June 2: McVeigh Creek

McVeigh Creek is a tiny drainage between Arctic Valley and Hiland Road. The Nike site and Gordon Lyon form the upper ridge line of McVeigh.

From the Arctic Valley trailhead, it is a short walk to the former nuclear weapons cache. There are several North Face gullies in this area. From the NW corner of the barbed wire enclosure, I dropped into "Nike #1". The snow was decent for this time of year, albeit a bit slow. My tracks from Tuesday helped with the flat light conditions.

Nike #1

From the bottom I traversed hikers' right to the mid-section of "Nike #2." The booter got progressively steeper eventually maxing out at 52°. The top was thin but quickly transformed into a 400' quarter pipe. Air in. Air out. Repeat.

Nike #2

I worked the run hard. The shores of the tundra closed in. Noodle city, but I refused to surrender. Recently exposed obstacles were becoming more common: willows, rocks, narrow water cuts, 55 gallon drums. The game was getting less and less safe but more and more fun. The snow did end, but I still had some heat, and was able to tundra surf the Big Daddy's about 25' before throwing them on my back.

Clear Skies for the Hike Out

(no artsy black and white necessary)

I tried out the tele-tubby set-up for the first time this year. The results were less than desirable. If you have a strong stomach, give it a shot: Nike #2 (skip to 1:15 for the tundra obstacle course skiing)

- U.K.

2010-2011 Snowfall in Cascadia

2010-2011 has been deep, real deep. Big snow from Mammoth up to Canada and pushing into Utah. There is an interesting thread on TAY with a bunch of snowfall totals and records as of June 1. Most interesting though is the fact the snow isn't melting! No surprise to anyone in the Pacific SE. Check it:
DEEPSNOW

Valdez Summit to Sound Challenge: May 29

Saturday: beautiful. Sunday: socked in. Monday: Bluebird. So obviously race day was Sunday. This is the first year of the Summit to Sound Challenge. There are 4 legs:

1. Rando race at Thompson Pass (Little Odyssey) or nordic race at the pass
2. Road bike 28 miles from the pass to the ocean
3. Kayak 3 miles across Valdez Narrows into town
4. 5K run through town

At race time the fog was thick at the pass. After a one hour delay, the rando portion was cancelled. It would be a triathlon for the teams (or individuals) that had registered in this division. The nordic portion would still take place. This was bull shit; I had come to race and I was going to race. It was billed as an adventure race, and what better way to have an adventure, then to engage in an activity without the proper training or equipment. Four stubborn / dim alpinists defected into the nordic division. Again my Valdez alpine dreams were transformed into a nordic junk show.

Not Ideal Equipment for a 3K Skate

Nordic skiers were released in groups of four and I quickly saw the folly in my critical thinking path, but I finished strong. The Team Head Mistress / flair coordinator was up. Celina hopped on a borrowed bike and disappeared into the fog. The course descends 2,500' feet in about 18 miles. The next 10 are flat. The Head Mistress had a few tricks in her back pocket. She had made friends on the course and formed a team of 3 to improve efficiency.

Wet Roads and Flat Light

The hand off at the put-in went flawlessly. Dean hopped into his borrowed equipment and set off into a cold grey Pacific.

Insert Eddie Vedder Mandolin Song Here

Dean arrived on the Coast Guard beach and John was ready to go. He was our best hope, but he admitted his running shoes came from Wal-Mart. Despite this fact, he made excellent time, advancing the team several positions.

It was now time for the portion of the race our team was best equipped for: salmon fillets and beer. Our grit and skill really shown through and other teams were clearly intimidated. Despite our aggressive nature, new friends were everywhere. The hospitality of Valdez was evident.

A Sharp Looking Team

New friend, Kitty, put us up for the weekend stumbling distance from the finish line. The warm dry house was secondary to the trampoline in the back yard. The next day she brought us out to the local crag out by the airport where she promptly led a 5.9+ sport route.

"Look at me! I'm on the top rope!"

Even though this was the 1st Summit to Sea, it went off without a hitch. It is a testament to the hard work of the race organizers and volunteers. Our team finished 4th out of 9 in the Nordic division; pretty good considering 3 of us did not own the proper equipment for our chosen disciplines.

Check APRN for an alternative account.

-Drew Peacock

Pioneer Mountain Yurt Trip Part 1

Once and a while you have to learn the hard way.

This is the start of a five day yurt trip to Idaho's Pioneer Mountains.

You Might think sleds make skiing easier.

Could have just walk right over that tree and had running shoes on for the mile of dirt and rocks that made the sleds run a little hot.

But once you get up to the peaks the mountains make all your trouble's go away.

This is looking down that north chute. On the right in thed picture above.

We where on are way to the Comma chute on Cobb mountain so we passed up that north chute.

This is a little freerider zone we found we could lap with the sleds.

All of the sleds on this trip had a roll or two. Some hit trees and some hit rocks.

Lunch!

This is the north chute of Cobb. We had our sights set on this so even with the firm conditions some of us still wanted to ski it.

A good family meal after a long day.

Just a quick update will add more info and picks soon.

Peace Crossman.

Check out the trailing arms on this sled. Hurricane ties a hammer an a nail to get there lag bolts into the aluminium to brace where they both broke.

Real Time Expedition Tracking Test; Owyhee River

A few of us are heading up to Oregon today to run the Lower Owyhee River. This will be a 5 day river trip in the Eastern Oregon Desert. With this being an interesting and remote river trip, it seems like a good opportunity to test out our SPOT Beacon shared page for tracking future ski expeditions. Satellite location updates should be posted the the following page between Monday evening 5/23/11 and Friday 5/27/11. http://share.findmespot.com/shared/faces/viewspots.jsp?glId=0Jf9PzZyTpSzVJZFtqEZfD4YOhg8bhaAT

Adam M. Lawton

The End of Winter

I know, I know most of y'all still have gobs of snow. You make sure to let me know this 6 times a day. I get it.

I have officially accepted winter is over as of today. Sub-par (shitty) conditions and a 2-mile stroll to the snow persuaded me. The approaches are longer, the overnight lows are higher, the objectives are peppered with rockfall, the trees are budding, and it isn't getting dark. This by no means the end of the ski season, just a different mindset. Time to tune the bike, hike a ridge, sit on a deck, expose my war-werried shins to the light.

It was an amazing year. I am so fortunate to be able to share so many adventures with so many awesome people. So here are some of my favorite photos from the last 8 months that remind me how much beauty exists in the mountains.

I encourage all the Boyz to go through photos and put up some of your hidden gems.

- Andrzej

Alpenglow on the Equator

October

Cornwallis Storming Suicide Chute

January

Kid Buffalo in Silver Fork

January

The Wind Sculpted Slopes of Turnagain Pass

February

Portage Glacier and Portage Lake

March

Cordova Glacier

April

Korohusk Couloirs: May 14

I had an objective in mind but no one to ski with. Finally the Noodler relented. Yes!! 2 hours later he called back and expressed his concern regarding the glacier travel necessary for this objective. I told him to close his eyes and repeat 3 times: "Nothing's gonna happen." Apparently this glacial travel technique is not acceptable to new parents.

I spouted off my other objectives and The Noodler's interest was piqued with "Korohusk." There is a scary chute of the North side that I wanted. The Noodler told me that there was also a second, sneekier, scarier couloir as well. He also had some good beta from buddies that had schussed 'em earlier in this season

There was a solid refreeze at the trailhead when we began hiking at 7:15 AM and the skins were on by 8. Travel was efficient on the refrozen corn and soon The Noodler was pointing at an improbable sliver of snow coming off the ridge. As we rounded the bend, it looked doable, but not really.

Korohusk the 1st

I've never seen anything like this couloir. It splits a buttress and has no slopes above or beside it that will slough into the shot. It is relentlessly steep and narrow and there is almost no apron. The Noodler set the booter / clamp-on-er. The snow was "recycled pow", 8" of blower, wintery goodness. We knew it would be good. Each turn sloughed and quickly the surface of 10' wide chute was moving with the skier. Every so often, I'd pull over and let it go on by before it became a hazard.

The Noodler from the Top

After a 5 minute break at the bottom, we moved towards Korohusk the 2nd. This is the shot I had been thinking of: much wider, not as much vert. This line wanted to be my friend, but this too was a trap.

The Noodler and the 2nd

The chute started as advertised, but it doglegged about 700' off the deck. Cramp-ons came out again. It narrowed and got steep. What looked like a relaxing run from below was feeling very similar to the 1st run.

From the Top of the 2nd

"#34, The Noodler, Nashoba Valley, dropping..."

The snow was great, but not as good as the 1st. I navigated the narrows and steeps above the dogleg conservatively, but was able to link turns through most of the top 1/2. The bottom half relaxed a bit, and I felt better. My whipping jacket drowned all other sounds.

A Scary View of the 1st

In AK, you have to be flexible. Years can pass before conditions, weather, and the right partner align to even attempt a line. Today everything converged and the result was easily the best day of the season. That is, until tomorrow.

- Coemul

Skier Boyz in Action!

Marklar and Mountain Saint Helens

(Washington)

The Noodler and the Goat Head

(Alaska)

Gremmie & McK Sending Castles

(Utah)

3 Ranges, 3 Days: May 6-8, 2011

Kenai:

I busted out of my cube at 3:30 and headed straight for Turnagain. Typically the West side of the pass is snow-machine central, but the last day for motorized access was April 30th. Objectives on "Sunny Side" had become much more appealing since silence returned to dominate the soundscape.

Sunny Side Parking Area

Big Chief has haunted me for years and I thought today could finally be the day. I started up a SE aspect at 5:00 PM. There had been some wet slide activity earlier in the day, but the sun was off the route and a stiff wind would provide some evaporative cooling. My route crossed a couple of creeks and ascended a steep gully with consolidated slide debris.

Despite my bullet-proof theories regarding snow safety, slow moving wet slides were laboring down the gully on the regular. Spooky. I traversed out of the gully onto a dry ridge and continued up. The dry ridge eventually ended. A short 50' traverse would get me to another dry sub-ridge but it would be through waste deep slush across a 40° slope. The right decision was obvious but it held no appeal. Shit!

From the tundra, I leaned over and with one hand pushed the top foot of snow down the hill to see what would happen. It started slow, but it got a good head a steam on a roll-over. It was fanning out creating a larger and larger slice of pie. And then it stepped to the ground. Other large pieces pulled out joining the party. The river of snow was now a couple 100 yards wide and wiping out small trees. It ran the full length of the slide path and the sound of moving slush continued for about 10 minutes. I decided beer was now more important than glory. Conservative skiing and driving segued nicely into aggressive drinking.

Talkeetna:

Touring with a large fun group seemed like a better idea for Saturday. I theorized that high, north-facing aspects would provide the best snow, but having completely botched my snow prediction the day before, I kept my mouth shut. As fate would have it, the group decided to ski April Bowl: high and North facing.

The sun was in and out all morning and clouds began to thicken. From the summit, sucker holes gave us hope for a well lit descent. A cold wind was trying our patience and Dean dropped in under flat light. Kelley, then Heather, then Selene, and then the sun made an brief appearance. Bill and I lucked into some great visibility. The snow was fantastic: 6" of wintery, creamy sender! A second lap was a no brainer, and another sucker hole illuminated the descent. Tonight's aggressive drinking would be the inspired by great snow and great people.

The Team

April Bowl

Chugach:

Sunday dawned sunny, but the urge to hibernate in a deep dark cave surrounded by gatorade, soft music, and pizza was powerful. But, I knew Hiland would be great so I worked myself into a frenzy with a series of air punches and self-affirming thoughts. The South Fork Trail is about 50% melted out and didn't really lend itself to either hiking or skiing. After 1.5 miles, I angled West towards the "2nd Notch." From the summit just South of the notch, I "sent the shit" out of a mellow face towards Ship Creek. Excellent corn made for effortless skiing. Run 2 began from the same summit, but this time the NW face called. Again, smooth corn in the sun is tough to beat. I wanted a third, but dehydration was dominating my skull. The only wise option at this point was to locate the mythical electrolyte cave.

- James Dalton

Time Machine: Jackson Hole, February 2000

After sucessfully making it through Y2K without Skynet taking over, we headed north to Wyoming to replenish our supply of "real" PBR. JHMR was a different place back then: the old tram, an intimidating closed boundary policy, and several "permanently closed" in-bounds areas. Skiing on day passes, we didn't feel like these closures applied to us. The snow was untracked and being on late '90's equipment, it was also deep.

Marklar in "The Crags"

Geoffrod
Back when a Good Powder Shot Meant Tips under the Snow

- Lewie

Temptation Peak: May 1

Temptation has been calling to me for years. Multiple north facing chutes tempt many Hiland Road skiers. The Siren songs call to you. And why do those Greek hookers call out to weary travelers? The Sirens mean to destroy them. Utter devastation! There is no easy way up Temptation but her North face was luring me into dangerous waters.

I knew the risks and dangers so I used my "phone-a-friend" to get some beta from my brand new e-friend DB Noodler.

"Go over the pass above the trailhead cross Ship Creek, go up the creek in the mini-drainage and ski down into..... Suffer much bushwhacking and wish you'd gone 6 weeks ago."

Well, dang. That pretty much confirms the Greek legend, but I was willing to press my luck because new real-friend, Bill, had sussed a route via horseless air carriage.

Aware of the dangers, Bill and I set out on our quest from the South Fork trailhead up Hiland Road. We stayed on the Main Trail for about 1.5 miles, took a hard right, and ascended through the 2nd notch. From the notch, we gravity-traversed up Ship Creek Valley.

Ship Creek (we found a snow bridge)

Temptation in the Background

(Yellow? Really?)

After crossing Ship Creek the 'shwack began in earnest, but the crust held for the most part and after some sweet Class V skinning moves, we were through. The snow was grippy so the skins stayed on high into the couloir. We were transfixed on the peak, moving higher and higher. The couloir looked fantastic. The booter was going quickly as if we were being drawn to the top by some unseen force. We had clamp-ons, but elected to keep them in the packs for ballast.

We topped out at a triple divide: Ship Creek, Snowhawk, and a small NW facing valley that eventually drains into Ship Creek.

Bill at the Top of the Schuss Run

The top of the couloir seemed soft during the ascent, but booting and skiing are different. Good toe holds don't always equate to good skiing. The top was firm sastrugi, not very nice stuff. How did we end up in the mess? What would drive a man to this situation?

Bill up High

Actually, conditions rapidly improved and the sastrugi quickly gave way to some smooth carvy snow and eventually, a beautiful section of corn. The sun poked out and skis wanted to go fast.

This time of year, Alaska skiing is an elevation game: winter conditions up high and feet of isothermal snow down low. Isothermal snow has no structure; it is basically standing slush. Step in it, and your feet hit the ground. The only way to ski this garbage is to keep your weight way back and surf those tips with minimal control.

A light freeze the previous night left a supportable crust for our morning 'shwhack, but it was long gone come 5 PM. Those whores had us right where they wanted! We surfed it as far as we dared, but the alders closed in. A 90 minute hip-deep, soggy booter through several areas of blow-down deposited us at the Creek. The worst was over and the song began to fade, but the climb back to the notch was no gimme. Luckily, the swamp was mostly frozen and a South facing ridge was dry tundra. At 3,400' with skis on, we angled towards the notch.

We were through! The Sirens wailed but their torment was drowned out by a gentle breeze. On the north side of the notch the skiing was excellent: 2" corn on supportable (6 PM). Big arcs brought us down to the South Fork Trail in short order. Hikers have packed the snow on the trail making for easy ski travel and we were quickly back at the vehicles cursing our lack of beer. That was our fault; we couldn't blame the hookers for that.

- Luis Tosar

Creekster

Broken Tooth 12-

Creekster

Rock Lobster 11-

Flakes of Wrath 9+

Monster Tower and Washer Woman on the White Rim

Every year we like to celebrate the Holidayz at Indian Creek. We now celebrate Easter and call it Creekster.

It Goes Free!

Having such an Epic snow year in the Wasatch the boyz began to talk about skiing some trade routes that rarely see a free ascent. One of these lines is the classic NW couloir off the Pfeiferhorn. This man balls monday turned out to be perfect for the objective. It just snowed 40 plus inches over the weekend and the snowpack has been bomb proof as far as we had seen. When you climb and ski the Pfeif "little Materhorn" you are very high up in the Hogum drainage where exciting lines are abundant. This late in the season it is virtually impossible to have a Hogum Hero day, due to lots of east facing exposure and warming temps, but for the mortal boyz two classy lines = a fine day!

Early morn sun on the Coalpit Headwall. Our way out.
Little Matterhorn, Objective #1 before Stefan sent the skinner then boot pack to the top.
Buffalo soldier marching on and on.
The Paco Kid on the summit ridge of the Pfeif.
Stefan and Josh harnessed up for the drop in not knowing how filled in the NW would be.
Stefan drops in first. Beautiful line, almost unreal!
The Paco kid descending the NW for the first time ever! Lucky.
Stefan, Hollbrooking his way down to the choke. Does it go?
It goes Free! with little side stepping and tip and tail scratching. Good style SB, who has never had to make the rappel.
This is what the choke looks like above the Boyz. Not much snow left for the next party to descend. The way we like it.
Boyzd It! Take a look at the NE ramp above the choke!
After the entire Thunder ridge slid due to the rapid warming we climbed high in Hogum, linking the super tour variant to the Coalpit Headwall.
Upper Hogum chutes. This one looks real nice.
Due to the huge overhanging cornices at the top of the Coalpit headwall we each aired in then sent the 2000+ foot headwall in primo conditions. Best tour ever!

-Kid Buf