since it's been awhile....photoblogentry

     So since it's been awhile and the skiing (for me) stopped, here are a few pics from the transitional season:

Lucy-dog. The one and only.

View from the top. Hatcher Pass, Fairangel area

Same

When it's snow like the 1st 3 pics up high, it's like this down low.

Lucy-dog and a Turnagain Pass view.

The goods being got on a low-snow spring.

Girdwood is still pretty cool.

Portage Valley views

Williwaw Lakes trail run

Flattop-2-3-4-Flaketop traverse with (almost formerly) Ptarmigan Tarn in the background

Hidden Lake on a Summer day.

2nd Packraft of the season.

ER Nature center trail run

Far North Bicentennial trail run, STA Gorge Trail

Deep Lake on the Williwaw Lake trail run, end of May

Williwaw Lakes from Deep Lake

Gull Rock Trail views while mountain biking

That largest snowline is ~3000ft of skiable vert, FYI, and worth it.

Kinkaid singletrack mountain biking on my favorite trail(for obvious reasons)

NOT IN AK.  Hollywood Beach, FL, sunrise.

PWS! National Geographic!

Same.

Center Ridge to Placer: ski and float

     So when you come to the realization that both skiing and rafting are great means of backcountry travel, ideas start forming of places to go using these means.  We were inspired by a trip report from the Endure Fun Blog, but wanted to add a skiing twist.  This idea had been floating;) around and needed to be addressed.  However, due to the precise timing needed related to conditions of weather/snow/scheduling, it remained on the to-do list.

The route by land.  If snow coverage were better I would drop down to the Placer near that tiny lake on the bench.

Views from Center Ridge

     Things like this bring the Shawshank Redemption quote to mind, "Get busy living, or get busy dying."  So we decided to give it a go with less-than-optimal weather/snow.  It was raining in Girdwood, sprinkling and 40 at the Center Ridge TH with obscured summits to the East.  The snow was wet and sloppy.  We toured back Center ridge, crossed an impressive slide-path, and up to the pass that would drop us into the Center Creek drainage.
     The snow got slightly drier as we skinned higher, the lighting didn't improve much, but it did cool down and the precipitation was snow and not rain.  We encountered a corniced pass, which was expected, but had some difficulty getting over/around it.  Once on top, we realized it was not several cornices, but one large cornice along the entire pass with mini(but massive) cornice protrusions.  We were still alive.

The white box at higher elevations

Yikes.

Ahh, the ski down with a view.  It doesn't get much better.

     We skied down the upper elevations in a white box, but lighting improved as we descended and snow quality worsened due to the warming temps.  We skied down to Center creek headwaters and skinned(very short) up to the next pass that would drop us down to the Placer River.  Views of Center Creek drainage and Placer/Spencer area were incredible from up high and the ski lines back there are massive.  We had some wet-snow slide conditions to manage but made it without too much difficulty.  By now the weather was primo: sunshine with scattered clouds, a slight breeze and warm.
     To this point it took us 6 hours.  We skied/bushwhacked/hiked down to the Placer, filled the boats and floated out.  The float took us just about 4 hours.  It was nice to take in the views while resting the legs and enjoy it without the rush of darkness coming.  We only saw birds and beavers, no other wildlife.
     I would like to try this route earlier in the season, at the earliest chance the Placer is free of ice enough to float: get info from someone with a plane.  This would make getting down there from the pass much easier with better snow coverage/consistency at the lower elevations.  I would not like to try this route once things start to grow.

Down the Placer

Spencer Glacier, Placer River.

Center Ridge to Placer 4-2015 from chugach ress on Vimeo.

just some random winter/spring videos

Today's timelapses: just for fun from chugach ress on Vimeo.

tincan day from chugach ress on Vimeo.

SPRING!

     So April rolls around and bam, normal spring precipitation starts to occur.  Just when I thought it was over and had began shifting my mind's eye to things not snow-dependent.  Just after a winter-long drought of snow with arguably meager snowfall and character-developing ski conditions.  The renewable spirit has been centered around Turnagain Pass and quite localized, but I only need one mountain.  Snow to the road, ski to the car, sunshine days, precisely-timed sucker-holes, it's all working out now.  I hope my fellow/local backcountry enthusiasts(human-powered) find this spring as refreshing as I have.

We hit 2 primo days of Tincan sucker-holes up high.  This is just right when the snow down low is heavy mashed potatoes but up high is dry.

......Well, .........

     So having signed up for the Tour of Anchorage, a fun local XC-ski race, I've felt obligated to train for it just in case, and therefore turned potential backcountry days to in-town XC ski days.  It looks like the Tour won't be happening, or at least nothing like the 50k I planned for due to lack of snow.  So I decided to scale back XC skiing and re-vamp BC skiing.  

     I'll just say it once: this ski season sucks, and it looks like late May here now, at best, without the corn.  That comment is for context only, mostly for non-locals.

     So I've gotten out a day here and there to find the expected thin and variable conditions.  I've been staying local because the snow farther away isn't really that much better for the time and effort.  A mid-storm Eddies investigation day was pleasant aside from high winds and avy danger.  South Fork Eagle River offered a chalky run off Harp which was the best one out of there, then a highly variable bowl run that left me frustrated with whatever I feel like pointing the finger at.  A peak three outing was hike-to on ice, but surprisingly ski-able up high with good enough visibility.  Despite the relatively poor conditions I find that still I would rather be out there enjoying the mountains, the skiing, the company, the quiet, whatever, than being in town and working or running errands or anything related to urban life and busyness. 

     Today I wasn't working but had in-town urban obligations necessary to keep the ski-life alive on other days off.  I was eyeing the front-range all day and noticed precipitation that looked like snow, then rain, then maybe snow again?  I got home near 4pm and decided that I would hurry to check it out up high near Arctic Valley, opting for potential disappointment(or reward? (hope is not gone)) over wallowing in boredom/regret/annoyance the rest of the evening.  

     I found a slushy and melting road all the way up until the parking lot where 4"+ of fresh moist snow greeted me.  I could work with that.  With no signs of anyone else today I skinned up and chose the most favorable looking slope, knowing sunset would be soon, and raced my butt to the top in hopes of catching that one incredible unset lap on the fresh and un-tracked West-facing slope.  

     My mind was blown.  Here I was grumbling on the inside, then somewhat excited about the 4", then, ironically, I saw the most incredible sunset during my time in AK.  I had just skied that coveted sunset lap mentioned above and was transitioning to do another if light allowed and bam, it hit my eyeballs/mind/soul like a slap in the face.  The purest and most intense sunset colors highlighted the silhouette of purple mountains across the arm, large flakes of the scarce commodity I had sought all winter hazily blended those same colors without hindering the brightness of the sun or losing the crispness of each individual flake falling.  The clouds were coming and going around the mountainsides below and the ghostly shadow of precipitation on the periphery of the skyline made the whole vista all-encompassing.  I stopped skinning for that next lap, it was too good.  My phone died so I couldn't take pics and for the better because they wouldn't have done it any justice.  

     I skied a partial lap down and out, totally satisfied with less than enough vertical, less than deep powder, less than a full day, and Lucy less than exercised, but more than I needed.  

Stay........strong.

     So reports of decent snow up high and the possibility of sun was enough to get us to hike to it.  Despite the dismal ski season thus far, it is still ski season, so ski we did.  Honestly my ski-spirit is weaker after a second winter with a painfully slow start, and as we approached Turnagain Pass under flat light and cloud cover with no sign of ski-able snow below the clouds my pessimism grew.  There were cars at Tincan and even more at Sunburst, a bit surprising I guess.

December 11, 2014.

     We hiked in boots for awhile, transitioned to skinning on slick/packed snow/grass, then started skinning on just firm/icy/crust with a hint of hoar on top.  Near the alder line we busted above the clouds and were greeted with bluebird skies: a much-needed reward for our efforts.  Roller-balls visible on all slopes within sight were a bit discouraging considering they were likely death-cookies after temps cooled.  We saw some going up Magnum, Pastoral was too far for today, but we skinned out to the pass to have a look and hoped the snow improved from the firm/supportable crustiness of the valley bottom.  The views were great and the snow improved in quality and depth, the roller-balls turned to fluffy pillows.

Death-cookies at lower elevations, fun gates higher near the pass.
     People were getting out today, we saw 5 others in our valley and 4 up on Magnum.  The skiing was plenty good up high and we did several laps and enjoyed the sun on Sunburst ridge while we could.  A top-to-bottom without crust was not possible though but the upper 75% of the run was worth it.  Not everyone had a good day though.  One party turned around after encountering the unforgiving snow conditions and one guy was walking down with a dislocated shoulder: quite treacherous conditions to descend in, especially with an injury.

Just beyond the rollover the snow got primo.

Russian River Ride-n-Raft

     So some friends of ours had enough foresight to reserve the Upper Russian and Aspen Flats cabins on a late June weekend and invited us to join them.  These cabins are hard to come by in the summer, we had never been in that area, and with the frequency that mountain biking it popped up in Dante's blog this season it was a no-brainer.  We packed up Friday evening after work and headed down to the Snug-Harbor road TH with the plan to bike into Upper Russian Lake for the first night, about 9 miles.
     The weather was perfect and we were soon enjoying the beautiful ride in.  We made good time on the trail and were soon at the cabin.  It was surprisingly ride-able considering we had 2 nights and 2 days-worth of gear/food with us.  It wasn't so technical that we couldn't take in the scenery which included a variety of forest and vegetation, high-mountain valley/pass views, low/wetland areas, and the interspersed lakes.  The cabin looked brand new and had a row-boat, fishing poles, nice chairs on the deck, and a small creek running right next to it allowed for convenient water access.  I also appreciate the cabin info folder with a log and maps for reading material, some people's entries are interesting to read about.
   
Upper Russian Summer Sunset  

     We tried our hand at fishing, successfully catching a trout from the boat and then we rowed to the mouth of the Russian River where salmon were jumping and swimming up into the lake: so many this far up.  It was incredible to see.  Then we cashed for the night.  The next morning we tried fishing again, unsuccessfully, packed up and made the easy ~3-mile jaunt to Aspen Flats cabin.  It was another perfect weather day.  This was the most over-grown section but was still ride-able.  After fishing some more at the new cabin I headed back to the Upper Russian on foot with my packraft.  I paddled around the lake a bit and at the mouth, watching the salmon, taking in the vistas, enjoying the solitude, before pointing it down-stream.
     It was a nice float, absolutely gorgeous, scenic, mellow, and relaxing.  I was concerned about bears but we saw little signage of them and I figured they would all be at the lower falls where the salmon were fresher (some salmon already had white spots at upper Russian).  The greenery and wild flowers were full on, the river was fast enough to not require paddling to move.  I came across 2 strainers and one log jam, all easily seen and portaged.  Salmon were shooting upstream beneath me, eagles flying over me, and waterfowl floating around me.  The water was crystal clear and I may have butt-dragged once.  This float made my day.  It took about 90 minutes.  I hope to return and paddle the remainder some day minus the falls, when it's not salmon season of course.
  
Floating Russian River from Upper lake to Aspen Flats

The next morning we biked out to the Lower Russian TH, and on the way Lucy-dog decided to play with a porcupine.  She got quilled pretty bad, fortunately they were all smaller quills and not in vital areas.  3 to the chin, 3 to the upper leg, and 8-10 all around her front left paw.  When she came limping up on 3 legs I was not thrilled: we were 8 miles from the TH and there was only one solution.  Fortunately we had a pliers and were able to pull all but one out that the vet found later.  She hobbled her way out to the TH, which was hard to watch, and we took her to the vet once back in Anchorage.  She is almost 100% recovered with some antibiotics, pain meds, and some rest.  I hope she learned.

     Aside from the quilling, the ride from Aspen Flats to Lower Russian TH had great views of the river, valley, and lake below.