Backcountry Skiing..Your Winter Window Into The Chugach.
For those watching water level tonight and Friday, this real-time gauge in Keystone Canyon is worth watching. It’s been operating for over a year and when it gets to 10ft, then things start flooding. With saturated ground and models indicating heavy rain for the next 24 hours, resident should remain alert. We’ve only had about 2″ since Monday. But any […]
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Within the next week, a small patch of snow will melt at the base of Snowslide Gulch. Lasting nearly 2-1/2 years, this is the last dirty white remnant of the debris pile from the largest avalanches cycle ever seen in Valdez. The enormous amount of snow that slid off the mountains in late January of 2014 was a thrill for […]
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NOAA just released it’s 2016 mid-annual climate report for the United States and Alaska. Some stark red flags appear as the earth continues to warm at anticipated rates based on global warming models. The arctic regions are warming at a much faster rate than other places. Our glaciers are dramatically melting, obvious to most of us who spend time in […]
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In the most recent edition of the Avalanche Review, a Valdez Heliski guide was discussing backcountry safety when he actually was quoted as saying this..(April 2016 pg. 34) “Crowds are going to give us a problem that we don’t have a solution for. I for one don’t know how to ski safely in a situation where I don’t know if […]
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I’ve known Matt Obermiller for over 20 years. He escaped the crowds of the Wasatch where he learned and honed his BC ski skills, mountain ethos and then found his part of Alaska in the Chugach. He helped WESC photographers get the best shots. He later settled about 60 miles north of Valdez in the Tiekel Valley. He lives just off the […]
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Valdez Snow News (VSN) February 21, 2016 TELEMARK SKIER RESCUES DYNAFITTER FROM TSAINA RIVER Three Valdez men took off on their skis on Sunday to the north of Thompson Pass looking for a nice tour in the trees when suddenly one of the skiers dropped into a hole and into the water while crossing a snow bridge over the Tsaina River. […]
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Most excellent sunrise ski of Schoolbus yesterday with good powder and good stability. But on to ski local ski news and see Don, Bernie and Hillary give their opinions on skiing. State of Alaska will hold a hearing this week in Valdez on the Thompson Pass Special Use Area. As some may know, DNR is supposed to hold an annual […]
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