Backcountry Skiing..Your Winter Window Into The Chugach.
Since I’m not posting reports this year folks are now emailing me. Though I’m flattered you would consider me for your beta, I really don’t want to do that anymore. I just want to be a regular skier for awhile. Please do not e-mail or call for a conditions report as I will not reply. The exceptions are skinners who know […]
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Last season, my number of days skiing per year dropped below the threshhold(80+) that I think is necesssary to produce reliable information for Valdez’s complicated terrain. Today’s social media and crowd sourcing have become the trend of the future. Good luck with that. Bob Athey(UT) was a mentor for my format. Looking at the snowpack from a “natural” perspective has […]
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Tahoe-based Tailgate Alaska recently had their permit renewed to continue there presence in Thompson Pass. I refer to the event as Carbongate, Rotorgate or Motorgate, as it seems odd to name a ski event after tailgating, a social phenomenom with it’s roots in college football. Besides, it has little redeeming economic value to our community based 30 miles away. It’s […]
Read moreMy guidebooks are almost all gone. I will still accept a limited number of direct orders and then the book will not be available. I could not be happier that all the copies are almost sold out. That was my objective when I published the book. The good news is that the guide book is being reformatted as an e-book […]
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The Ski Study for the 3 proposed resorts is available online under the EDC agenda for the City of Valdez. Lots to digest but bottom line is that they are not economically viable. Estimated cost…. East Peak (McCune) – $60 Million Mineral Creek (Cummings) – $117 Million Sugarloaf (Shwirk) – $2.7 Million Of note was the concerns of global warming […]
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A quick glance at Decembers back to 1964 indicates Valdez can get a heck of a lot of snow. Seven Decembers have dumped over 100″ on our mountain town. It can be downright brutal at times as the coldest temps of the year, heavy snows, hurricane force winds, and even drenching rains are in the range of the possibilities. Cold […]
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Gorp can stimulate the most interesting encounters in the mountains. When others offer their gorp, it’s usually out of friendship or because you look like you could use some food. Everyone carries gorp. If one is bold enough they reach into that bag of pleasure (or bacteria) and throw a handful of good calories into the body. Back-country skiers burn […]
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