For the back half of March & all of April I found myself back up in Alaska putting in some serious time trying to find a good window of sun, stability and fun. Over the 4+ weeks I spent in Haines we had high highs, low lows and lots of time to think about both.
I ended up getting 10 ski days, that were phenomenal in their own right, but the season in Haines was a bit trickier than many other years, leaving something more to be desired – there's always something to come back for... The below is the day-by-day diary account of the multi week AK trip.
Only got one edit together on this trip – some good memories and turns for sure
Day 1
I’ve always said a lot of things have to line up to get yours up here in AK, and today seemed like it could be one of those days. Sky was blue, wind was down, stability was decent – but the group we got was absolute shit. Dan and I saw it coming pretty early on this AM. We are a twosome which means to fill a heli we need to be put with another group of two. Those people could be rippers and make your day, or be grandmas and completely fuck you over. Today it was the latter. We made the most of it, but it was a tough one to stomach. Hoping that things turn around for our group luck tomorrow. Looks like maybe a morning of clear before the next storm cycle moves in on us, and seems like that unstable pattern could stick around for a while…
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| The stoke will always put a smile on your face |
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| The birds quickly give you access to some pretty dramatic scenery |
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| Some mellow s-turns to the PZ |
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| Whiteout when the pilot powers up |
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| Views never get old either |
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| Group ready for a lift |
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| Pretty cool looking LZ up top |
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| Birds up and away |
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| Dan on the hill |
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| Late run in the day with some water views |
Day 2
Things got off to a bit of a better start today. We woke to great blue skies but knew that weather would likely move in at some point throughout the day. We were hoping it would happen later in the afternoon and that’s about how it went down.
Dan and I got paired up with two strong skiers – both from Cali. We got some good runs but over all were stacked pretty hard on top of the two groups in front of us, and ended up doing a lot of farming and were crossing more tracks than you’d expect with heli access. I managed to find a few really good steep ramps to keep things nice and fun.
Just before the weather moved in we had a minor incident when one of our fellow shipmates picked the wrong line through the low angle glacier and slipped in to a crack. I was waving him off but he didn’t look up at me and skied right into a fairly sizable crevasse. He scrubbed some speed just before but came off, bouncing off the downhill wall before he disappeared from view. A definite scary 5 min before I was able to make my way up the hill to see him laying in some soft snow maybe 25 feet down. Lucky, to say the least, as there were portions of the crack that would have been 60 feet to blue ice. A little head contusion and a haul out on the rope and he will live to ski another day, but an intense moment for sure.
Weather is here for the next few days...
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| Our first few runs were pretty mellow but with insane views |
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| Our guide Cam with the Chilkoot Inlet not far below |
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| Birds out, taking a group up high |
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| Incredible AM light with the imposing clouds |
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| Making a few extra feet on Dicks Pick |
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| A look back up Dicks Pick, some fun steep and deep turns on the top and on the middle rib |
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| Bird waiting on a group |
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| This stuff is gonna make the next few days after the storm pretty interesting |
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| After lunch things start to look a little different, but quite dramatic |
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| Perhaps foreshadowing this incident |
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| On scene and digging, the guy is just visible in the crack below |
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| Left it to the pro's to pull that guy out – a tense event, but all's well that ends well |
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| Viz changed rapidly and it was time to pull the groups out of the field |
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| Dan heads out at the end of our day |
Stormy night and day as predicted. Dan and I took the morning to mellow out, catch up on photos from the drive up then headed up to Haines Summit for some sledding. It was pretty dark on the way up there, but around 3,000’ we popped through the ceiling and found some nice, partly cloudy skies to enjoy some wide open sled action. Lots more improving today on the sleds, that coincided with a lot of crashes as well. TBD on what happens tomorrow. Will just have to wait for the morning to know if we are down again or if we will fly.
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| In town it looks like a definite no fly day – low viz behind our little shack |
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| But we managed to find some partly sunny skies a few thousand feet up, over the boarder in Canada |
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| Working on the pow turns |
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| The left one started to come together a little today |
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| But not every time... |
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| Lots of this view for me today |
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| For Dan as well |
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| Getting his machine back over |
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| Popped up on a high bench |
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| And yep, I even got run over by my own sled today |
Another cloudy day today. Not much weather otherwise but birds can't fly without sight. We laid low and waited around until mid-afternoon on standby, hoping that the clouds would break, but no dice. Around 3PM we headed out the road and jumped on the sleds at 26 mile for what we thought would be a pretty mellow logging road ride. Up the road we found that we could gain access to a nearby peak, and after 10 miles or so found ourselves 4,000' above where we started with some stunning views.
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| They say there is a possibility that we will get out this afternoon, but the view from the library doesn't make me super hopeful... |
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| We bagged the idea of skiing and headed out the logging road at Porcupine |
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| And ended up venturing off the beaten path |
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| Which had it's downsides |
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| But we managed to punch through alternate routes |
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| Dan learning from my mistakes |
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| Up in the alpine |
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| We bumped into some snowboarders getting into some nice pow – will have to bring the sticks next time |
We woke to some clear(ish) skies to the South but socked-in in all other directions. Our zone is to the North-West so we kept an eye on it for some clearing but weather was suppose to arrive in the afternoon and for the time being the next possible window is looking like Monday.
We learned about a new spot to sled up Mosquito Lake that turned into quite the epic. After 15 miles on a jeep road we ventured over the river and through the woods, boulder and log crawling up to the alpine. Lots of digging, but lots of fun. It wasn't until about 7PM that we made it back to the jeep trail, and not back to the car 'till dark.
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| 10-Day for Haines, though you can't really trust more than 24-36 hours out... |
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| Unloaded but not much snow down low |
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| As soon as we leave the jeep trail things start to get pretty technical |
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| Machines need a little cool-down |
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| Uphill, sidehill is testing our abilities |
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| Made it up but made it over, too |
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| My turn to take a run at it |
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| Trying to get that weight over |
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| That machine looks stuck |
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| Quite the bomb hole we had to get her out of |
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| Back on the jeep road enjoying beers with light snowfall – enjoying these moments |
Had a bit of rain last night and think snow levels were fairly low, but the clouds are still in this AM and it seems like an unlikely fly day as there is a little more to this storm that might show up this afternoon. The bod is pretty beat from three days out on the sleds so might just lay low in town today. Fingers crossed for some clearing tomorrow.
Guide ship got out around 9:30 to see what it looked like out in the zone. Was still pretty milky out there this AM but managed to clear out by noon for a few hours of skiing. We definitely found some instability out there, and saw several smaller slides rip out with some potential for them to go down to a deeper layer. Our first few runs were pretty mellow, but we managed to work our way up and got some fun turns on Desktop West, with the highlight of the day some fun but small spines on Rubix. High clouds turned our light off after our fifth run, and we pulled the plug after a pretty atrocious sixth run. I got absolutely hammered with a double eject on some low angle flat light and that spine readjustment was pretty much the end of my day. Looks like weather back in tomorrow with some potential clearing later in the week.
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| Bird #2 is on the ground but folks are booted up – I'd call this high alert 4.5 |
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| Always enjoy the view heading out into the mountains |
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| Didn't see anything massive but I was surprised to see this sort of action on pretty low angle stuff |
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| Guide heads out to get a closer look |
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| Wind loading rips and steps down to a deeper layer |
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| Dan spooning my tracks on some conservative terrain |
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| Guide, Tucker, kicking a few little things off |
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| Very stunning spot for a pickup |
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| A look back up at the top section of Rubix |
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| My view from the top working my way into my spine zone |
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| Lower on that run working out a rib |
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| And finding some float time off the nose of it |
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| Dan gets in to the spice and absolutely slays it |
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| A look back across the valley at that spine on Rubix, you can see a skier standing above the prominent knuckle, and our tracks to the lookers left of him |
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| Can you see the wind lip? Neither could Dan |
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| Tucker in some milky light – time to call it a day |
We were down today, though it was a bummer it was a little needed. The bod is a bit thrashed after my double eject tomahawk crash yesterday. I'm on a strict advil & stretching regiment trying to get back into shape for when it pops again. Lazy morning was followed by an afternoon on the pass with the sleds. Visibility up there was pretty bad and the light was flat, but it was fun to get out and try the pow turns again. Looking like the potential for weather the next two days with maybe some clearing after that.
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| Up on the pass got to play in some softer snow and work on the turns |
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| Dan was nailing them connecting rights and lefts |
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| Dan getting it over |
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| No hands means trouble |
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| The soft snow isn't as soft as hoped |
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| Dan coming around |
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| Pretty amazing how little of the machine is in the snow when you're whipping it around |
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| On the drive home we saw several eagles hanging around the Chilkat River |
Mostly cloudy skies out there, they sent a guide ship out in the field but it never looked super promising. Spent a little time this AM playing with some footage from our little spine run the other day. Also played in the valley with Dan's drone a bit. Still looking like tomorrow is probably a similar day but hoping for Friday/Sat.
Threw together a quick mashup edit of Dan's and my turns on Rubix, a fun run from Monday
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| Gorgeous up there but definitely no good for flying |
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| Slave to the job – Dan in the studio, putting a little spit-shine on my edit |
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| Getting the toys out |
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| Nerds |
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| Drones take flight |
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| Nice views over the Chilkat |
Got some rain in town over the night, and it's pretty cloudy this AM. Forecast is a little ambiguous on when it might clear, but I'd say there is a chance it happens by early afternoon. Still looking good for the next few days.
Got up to the summit on the sleds again to a zone past the one we've been riding in, lots of bowls and walls to play on. It was super socked in when we got up there, but the sun half broke for us for about two hours for a little play time. Had a good solid crash or two but am still in one piece.
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| Tough viz up high, nice to have a track or two for definition |
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| Bumped into this big 'ol moose on the drive back to Haines |
High clouds today. We can see the peaks from town, but the light is pretty flat up there. We're on standby hoping things shape up for the afternoon, but it's almost 1PM now and things don't seem to be changing too quickly. Still looking promising for tomorrow, but that's Dan's last day of skiing. Four in two weeks isn't quite what we were hoping for, but not as bad as it could have been...
Got out for a junk show of a sled-ski mission, doubled up with Tucker and Dan had one of Tucker's new clients, Garret on with him. Lots of failed attempts but did manage tow runs, one pretty fun one.
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| Constant learning up here |
Clear skies this AM as expected. We rallied and got to the airport at 8AM and all got out into the zone pretty early. The pit Tucker dug on our first warm-up show’d some positive signs of healing on that hoarfrost layer that we are concerned about. So the second run we stepped it up a bit and got on great, beautify face called Desktop East. Most clients got on the meat of the face but I opted for a quick and fun banana chute on the right. Two turns in the chute then gunned it to try and beat the sluff out the bottom. Super fast and super fun. Some other highlights of the day was a spine session back on Rubix. Got into that same mini-golf that we saw the other day and got a much meatier chunk of it, as well as some longer but mellower ones on the other side of the face.
We had a pretty dicy moment or two when Tuckers ski cut set off a very large and powerful slide. The crown was about 2 feet and it propagated over a hundred yards in either direction. Slid right on that hoarfrost layer that we’ve been keeping an eye on. Very thankful it broke at his feet and out, rather than above him. It was definitely not a good spot to go for a ride.
By run 11 my legs were absolutely cashed, and at 5PM we headed into the barn, and directly to the bar at The Fort to celebrate and ring some bells. A day long in the waiting, but one for the memories for sure.
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| Finally some blue to enjoy |
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| Dan getting some on Desktop East |
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| Dropping into my chute on Desktop East and the snow starts to pipe |
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| Ahead of my sluff and time to turn it on |
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| A view back at Desktop East – my line was the tiny needle chute just to the left of the face |
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| Tucker & Dan stand above a fun coulie |
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| View back across the valley at the couloir |
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| Dan in the pow with some aesthetic looking ice |
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| Left side of the crown around the corner from where it was triggered |
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| Slide path from below – big & scary |
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| Back atop Rubix ready for some fun |
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| Really nice turns above the crux |
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| Committed |
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| POV of that turn |
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| Getting light and about to point it out the bottom |
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| Dan digging deep in the spine wall on Rubix |
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| A spicy view of the Rubix spines |
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| Garret finds a spot to get light in the spine wall |
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| Garret making some nice turns out the bottom |
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| Afternoon view back towards town |
Another fantastic & full day in the zone – another just like yesterday. Stability was decent but not to be fully trusted. We jumped right into it with two fun laps on the 40+ degree Bell Ringer, then popped over to Desktop West, this time taking it from the top. The two runs we had there today were definitely the highlights. Fun steeps and spines on the big Alaskan peak.
Dan got one final run in this AM on Bell Ringer before he had to head south. A great way to cap off his 2015 AK adventure. Will be a different trip without him. Has really been fun having him with me to share the experiences.
Looking like we go down tomorrow and for the foreseeable future. Wont lie that the body will enjoy the rest & a looking forward to getting my hands dirty with some of the video footage from the past two days.
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| Easter Sunday and nada is open in town for breaky – Dan making the most of what's in the fridge |
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| Another gorgeous day in the zone |
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| Safety first – Guide Tucker in a pit looking at this hoarfrost issue |
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| A pretty precarious landing spot on the top of Desktop West – can you see the bird up there? watch your step! |
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| Found some really soft & deep snow among the ice of the glacier |
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| Hanging among the ice |
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| Tucker leading the way |
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| Oh yeah, we'll take one more please |
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| Our final run was back up on Desktop West. My line follows the ridge on lookers left then through the spins |
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| Making turns from the top |
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| And working through the upper choke |
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| Gets a little light in there |
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| Beautiful snow on the sun shade line |
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| Things start to get a little more spicy |
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| Keeping it slow through the spine |
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| Steep and lots of snow moving |
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| Always have an exit strategy |
Day 14
Partly cloudy when I got up this AM. Definitely brighter out than expected, but the milk is moving in and I assume we are not going to give it a push today...
Day 15
Not storming but definitely not nice out there with low clouds and high winds. Looks like the precip might move in this afternoon, and tomorrow looks a little more promising for the reset we're looking to get. Sadly there are no solid holes in the forecast (maybe next wednesday), but the reality is that forecasters really don't know what's happening more than 48 hours out at best, so we will just have to play the waiting game and see what cards we are dealt.
The wind came up in the afternoon and Tucker attempted a little up-river, down-winder on with the kite. Got a little overpowered but had some fun out of it.
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| The extended – looks like some restless days to come |
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| Down day toys |
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| Pretty breezy out there in the inlet |
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| The man himself admitted it was probably not a great idea |
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| Found a big sandbar and headed out |
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| Suited up and getting ready to launch on the bank of the Chillkat |
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| Tucker chases his kite down after we had a launch mishap |
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| Gets it flying on the other bank – seriously overpowered |
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| On the water and ripping |
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| A few out and backs |
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| This has to be a first for this pic – all in all a successful mission |
The front came in yesterday evening and we're expecting and hoping for some good precip out of this thing. Still no real idea when it might clear.
Got to get through some of the footage from the great days we had before this storm rolled in. Fun times skiing with Tucker, making the most of our conditions.
Can't wait for it to pop and get back out with rested legs
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| Pretty wet out there today |
Some more precip overnight and this AM. It lightened up a bit and Garret joined me for a short hike out to Battery Point. A woodsy walk on a very nice little trail. It was blowing like crazy out on the inlet though. We heard from a group who is camping out on a glacier to our west that by yesterday evening they received over 3' of snow, so with last night's storm and what's to come we're expecting some significant snowfall out in the zone.
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| A walk in the woods |
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| Slippery in spots |
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| Just a short bump out to the point |
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| Nice break in the storm to walk the beach |
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| But breezy no doubt |
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| With all this water falling the drainages are pumping |
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| No down day complete without a visit to this good spot |
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| The Caesar has become a favorite |
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| Best food in town, by far |
Day 18
Another night of rain, and although it's not hammering this AM, it is still pretty consistent. The forecast has sort of been all over the place with a potential break in this thing. Best guess at the moment is a chance at it on Monday before we get hit with the next low. If the rain lets off I might get out and do some fishing today.
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| A quick fire-drill for the partial clearing |
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| Fishing on the Chillkat |
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| Chilly river |
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| Out for the hunt |
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| Not the only one out for the hunt |
Day 19
Woke to a surprising break in the storm this morning, peaks towards the zone were in partial clouds and had some sun on them. The break was short lived however and it is now socked in and snowing/raining in town. Tomorrow and the following days look like slight possibilities – the storm will ease off but I think we will still be looking at clouds in the area and likely issues with visibility. Will just have to take it day by day to see.
Today is day 6 down, and though I'm not low, I am dragging from so much time doing relatively nothing...
Guides got out for a quick look yesterday and found over 3' of snow around 5,000' that was super reactive. Sympathetic slides wrapping corners with crowns the full 3' fresh just from touching the heli down. The scariest part is that it was happening on slopes as mild as 20 degrees – yikes. Pretty nasty out there... So even if we do get out, it's hard to say what we will actually get.
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| Took a casual stroll through the old fort |
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| Tlingit art on a building in the old fort |
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| Snow levels definitely dropped a bit in the most recent wave of precip |
Day 20
Another grey day here in Haines. The bulk of the storm seems to have moved through, but it is still pretty socked in, in all directions. The sun is trying to get through but it doesn't feel like it's gonna win today. Forecast for tomorrow is mostly cloudy. Fingers crossed that it's not completely socked in as it looks like the next storm is due to arrive Tuesday afternoon.
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| Unsuccessful sled mish, but grabbed some fireworks and saw this moose |
Day 21
There was a small window of blue to work with today that we had our fingers crossed for. A guide ship headed out but given the extreme instability we saw during the storm there was a lot of concern around the day, and we worked out way out fairly gingerly. Tiptoeing around we definitely saw some movement and kicked some things off, but sticking to slopes we skied the hell out of prior to the precip we managed to get some good runs in.
Highlights were again found on Desktop West and Rubix. Feeling the comfort from the most recent few days out, and a little too much agro from the days down I stepped a little past 'the line' on my Rubix run, and AK made sure I knew who was boss. I snuck into a tight sweeping straight-line, came firing out and after a turn and a half lost control and just exploded, tomahawking end over end maybe five times over the course of 20 seconds before I came to a stop. It definitely put a dent in my day, and I skied pretty gingerly from there out. With crushed confidence, a bruised ego and tweaked knee I played it pretty safe but on our final run on Desktop West I jumped into the same spine line I had fun on last Sunday for a nice days-end confidence builder. I imagine my body will feel pretty thrashed in the AM, so think chilled out pow turns are on the docket for tomorrow if it clears enough to get a few runs in before the next big system arrives here in Southern Alaska.
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| After all the down days it was exciting to get back out in these beautiful mountains |
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| Fun little warmup run – you can see Garret making turns mid-slope to the lookers left of mine |
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| Cold smoke & big turns on Desktop West |
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| Finding a little feature mid-run |
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| This is the spot where a bad decision was made – straight-line entrance to by blowup is about a third of the way down that most prominent spine |
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| Not too late to change your mind here |
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| Committed |
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| Nuking |
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| Crashing |
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| Lost one shoe |
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| About to loose the other |
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| Final resting place with gear scattered up the face |
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| A look from the bottom back up to the crash site – one big turn to the left then the blowup mid turn right – pictures do the scale and steepness of this stuff no justice |
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| Shook it off and happy to be in one piece enjoying these mountains |
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| This portion of our slide wrapped around the corner and moved on a very shallow slope |
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| Bugged out and hiking back to the top |
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| View from the heli of the starting point of that slide, and some clear step-downs |
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| Pulled out of there and just enjoying some fast pow turns |
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| Back at it on Desktop West |
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| Working the spine |
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| Redemption for the morning's mishap and time to let 'em run |
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| This shit is steep – you can see my spine just left of center of this image |
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| Stoked to be in one piece – Garret and me headed back to the barn |
Day 22
We had some more clearing this morning but the front was clearly building in almost all directions around us. We were able to get out for three fun pow runs. Mellow terrain but great to get out for anything. Looks like the weather socks back in tonight and it's not clear if there is a window between now and my scheduled departure on the 20th.
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| Working our way out in one of the Tele bowls as the clouds start to creep into our zone |
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| Moose sighting on the way back into town |
Day 23
A very wet and stormy morning here in Haines. Tomorrow looks to be the same, with a potential hole coming our way Friday afternoon. Hoping to get at least one more in before I head home, but it's not looking super promising. If it turned out that way, that would be 25% ski days with 21 days down. Snow pack has been thin and scary, and we never got onto anything huge – all in all not the best season up here, but regardless there were lots of fun turns had, and a lot of good leaning as well. Skiing up here isn't like anywhere else, it's a constant education – terrain & snow management, personal control etc. It will be a long drive home, but all worth the great times in Haines.
Day 24
High clouds today with some partial clearing early this AM. We are on standby but it seems doubtful we will get out. If it doesn't happen by noon today I think I will try and get out for some time on the sled.
Still looks like a promising hole tomorrow, then potentially some more significant clearing later next week. Will be keeping an eye on that, if things slide up at all, I may extend my stay by a few days and try and make some good of all this time waiting around.
Day 25
There was a chance that we'd see some significant clearing in the afternoon today, and that we did. Lots of blue skies, but sadly that was just over town and the mountains remained more or less socked in. We stayed on aggressive standby for most of the afternoon, but at 5PM have finally called it.
The latest extended looks like another system moving in early morning, with some possibility of partial to full clearing later in the week. I'm scheduled to head out of here Monday but am thinking it might be worth pushing by a few days and seeing if I can't fly Weds/Thurs before I pull out of here. The forecast changes by the minute but I'm going to see how the week is shaping up on Sunday to make the call to stay or go.
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| What things are looking like – for the moment at least... |
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| Blue above but not over yonder |
Day 26
Clouds, rain & hangover are in today.
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| A moose is loose at the Haines airport |
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| Received and spent a few too many of these last night |
Day 27
Storm is here today with a decent amount of precip forecasted to fall. Was hoping to get a sled-ski mission together up on Old Faithful but with the storm I'm assuming we will opt out of that. I headed up that way yesterday just to see what it looked like and the access jeep road was almost all dirt. Lots has melted at the lower elevations since I was out there two weeks ago.
Weather forecast for this coming week has been all over the place. We were hopeful that Monday might happen, but the latest this AM seems more like a potential window Tues/Weds, then I will be hopping in the car Thursday to return to the lower 48.
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| A moody day here in Haines |
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| Found a few Baldies out at Chilkoot |
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| Bird takes flight |
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| On the hunt |
Day 28
Rained hard last night and is continuing to do that this AM. There will be a ton of new snow in the field when we get out there. Hopefully enough to self shed on these bad layers we've been keeping an eye on. Forecast for the next few days is not looking quite as promising. No weather, but potential clouds...
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| Not bad news but not good news either |
Day 29
Woke up to partial cloudy skies today, definitely not clear but different & higher types of clouds than the socked in stuff we've been seeing throughout the storm. It pushed us around a bit and came and went but we got out for a super fun day in the same zone we've been skiing. No new runs for me today, but the town zone is starting to become pretty familiar and I'm able to ski it more as if it were a giant home mountain vs a first shot heli run.
My group today was a decent skier from Seattle then a father/daughter duo from Steamboat/Bozeman. The college-aged girl had a ski racing background and though it was her first AK experience she did a great job and was a super strong skier. Her dad took a good tumble on turn three of run one and possibly tore up his knee. A bummer for sure, but that seat ended up being filled by Reggie Crist, a former olympian, turned pro big-mountain skier, turned AK heli guide. It was really rad to get a day in with such an icon in these mountains. I'm hoping that I can get back out with him in my final two days here.
My reoccurring neck issue fired up two days ago, and I spend the past 48 hours nursing it with max advil and muscle relaxers. Quite painful and debilitating to say the least. If I was at a resort I wouldn't be skiing, but it's hard to pass up the blue window so I am suffering through it, trying not to think about how miserable the 5+ day drive is gonna be.
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| Is this partly sunny or mostly cloudy? |
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| A rather large slide kicked off by a group across the valley, the crack sound it made was ominous |
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| Getting some speed on Desktop East |
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| Standing on the shoulder of Desktop West the viz starts to go |
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| Skiing into the abyss on Desktop West |
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| Snow on Rubix was less than ideal, but got some fun turns down the big spine right of center |
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| Getting onto that big spine |
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| Working it side to side |
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| Late in the day, the neck is on fire but the smile is big enough to get one more |
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| Heli sling-loading gear out for Ralph & Xavier's camp trip |
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| Did I mention it rained? Oh yeah, good snow was harder to find today |
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| Working the goods on my last run – check out the horizon line, laying this one over hard |
Day 30
Spring has sprung here in the Chilkats and the production machine that Haines can be is also in full swing. We had a fun day out there, but it was a bit short due to the logistics and pressures around getting all the mouths fed. Film crews head out before and after the client skiing, and with a ship grounded the birds were stretched pretty thin to get it all done today.
A solid fun day none the less, mostly mellow corn runs, but we did manage to find some steep and wintery snow up high on Kicking Horse, where the LZ almost reaches 7,000'.
Tomorrow is the final day I'm putting in here this season, looks to be blue, and that will make 10 days in the field with 21 down days to round out my month here in Haines. A variety of conditions with a handful of memorable turns punctuate by great and scary moments. High, highs and low, lows but an epic adventure no doubt. Should I start planning for 2016?
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| No shortage of stunning scenery here in the Chilkats |
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| Danny enjoying a little machine assisted white-room |
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| Some nasty terrain out this way |
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| Bird pulls away from a spicy little LZ up on the summit of Kicking Horse |
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| Lead Guide Daver opens up the main face on Kicking Horse |
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| Working my way around the corner to find the fresh |
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| Game on |
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| Finally found some cold, winter snow |
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| Heli coming in for our last run of the day |
Day 31
A fantastic final day here in Haines. I went out in the first ship with Sunny, the lead guide and part owner of the op. The group was a strong set of Tahoe skiers, seasoned on these big peaks. The early runs were tough as far as the snow went, but as we got deeper into the zone we found some goods. The day was punctuated by a ripper of a run on Whiskey Shits, a 1,500' AK slab that was 50 degrees from the top and just didn't let up. Solid buoyant snow – fast and smooth. My final AK run was on a more mellow cruiser with great blower top to bottom. Sad to leave but a good way to end this season off. Highs and lows waiting it all out, but always an epic adventure here in AK. And so begins the long haul back to the lower 48.
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| Sunny on the edge, opening up one of our earlier runs |
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| Looking around trying to find a good stash |
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| These photos just never do these runs justice – Whiskey Shits here, you can just barely make out the next group in the saddle |
Until next time...
