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.

The Alyeska Climbathon

     So the Alyeska Climbathon was two Saturdays ago but will serve as my first blog post.  The event is a competition lasting 10 hours during which one climbs "the north face" hiking trail as many times as possible.  The trail is about 2 miles long with approx. 2000ft of elevation gain.  It starts at the tram base and ends at the roundhouse.  At the top there is the tally board and aid station.  Competitors would then ride the tram down and begin their subsequent laps.
     The day started out cool and the rest of the day the weather was perfect: mostly sunny with mild temps.  The trail was in fairly good condition with just a bit of muddiness half way up.  I didn't see too many people I knew but the vibe was more relaxed than I anticipated. 
     My goal was to run most of the first 3-4 laps and see how it goes from there.  A few weeks earlier I had run 2 laps without issue and felt I could do more without going overboard.  Things went as planned.  I would run most of the lap but speed-hike the steep stuff above my threshold.  At the top I would grab some food and water and get on the next tram down.  My mental wall was much earlier than I expected, at lap 4, but after that the remaining 6 were much easier.  My overall goal was 10 laps which I managed to do in 9.25hrs or so.  There is no credit for partial laps and my lap times were in the low 50s at that point.  Tack on a tram ride and there was no way I could negative-split it for an 11th so I called it a day.  Maybe next year. 

    I would recommend this event to anyone up for a challenge.  Really you could do this any day the tram is operating, but the organized event provided much needed motivational fuel.  The event staff were great, very enthusiastic and encouraging, a good vibe.  Aid stations were well-stocked, patrol was on the hill, fellow competitors provided company and motivation. 

http://blog.alyeskaresort.com/mountain-news/2012-alyeska-climbathon/