night ski!

     So it was (and still is) a goal to ski at night, ideally unaided by my headlamp and under the full moon.  This year I have had to completely redo almost all my ski goals due to the conditions, forcing them rather than letting them happen.  The other night was one example of this because as night-time diminishes so does my opportunity to night-ski and I decided I best do it now and if I can again later, I will.
     I was "on-call" for work during the last "snowstorm" that dropped all of 4-6".  I expected Arctic Valley to deliver the miraculous exception as I watched the cloudiness of snow in the sky hide its peaks all day.  Work didn't need me so I decided to sneak a quick run up to Gordon Lyon to check things out.  I had been at Hatcher almost exclusively and was hoping for this to be the Front Range jump-start.
     There was indeed a fresh dusting, but no dumping.  I skinned up as others were skiing out, with word of decent conditions up-valley.  I skinned by feel in the dark because the moon was hidden by clouds/snow.  Being out there at night is eerie with silence and stillness.  It seemed typically big with the glow of the city and the obscured outline of the snowy mountains, but unusually small with such little light and empty of details.
     I was travelling by memory and made it to the top without issue, ripped skins and turned on my headlamp.  I would advise skiing with a headlamp when it is NOT snowing to avoid the star-dodging effect seen in the video.  The first time I night-skied I remember seeing an individual coming down peak 3 with a huge chest-lamp AND headlamp.  He didn't seem to have any issues with visibility.  Maybe rigging the lamp to my body instead of my head can get rid of the effect.
     I will attempt this again when there is hopefully more light from the moon so I can do it without a lamp but also with more even snow coverage.  Were the snow deeper I might have elected to try without a lamp but we are still rock-dodging at this point in time.

it's good to be back

     After a trip to AZ sandwiched by work days it had been awhile since I had been out in AK.  I put skiing out of my mind while down south with the expectation that it would be different when I got back from how I left it: a one-and-done lap up Gordon Lyon in light rain on sticky/heavy/wet stuff.  I couldn't have asked for much more than my first two days back on the sticks.
     Day one wifey and I had what I would call our most successful ski day yet.  We did a pleasant tour up to Friendship Pass out at Hatcher.  Perfect weather, good enough snow, the solitude of a weekday, and the ever dramatic ruggedness of the Talkeetnas during a low-snow year.  Primo.  I noticed something I had not previously seen: how sparkly the snow was.  From the pass I could see single sparkles reflecting the sun all the way down at the prospect cabin below.  They were like bright stars in broad daylight.  I thought it was incredible.

      Day two was back at Hatchers for more perfect weather, better snow, and vistas.  This time with the dude-crew and mutts.  We flipped a coin to decide our course.  I saw Marmot the previous day and it looked worse than Arctic Valley on an open-weekend Sunday afternoon.  It was safe to assume everything within 1 mile of a road or TH would be tracked and that is not why I backcountry ski.  The coin told us to go farther, so we did, and it paid off.  We found several runs of the most respectable snow around and even managed a ski to the car.  Can't beat good ski days.

monday.....not back at the office

     So working a weekend leaves me in a unique place when it comes to backcountry skiing, especially after a perfect-weather weekend like this last one.  I knew the weekend warriors would have their way at Hatcher and I would have to get farther from the road to get fresh tracks.  This presented an excellent opportunity to try something new and have a look around.
     The great weather window continued today so I decided to base out of the Mint TH, something I've never done aside from the Bomber Traverse but had been eyeing this season for some reason.  There was one drainage I was scoping in particular for a solo-style day, the one just before the Lonesome mine.  Somehow I found myself up and driving before dawn, which is not all that impressive up here but for me it was a goal I regularly pass up for more sleep.

     The sunrises up here during the drive on a ski day are incredible, pics don't do justice, I'll leave it at that.  The tone was set for a good day.   The weekend warriors placed skin tracks for me, but being a Monday I enjoyed the solitude without having to break trail too much.  I headed up the previously mentioned drainage and poked around a few runs and soaked in the views.  I was impressed with how people really got out there this weekend.  It was nice just to be out. I was also impressed with the options for runs in this one drainage and it got me thinking about the drainages on either side.  The Talkeetnas continue to blow me away with their rugged and rockiness.

     The Little Susitna had hoar pockets galore and the water was crystal clear.  Ptarmigan tracks were abundant.  The low-angle winter sun provided amazing colors on the mountainsides and though my runs were mostly shaded the high-points were in the sun and provided excellent views.  Why don't I come here more?

Poor Lucy works so hard in the current conditions, I think she missed the "Dog travel in snow: 101" class, but she still loves it.

New year, new snow? I hope so.

     So the ski season has continued its lethargic coming and has still not gathered enough steam to be full-on yet.  Turnagain Pass continues to be wet and windy, same for Girdwood.  Last I checked most places were still hike-to, or a dicey ski out if you could tolerate wind/rain.  Alyeska is shipping people up the mountain on the tram so they can ride the upper portions because the lower mountain doesn't have enough snow.  The Chugach Front Range just picked up ~7" at upper elevations, enough to start something but will likely be decimated by wind before any more precip comes our way.  I could stay positive and say "maybe next year" or "with the new year", but it is next year and a new year.
     I've spent the past three days at Hatcher Pass since they picked up ~10" New Years' Eve day.  Notoriously rocky and mixed with a burst of wind only leaves it marginally better than Turnagain, that margin being sunshine and drier snow.  There are still plenty of rocks and tundra out there: my skis look like they had a rough season in the Front Range, though I haven't skied the FR more than once.
     Prior to a recent warm-and-wet spell in A-town the XC skiing was good enough to hold me over, but now I don't know, I don't dare find out.  I signed up for the Tour of Anchorage, the local urban XC ski race in the spring, so we'll see how training goes and if they have enough snow for the full length this year.  Right now Hatcher seems to be the only respectable option for AT and XC.
     Just so you all know I'm not a pessimist, but this is how "winter" in Michigan died: it started to disappear and people were head-scratching wondering where all the snow is.  That record snowfall not too long ago was natures' last push before winter in AK died.  I didn't invest in any ski equipment this year and would much welcome a reason to regret it.

Santa skis free Chistmas Eve.  Alyeska is still charging $50+ to ski half their vertical on a strip of ice.

Hello Hatcher.  H-bomb delivers the most sunshine around, making it a personal favorite.

Look at that mane.  I chopped it off because it's snowball-in-the-fur season.  She loves the snow and ski days.  When my winter gear rustles in the mornings she diligently eats her breakfast.

Trail breaking up for first tracks on Friendship pass.  Good powder was had.

     The video below is from an outing to Arctic Valley just to see what's up there.  BONEY, and what wasn't thin was prone to avalanches as seen by the slide triggered by skier #3 down the run.