Backcountry Skiing..Your Winter Window Into The Chugach.
Another stellar day in Thompson Pass with sunspot mingling with clouds and some flurries to make nice touring through Friday. Wind change to the north on Wednesday so we could see some high south aspect load briefly, but stability remains Good on most aspects and elevations as ski quality is Very Good with some soft textured spots and occasional avalanche […]
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Excellent powder ski conditions today on north aspects of the Odessey Arena with group skinning and skiing powder down the middle and down the sides in glorious untracked, powder, over smothered Schoolbus. Found good stability yet some increased slapping at 4500′ and cut my run shy for that red flag on that route, but ski cuts til that point were […]
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Weather models continues to show copious amounts of snow above 2700′ in the Valdez Chugach, mostly dense with up to 8″ in places on old powder. With continued snow load and the meandering of our foray today, avalanche condition will be CONSIDERABLE on most angles and aspect above 35 degrees with the potential for deep sloughing is HIGH steeper terrain at […]
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A CONSIDERABLE avalanche hazards may develop on southerly aspects on Tuesday as clear skies are expected along with above normal temps. Watch for early signs such as rock bands producing rollers and new snow dripping off brush at lower elevations maturing to larger wet slides as the day progresses. As is typical after storms which excite visitors and locals, 24 […]
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With a change in wind direction, Moonlight Basin to the base of South Odessey Gulley kept me in calm conditions with occasional flurries and flat-light descent. Pitted the base of South Odessey Gulley and low and behold, found that thick ice layer that I’d pretty much forgotten about. Still stout in regards to deeper instabilities, so concern remains CONSIDERABLE […]
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SKI – Wonderful day in Moonlight Basin for many, including the two Valdez family’s who invited me along with their freewheeling 8-year old boys. Damp new powder to 12″ covered all aspects and elevations with new snow See Video below…. A HIGH AVALANCHE WARNING exist tonight on the onset of outflow winds from the north and rapidly decreasing temps. There’s […]
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3-4″ new either wet or like styro-foam on hard wind slab. Untracked so why not. Came in from way LR cause I tried to billygoat up something on Big O, but it was too complicated for a variety of reasons as moved closer to the north and exposed terrain and some variability including some increased slabbing. High-traversed back to this […]
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