Sawtooths Bench Hut

Here is a random asshartment of photos taking from a lovely ski vacation to the Sawooths in Idahoe dis March Madness.

Snuffulunkugus, Douggie Washburns, Mr. Mogul, The Lumberjack Special, Savage Beast, 86 Suburu, and Tatonka en route to the hut.

Two smiling boyz eager to mount the Boyscout Bulge on Mountain Gramps Mogul.

Somones getting butterflys in their stomach approaching the Boyscout Bulge


Okay your on sanny! Nooooo I was on sanny yesterday!

The Boyscout Bulge was skied freed by 2 boyz on this trip. You can see redfish lake below.

View of the cute little Boyscout Col. on Mountain Gramps Mogul.

Douglas Washburn, Freewheeler, Big Buff, and the Juicebox micro-manager on top of Petzoldt on Mountain Heyburn.

Big Buff in deep pow WOW on Mountain Heyburn
Mountain Heyburn and Mountain Triangle at funrise.
Being good little Boyz, we got a flat of juice boxes for our hydrational saftey.
One of us couldn't wait and finished their portion on the ride up. Bad boy!
Senor...

Big Buff putting it deep in the Boyscout



Someone was bonking really hard finding their way back to the hut.

Early March Update

The wind came and the high pressure followed. Most folks were content bitching about it from their couches. The snow quality justified the complaints, but the weather has been excellent. Big blue skies with no wind, and the snow is supportable on Peak 3. Send the ascent, send the descent. Back home in time for Oprah. Eagle River is not supportable.

Besides making hot laps in the Front Range, I tried to climb ice and made a work trip to the North Slope. -20°F air, -43°F wind. But things are looking up: Anchorage is starting to thaw out and we are beginning a corn cycle on steep South facing slopes. The weatherman is also pointing to an end of the Big Blue H.

- Eddie Coyle

Wind Affected Slope - Turnagain Pass

Index Finger - Portage Valley

Wolverine Tracks - North Slope

Clyde "The Glide" Drexler

Whales Tale

Its was February and my girlfriend had just gotten back from a two month trip to Thailand. I missed her heaps, but was feeling free to roam anywhere with anyone and at anytime, skiing related of course. I knew that the adjustment would be difficult, but for riders edge its worth it! As a first tour together Gaelen and I hooked up with two other couples on this outing, Josh and Amanda and the down under crew Dugal and Shea.

When you are ski touring with your girlfriend I always want to have these four things, #1 positive attitude (for support), #2 safety supplies (for patience), #3 lots of snacks (chocolate is best) and #4 go to a place where you have never skied before (no skier boy like expectations). We had all these on our trip up the sawmill trail to ski the Whales Tail.

Gaelen learning that following her buffalo on a skin track is not as easy as climbing tufas on Tonsai beach, Thailand. Gae had never skinned before and was using a home made split board cut from a 15 year old K2, very sexy and impressive to watch.
The boyz entering the chute a little ahead of the girlz. We were surprised to see two tracks and a skinner in our line.
Gae making good strides after about a hundred kick turns up the gully and into the open. Gaelen had been at sea level for two months just days before this tour. She really wished that she brought home a few orphans to carry her to the top.
Josh and Dugal getting to the top of the tail and beginning to climb up its back.
The Aussie couple toasting Will Roth with some little fishies before the descent down the big Fishes tail.
Happy couple and happy girlfriend aboot to reap the rewards of a big tour above a big city.

Dugal dropping into safe Sandy and the rest of the valley below.

Gaelen shreds.

Amanda rips.
Josh carves.

Shea swallows.

A satisfied Buffalo at the end of a beautiful tour with great people. The only argument on this couples tour happened when Shea ate the last handful of goldfish without offering any to Dugal. Dugal handled it well because there was plenty of #2 on my list of things to have when skiing with your girl or boyfriend.

Mt. Greylock

I had to pay the guiding service by lugging there gear to the top it was still worth it but they pushed a hard bargain. They had these silly big turning fat skis so much different then the my noodle wiggler turning skis.

the rumors of a fat storm hitting Mt greylock in mass where right on the money

I hooked up with old pro guide service to reach the summit of this 3400 foot east coast monster

a top the big bend turn on the world famous thunderbolt ski trail. this mountain is no place for hot-s hot switch hitting green horns.Seasoned veterans only please obtain permits a base camp.

the thunderbolt looking peg -out after the rondo -race

on the home turf

R.H.

I only met Ryan briefly, but from that meeting comes a story that echoes all of the positive energy that his close friends associate with the man. GMFR was in town for the Alyeska comp and I was able to put them up for a few nights. After the comp they were hell-bent on getting down to Thompson Pass, but no one would rent them a car. So they got on craigslist and bought a van. $400. It was a hunk of shit but it only needed to last a few weeks and they figured they could sell it for what they bought it. Plus it would provide lodging.

From all accounts the trip was an incredible success. The pass delivered and the van took on legendary status. Flights to the lower 48 called the team back to Anchorage. The van wasn't running all that well. Just outside of Glenallen: click, bang, boom!! The front tire had exploded and blew itself inside out. From what I understand, the only thing holding the front wheel to the van was the brake assembly. Her race was run. With the unsigned title on the front seat, out went the thumbs. At the next town they left notice at the local bar that there was a free van down the road.

They made their flights, but that's not the point. The point? Friends, experiences, skiing. For most, this would be a trip of a life time. This would be their "ace in the hole" story for late night games of one-upsman-ship. But for GMFR it was just another chapter in a long book. Experiences like this were common for this crew; experiences you can't buy; experiences you can't plan; experiences you can't predict; experience you can't forget and experiences that inspire. Duct tape and a prayer.

I am proud to have crossed paths with this great man who truly lived life to the fullest. Catch his enthusiasm, grab some friends, have an adventure, make some turns, make it happen. And if your lucky, maybe you will inspire someone. Just like Ryan did every day.

Heney Range, Cordova, February 20

Day 2 started sunny but the plumes on the ridges let me know that the winds were ripping. The Heney Range raises dramatically just South of downtown Cordova. And like the surly sea captain, I had a bone to pick with Mountain Eccles.

"Yar, damn ya ta Hell, Eccles!"

Eccles and shy sister Shiels aren't especially high (about 2,500') but they are intense. Access to the Heney Range is via a small gated road leading to a reservoir in Heney Canyon off of Whitshed Road about 1/2 mile South of town. The Heney Range lives a small peninsula jutting into Prince William Sound and is is bounded by Eyak Lake to the North and Eyak River to the East.

The approach from the trailhead was quite flat, but it gave me time to study the route. She steepens towards the top and my hope was that the wind stripped away any new snow. The lower flanks held some excellent tree skiing, but I wanted the summit. The West Ridge started gentle and the trees provided a nice security blanket. But above the trees, it got steep and a cliff forced me off the ridge into an obvious slide path. Man balls are in short supply when you have a range to yourself.

The Problem with Eccles

Defeat wasn't so bad. The powder was knee deep and low density down to the creek between Eccles and Heney. Skins on, and Eccles in the rear-view, I set my eyes on Shiels. After trasending about a mile, the climb began in earnest. I was able to stay in some sparse trees and had to alternate between skinning and booting. The pass between the Shiels and Eccles had the biggest cornices I have ever seen at 1,700'. I followed an ancient moraine into an upper bowl just under Mountain Shiels Proper. There was a break in the cornice at 2,300' and it would be an easy walk to the top, but the route went through rapidly steepening wind loaded bowl. A quick probe with my pole handle revealed a 4' slab less than 24 hours old. Solo and lacking man balls, I pealed 'em and had to settle for 2,200' of sun soaked blower with views of the Pacific. Damn! I made a couple more runs in the trees and eventually retraced my track back to the road finally clicking out spitting distance from the Sound.

Eccles in Front and Shiels in the Back

Monday I decided to check out the Crater Lake Trail on the Western shores of Eyak Lake. The trailhead is a 2 mile walk from town, but I was in no rush. The forest forms a thick canopy over the trail which prevents the snow from reaching the ground. I walked up the trail until the trees thinned around 1,200' and was skinning merrily along. Summer trails typically do not take avalanche paths into consideration, and Crater Lake was no different. It crosses major slide paths that start high on Eyak Peak. I back-tracked and ascended some old moraines until I could link up with my skinner from Saturday. The wind had really done a number on the exposed slopes, but protected shots were still excellent. After a few hours of poking around, it was time to call it. Beautiful shin deep accompanied me to the top of the ski lift and back into town.

Eyak from the Heney

Another Gorgeous Day

Congrats to FWT Boyz

Nice work in CO, good luck in CA.


http://unofficialnetworks.com/2011/02/21/crested-butte-finals-edit/

http://www.adventureskier.com/2011/02/20/chickering-ayers-boys-vermonters-win-us-extremes/

Cordova: February 19-21

The Chugach is big. It is unlike any mountain range in the lower 48. I can't even tell if it trends North-South or East-West. It spills into the Cook Inlet and PWS. It spans from Anchorage to Canada. Valdez, Whittier, Girdwood, Palmer, Wasilla, Glenallen, and Cordova all lie within its shadow.

From my house, the Chugach starts off innocent enough. Rolling foothills with hardly a hint a what lies beyond. From the foothills, the Chugach begins to reveal her majesty. Jagged snow covered peaks dot the horizon. From the jagged peaks, glaciers appear. Big glaciers, and this is still within the Anchorage city limits. From a plane, bigger peaks come into view, 12,000' ridges, deep fjords, glaciers meeting the ocean. It seems endless and from a mountaineering point of view it is.

The recent long weekend provided the time and work trips provided a frequent flier ticket. Cordova sits on the Pacific nestled into Prince William Sound. There are no roads to this town: fly, boat, or glacier trek. AK has a class of commercial aviation that has no security. It seems limited to propeller driven planes. No questions, no pat downs, no metal detectors; guns and white gas are fine, I guess.

"I'd rather have a scary flight than have to deal with TSA" was overheard as we boarded the 16 passenger Havelin.

The Friday night flight was bumpy and runway in Cordova had 3" of fresh. Snow was coming in sideways. PWS is notorious for lousy weather and I wondered if there would be much of a view over the weekend. Saturday dawned grey and snowy, a good day to check out Eyak and their 1939 single chair imported from Sun Valley. I arrived at Eyak to realize first chair is at noon, but if I wanted to hang out for 15 minutes they were going to fire up the lift for a few pre-public laps. Nice suss! There are no marked trails, no groomers, and not much bamboo despite hazards aplenty. Eyak has an open boundary policy and the runs above the resort off of "The Ridge" are stunning. From the top of the lift start skinning with Eyak Lake on the right, Orca Sound on your left, PWS behind you, and Eyak Peak towering above you.

The storm had run its course and the snow was A+. The shots off of "The Ridge" were skiing fabulous. Snow ghosts, pillow lines, drops, compressions, rollers all set against a glimmering Pacific. Above tree-line was a different story: the wind was ripping. The day had gone full blue and the sun dared me to venture higher. Mountain Eyak beckoned.

I headed up the ridge above the trees and into the wind. Howling and cold, but brilliantly lit. There were definite wind slabs forming, but the ridge is gentle until about 300' from the summit. I wanted it, but common sense dictated that I use some common sense. Damn you to hell, common sense! I was able to ski through a steep pitch on a wind scoured ridge punctuated by stunted pines hiding under rime. After 5 nice laps above the ski hill, it was time to head back. The lift had closed by this point and the sun was setting over the sound. The slopes under the lift were still skiing nicely which allowed me to enjoy the view. It was time to fuel and rest for tomorrow.

- James "Jim" Lahey

Mountain Eyak from High on "The Ridge"

Sunset over the Harbor

Mountains Eccles and Shiels from Downtown

Eyak's Single Chair and Orca Inlet

PWS from "The Ridge"

How to Survive an Avalanche

If you do get caught, have a plan. Read the 4 page article for strategies.

Click here

Big willow to Bells

Two weeks ago in the wastach... tours above sleepy suburbia. I had some pictures from a scenic tour that I wanted to share. We toured up the sawmill trail to Big willow cirque, dropped over two ridges, and skied into Bell's via a tree chute.

Heading up the Sawmill

1st strap

The walls of Big willow cirque

2nd strap

Lone peak and Big willow

The sun setting on top of the West side of Bells.

The top of the Shoestring, dropping into Bells.

Wasatch nowhere tree's

Mid Winter Alaska Update

I dream of the desert. Long warm days with a powerful sun. Friends and short sleeves and flip flops and desert whiskey and no suspenders because there are plenty of belts for all. I awake long before the cold pointless dawn. Warm up the truck, make some coffee. Should I put my sunglasses in my pack? No. Micro-puff or down jacket? Both and a fleece vest to be safe. This time of year every aspect skis like its North facing. The sun can't make a crust, the sun can't warm you, but on a clear day it can light the way through some epic South facing pow.

Conditions at Turnagain are touchy? Interesting? What's the word that means dangerous, but you're going to ski it anyway? Well, whatever the word, that's what we have going on up here. There is a 1/4" rain crust 4-8' down that has no porosity with facets above and below. You could actually use the crust as a window for a snow cave. Perfect for a deep slab. Trouble ahead, trouble behind, and you know that notion just crossed my mind.

Pits reveal that the ice crust is actually one of the stronger interfaces. There are several weak interfaces in the top foot. (Note lack of metric units; this is the USA godamit!) CT2, CT4, CT6, CT bullshit! Sloughs were running on a density change 2" deep, but they ran far and fast. It won't slough at all until you hit that critical angle in the high 30s. It not an issue if you are aware of it, but it could suck if it snuck up on you. At least the cold snow makes for impressive powder clouds. The slough can and did step down at Silvertip: 4" and 8". Where did all these layers come from? Where is our maritime snowpack? I like 80" storms with no slabs; seven feet of consistent pudding that sticks to everything.

The front range is much safer. But without risk, there can not be reward. Above Anchor Town the standard shots are filled in, but wind hammered. They are carvy and fun and close enough to hit up after work. Peak 3, 4, and Ptarmigan are all skiing nicely on the South and West aspects, but it might be a good idea to bring some points (ax, clamp-ons).

- Frank Moolin, Jr.

Sunset over Cook Inlet from Peak 3

The Noodler Searching for Something to Noodle

I Hate it when a Slough Ruins my Squiggles!

Silvertip Twins and High Trees

Some Sheep Descended to Road Side / Rail Road Side / Ocean Side