intimidating all around. Continue reading ‘Solidarity Peak Video’

Revelations Video

Published on June 14, 2010 in Trip Reports. 0 Comments Tags: .

A little video from the Revelations… Continue reading ‘Revelations Video’

Wrangell-Saint Elias & Revelations

Published on April 15, 2010 in Trip Reports. 12 Comments Tags: .

Trip updates are at the bottom of the page.

Alaska is one of my favorite places to ski as it has so much variety and such wild terrain. It has three different snowpacks, high peaks, rugged mountains, huge ice fields, traverses, rivers, wildlife and everything in-between.  I go there for the skiing, but often times the actual turns are secondary to the sense of exploration and adventure that Alaska provides.  Good skiing conditions are just icing on the cake. Continue reading ‘Wrangell-Saint Elias & Revelations’