I'll take it.

     So I started working nights which does cramp my winter style a bit....it's hard to want to climb mountains and ski after working a shift, but this time of year with light and snow being so limited I'll take what I can get.  Yes, we have very limited snow.  Options include Hatcher or the typical rock skiing in the front range.  There is barely enough packed snow in select locations around town for cross-country skiing but still enough.
     I visited Hatcher one fine sunny Saturday recently and it was colder than I remember being in some time.  I hope my wussy-whiskers aren't growing too much.  The snow was the best this year despite the rain crust.  If I picked the right aspect I found it could be powered through and yield good turns, or at least relatively speaking.  I hope to get one more day.  Given the clear and cold stretch it should be do-able.  Maybe it will be full-on snow by my next stretch off. 


This is how cold it is, just beyond nose-running cold.

     It was also time to get after my list again, one item being a full-moon ski.  This was challenging given the snow conditions because we attempted it up at Arctic Valley.  The views of Anchorage on a winter night are amazing, especially when you can look the other way and see all the snowy moonlit slopes of the Chugach.  No headlamps needed, we skinned up and skied two evening laps on what decent snow we could find in low-light.  The first lap was respectable but we got greedy for steeper and higher, paying for it with less than pleasant conditions but still, check.  I will attempt this again this season if life allows.


phone-photo but, you get the idea. 

     Cross country skiing is just barely do-able, but at this point most trails are skate-able: coastal trail, hillside, northern bicentennial.  Just hints of small rocks if you are spacing out can snag a ski.  Bring your rock-poles if you are doing the coastal trail, but in my opinion it's a good chance to practice pole-less skating and dust off the cobwebs.  I'm still amazed by the incredible views from this trail right in the middle of town. 

One thing I love about Bicentennial is the picturesque
trail winding through the birch groves: nothing like it.