......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.  

Vista Peak

     So ants-in-her-pants-Lucy-dog and I headed out on another perfect fall day.  I needed to do something new, I had to be back by dinner, and it should be something that takes advantage of the mountains before snow comes.  I'm not in tip-top shape but I'm trying to increase my vertical and back-to-back days in prep for ski-season which I hope starts any minute now, like tomorrow.  I looked at a map and Vista was the highest, closest, and un-bagged for me.  In addition, I had been eyeing it's slopes as a possible ski run for some time and had read about one ski report on it here.  I would go up Mt Baldy in Eagle River, follow the ridge to Blacktail Ptarmigan Rocks, possibly tag Round Top on the ridge back to the summit of Vista.
     Again the weather was great.  It cooled enough at night to freeze the muddy trails but the temps weren't harsh on the body.  A crusty dusting of snow was left over on the Northern aspects and shadows which made me thankful I wore my thicker smartwools.  I ran the flats and mild inclines, hiked the steeper and slippery slopes.  I hadn't been to Blacktail Ptarmigan or beyond in about 2 years so the new-ish scenery was nice.  We saw an already white ptarmigan up on there with just a few hints of gray in it.  I then traversed the ridge and decided to focus on Vista rather than Round Top.  The ridge afforded views of a drainage I had not yet seen, the one north of Little Peters Creek but South of Peters Creek proper.

     The white, shadowed valley below was littered with sheep/goat trails, but I saw none.  About 300 feet below Vista's summit I saw a single bear track.  I always find it odd why they come up so high: seemingly un-traversable cliffs to the north, mostly rock and no vegetation all around, not crossing to another drainage, perhaps the views?  I would think I would have seen something back here like a black bear or sheep or goat.  Anyway, the summit was a short and easy scramble.  Despite being in my light running clothes the wind was calm enough to allow for a rest and take in the views and scope the line which looked good aside from funneling into a terrain trap.

     We descended down and along the ridge out.  I was too fatigued to tag Round Top, however it would have been the icing on the cake if there were more gas in my tank (ER's afternoon linkup of Baldy-Blacktail-Rountop-Vista and out, akin to the front-range loop of Flattop-Peak 2-Peak 3-Flaketop and out.  I took the creek between Blacktail and Rountop down and traversed below the Blacktails.  I found pristine ice already choking out the creek in that drainage.  I wish my phone hadn't died because creeks in winter/frozen are a favorite of mine.  The rest was uneventful.  I did see the local coyote and a pond I didn't know was there.
     Lucy-dog struggled on the way up and in, concerning for what winter holds for her.  She did fine on the way down and out though.  She loves the open tundra, the closest thing to what I would think of as a pasture, and reflective of the herding dog in her.

packraft crow pass

     So there are several local floats I had yet to do, sometimes being limited by logistics, starting in one place and finishing in another.  Waiting for it doesn't get it done, so the next time the Crow Pass float opportunity presented itself I pounced, and it paid off.  Crow Pass is about a 23 mile trail connecting Girdwood to Eagle River(ER).  It starts at the end of a mining road, goes up through a valley with an obvious mining history, over a pass with views of high mountain lakes, glaciers, streams, you name it.  It then traverses down to the valley bottom, crossing the gorge a few times before dropping down to the Eagle River, crossing it, paralleling it out to the Eagle River Nature Center.  It can be done in a long day hike, a few-hour run or multi-day hike.  It turns out it(the river) can also be packrafted.
     We took advantage of the incredible fall weather we had been having and started hiking from the Crow Pass Trailhead.  The weather held: sunny, cool, calm.  Less than 1/2 mile from the pass we thought we heard a jet, which was unusual as not many flight patterns go over this area.  Nope, not a jet.  We noticed alders quivering in the windless valley and the rumble was steady.  While scratching our heads about it the whole ground began moving back and forth and we realized it was an earthquake.  My first thought was rockfall.  We were right in the fall-line should anything large break loose.  The sound of all the loose rocks bouncing down the valley walls was both incredible and slightly unnerving.  It continued for some time, the longest one I have felt and the only one in the backcountry.  I wondered if we would come out of the backcountry to civilization in chaos.  It was recorded as a 6.2 with a deep epicenter in nearby Willow, AK.

Down in the valley headed to ER.

     We continued on, taking in the always amazing views on a clear day in Crow Pass.  We saw some sheep up high, moose down low, and some tracks we didn't know for sure but could have been wolverine.  Fall is a great time to hike muddy areas when they freeze over, it was easy-going down to Eagle River's edge.  We gambled with the water level a bit thinking that if it was too low we would just hike the trail out. It was about 3.5ft at the ER bridge at Glenn Hwy and looked low for this far back.  Were it higher we would have hiked upstream a way but we put in right where the trail first sees the river.

The descent to ER.

     The fall colors were in their prime and reached up the valley walls in streaks of yellow and orange and some green hanging on for a super-vibrant effect.  The sun was still high enough to warm the valley bottom despite the tall mountains on either side.  We did a fair amount of butt-dragging and had to walk one 100ft section, but it was do-able and I wouldn't try it any lower.  We saw plenty of sheep and goats, bald eagles including one that was eating a salmon.  The salmon were still running but not looking good.  I had no idea there were so many large waterfalls back there until I saw them from the river.  From the trail they are shrouded by woods or bad angles but from the river their full height and width can be seen much better.
     As the day went on, the sun got lower, the feet and hands got colder.  We had to portage one log-jam lower down, easily seen and avoided.  We stopped and pulled out before Echo Bend rapids and hiked out to the nature center to warm up.  I would definitely recommend this float, especially with slightly higher water, but the pleasant weather and fall colors redeemed that.  We concluded with some beer and food at the ER alehouse.  Another hash on the tally-board of great AK outings.  Can't beat it.

 Photos: Adam Baxter