Hatcher pass, it's a first.



     So I have never been skiing in hatche pass and therefore, despite the widespread lack of snow, I decided to fuel my addiction to skiing a little more.  Some buddies of mine were headed to hatcher pass and though the in-laws were in town I was able to get out, soul food.  Weather: clear, calm and bitterly cold as it has been for several weeks now: overall it was comfortable because I was prepared for the cold and had my layering system down.  I also added some new gear which definately helped: some Outdoor Research shell mittens and the Centrifuge jacket which is, I have found, the perfect skinning jacket for me.

     We got there at sunrise and skinned up lookers' right shoulder of Marmot, not all the way to the summit with the flag but the flat ridge a ways below it.  Conditions were as I had expected given the lack of snow: tracked, mildly windblown crust/slab in some areas.  We managed to find a few good pockets by our 2nd and 3rd runs.  What was the best is we were skiing and skinning in the sun all day, perfect given the short days this time of year and it eased the bite of the cold.

     Shwas a great way to spend the day and I think I would like to check it out when they get more snow.  The terrain doesn't seem as big as turngagain pass but it looks like a good variety and alternative.  I noticed that a lot of terrain is much closer to the road which means a shorter skin in and more energy/quicker turnover and lapping.  I will return I think but Turnagain is supposedly getting snow as I write this so my next day off I'll be heading there. 

     Merry Christmas and good turns to all.

    

The Notch

     So I got the dynafit FT radical bindings last year which do not have the pin to prevent the heelpiece from rotating the wrong way and cracking it, something they fixed for this years'.  Mine cracked but how it went the wrong way I have yet to figure out, my best guess is some squirrely skinning technique.   Fortunately it was covered under warranty so I spent some time sidelined while that was getting fixed.  Timing was decent as snow conditions were far less than impressive and the cross country ski trails were getting groomed so I diversified my skiing by hitting up the trails and resort.
     Binding: fixed.  So naturally we decided to head out with the usual crew and pups.  For whatever reason we elected to check out the Notch which is CPG's cat skiing terrain.  It is a longer skin in by either girdwood xc ski trails or the winner creek trail by the tram.  Either way it meets up with the CPG cat track.  Normally the cat track is groomed but this years' lack of snow left it untouched but for a snowmobile(that's right I'm from the midwest) track half way.  We followed that half way then started breaking trail which wasn't too bad until we neared the split where trees thin and one can go up to A-1 or the notch. 

     The snow was quite a bit deeper from there to the CPG hut and given the snowpack below treeline (no cohesion) it was like a pit of whipped cream.  The dogs were wallowing in it and making slow progress.  It was bitter cold so I volunteered to break trail to warm up.  After checking out the hut, eating some lunch and taking in the view (one of the best I would imagine) we attempted to go the top.

View from the CPG hut.

     Above the treeline the snowpack changed to slightly windblown slabs and/or a thicker cohesive layer resting on old surface hoar layer or further down the depth hoar.  We noticed wide-spread whoompfing, no shooting cracks though.  Between the whoompfing and some other worrisome snowpack observations we elected to turn around sooner without reaching the peak.  The snow was so deep we couldn't get enough speed on the low-angle terrain to ski anything worth-while.  It was a disappointing ski/skin out but a good day with clear, beautiful skies; good company; and time spent in the chugach on skis.

Seattle: the sunny snowmachine-less side

     So Monday a buddy(KC) of mine had just purchased skins allowing him to really venture in the backcountry.  I thought now would be a good time to break him in before the good snow comes, because it is coming.  Hopefully.  We headed to turnagain pass which is pretty much the best if not only option at this point in time.  Given the shallow snowpack snowmachines are not allowed in their typical area which leaves it wide open for skiing.  In addition, these slopes get the most sun relative to the non-motorized reacreation side of the pass this time of year.

     The inversion wasn't as noticable, but no new snow meant a solid and frosty skin track.  After anticipating more cold clear weather I was surprised when it was cloudy.  A speck of snow fell here and there. We made it up to the top of the ridge.  I had never skied the seattle creek side so we elected to do a run down Main Bowl from the skiers' left side.  KC seemed energetic and willing enough to climb out of there but I could see the fatigue setting in.  The run was pretty good but I did manage to deposit more P-tex on a band of rocks lurking un-noticably beneath the surface.  KC and I skinned up and out of the bowl with hopes of returning after more snow but before snowmachines.
     We then skinned along the seattle ridge to Warm-up bowl and skied a nice open face on the highway side.  On the ridge the snow had been slightly wind-affected but it was scattered and localized.  The slope was a bit tracked but had room for better lines than elsewhere down to the car.  We followed other tracks down through the alders with no bushwhacking needed, indeed an unexpected and welcome surprise.  KCs' legs were fried by this time which made it tougher for him to enjoy the patches of pow in the alders. 

     Down in the creek (highway side) while skinning back to the car the sun broke out over the valley for an instant.  Pure awesomeness. We noticed it has been so cold for so long the hoar frost was growing hoar frost.  As we were booting along the construction trail with my skis on my shoulder I, for a reason I still can't grasp, decided to lick the riser of my dynafit binding.  Yup, they are metal.  Fortunaley KC had some water and bailed me out but meanwhile many thoughts went through my head, such as the kid in "A Christmas Story" who licked the flagpole, how long it would be before I could taste again, why did I lick my binding?  Who knows.
     At the car I could tell KC was relieved to be done.  Overall it was great to get out.  I hope I didn't push him too hard and ruin his first experience.  I promised him the goods were yet to come with longer days, deeper snow, and stronger legs.