Backcountry Skiing..Your Winter Window Into The Chugach.
Solo at sunrise as a short sunspot materialized along with some wind last night creating recent activity, at least with cornices. Did some billy-goating up an odd drainage for some future escapes from Catchers Mitt. Not much “goaling” today as the snow was deep for breaking trail and slugged my way up as cumulus began to filter in from the […]
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SKI – VERY GOOD Picked at Schoolbus this morning finding nice, but slightly damp new snow to 8″ over the weathered October layer to mid-mountain. Didn’t go into upper elevations where winds were moving snow. Cloudy conditions ruled with road fog and slightly easterly with mild temps. AVALANCHE – MODERATE No recent activity was noted. Stability was typical of new […]
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As with most Octobers, we were blessed with a few days of powder skiing on a shallow snowpack mainly from some wet snows the first week followed by fair weather through mid-month. The last week was dominated by clouds and brisk north winds creating some slabs. As of today snow totals at upper elevation are three feet of settled snow […]
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Beautiful day and some more powder skiing with Valdezean Bonnie Cudnohufsky along. Both old schoolers, her on dyna-mites and such. After yesterday’s adventure some calmer terrain prevailed heading up to Catchers Mitt and finding excellent powder on the lowers and plenty of “flagging” off peaks from mostly northerlies. Bonnie breaks. Did my first pit of the season. Looks can be […]
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Chased JPond up the right vertical of the H (helifree?) Couloir on the northwest side of Odessey Peak. My 5th powder day this month and getting after some of the only skiing in the northern hemisphere. But this is not unusual for the Valdez Chugach. There are a few lines that seem to set up earlier than most with very […]
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Been in Tulsa for the past week as my older brother Bobby passed after a short battle with cancer. Good guy who had his own sport, Tae Kwon Do of which he was a 10th degree and at one point in his career was the youngest black belt in OK. 200 black belts attended his service all dressed in their […]
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Issued 10-9-2014 1500 AKT CONSIDERABLE avalanche rating seems prudent beginning Friday noon through Monday at noon on west to north aspects above 3000′ with heavy snow possible in the Pass beginning tonight. Based on my field report on Monday we certainly have enough slow to slide above 2500′. I probed 18″ tapping to the rocky ground in spots surrounded by large drifts and […]
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