Last Updated: November 28, 2024



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Oh my! Quite the backlog here...

  • Lone Goat & Snow Camp Mountain - hike (September 2023)
  • Isollilock Peak - scramble (October 2023)
  • Mount Manson - Mount Hatfield Traverse - scramble (October 2023)
  • The Gargoyles & Columnar Peak - scramble (October 2023)
  • Opal Cone and Lava Glacier - hike (October 2023)
  • Park Butte (WA) - hike (October 2023)
  • Trappers Peak (WA) - scramble (October 2023)
  • Rattlesnake Ledge (WA) - hike (November 2023)
  • Sauk Mountain (WA) - hike (November 2023)
  • Sunshine Coast (Mount Daniel, Pender Hill) - hike (November 2023)
  • Mount Dickerman (WA) - hike (November 2022)
  • Verona Peak AKA Winter's End - snowshoe (November 2023)
  • Dolomites (IT) - snowboard (December 2023)
  • Red Rock Canyon (NV) - scramble (January 2024)
  • Flute Summit & Oboe Summit - snowboard (February 2024)
  • Whistler Miscellaneous (Train Wreck, Loggers Lake, Shadow Lake and more) - hike (February 2024)
  • Mount Underhill - hike (March 2024)
  • Bombtram Mountain - snowshoe (March 2024)
  • Steep Peak - snowboard (March 2024)
  • Ruby Mountain (WA) - snowshoe (April 2024)
  • Blustry Mountain - hike (April 2024)
  • Sowerby Peak (Barr East) - snowshoe (April 2024)
  • Picacho Peak (AZ) - hike (April 2024)
  • Kitt Peak Observatory (AZ) - (April 2024)
  • Mount Wrightson (AZ) - hike (April 2024)
  • Saguaro National Park (AZ) - April 2024)
  • Superstition Peak/Benchmark (AZ) - scramble (April 2024)
  • Mount Humphreys (AZ) - hike (May 2024)
  • Petrified Forest National Park (AZ) - (May 2024)
  • Piestewa Peak (AZ) - hike (May 2024)
  • Channeled Scablands (WA | Columbia Gorge, Ancient Lakes, Potholes Lake, Palouse Falls and more) - hike (May 2024)
  • Rhododendron Mountain ("Pk. 2220") - snowshoe (June 2024)
  • Flora Peak - hike (June 2024)
  • Gibson Peak - snowshoe (June 2024)
  • Mount Urquhart - scramble (June 2024)
  • Rock Mountain (WA) - hike (July 2024)
  • Ladies Pass Quartet (WA | Cape Horn, Ladies Peak, Snowgrass NE Peak, Snowgrass Mountain) - scramble (July 2024)
  • Old Snowy (WA) - scramble (July 2024)
  • Dog Mountain (WA) - hike (July 2024)
  • Mount Ratney & Mount Bardean - scramble (July 2024)
  • Torrent Peak - scramble (July 2024)
  • Steep Peak - Darkside Peak Traverse - scramble (July 2024)
  • Silvertip Mountain - scramble (July 2024)
  • The Old Settler - scramble (July 2024)
  • Silent Hub Peak - scramble (August 2024)
  • Saint Jacobs Mountain - scramble (August 2024)
  • Mount David (WA) - scramble (August 2024)
  • Goat Mountain West Peak & Table Mountain (WA) - hike (August 2024)
  • Griswold Pass (Tuber Hill, Glacier View Peak, Subatomic Peaks: Baryon, Meson, Muon, Lepton) - scramble (September 2024)
  • Yellow Aster Butte (WA) - hike (September 2024)
  • Mazama Dome (WA) - hike (September 2024)
  • Ptarmigan Ridge - (WA | The Portals East Peak, Coleman Pinnacle) - hike (September 2024)
  • Tetrahedron Peak - scramble (September 2024)
  • Lone Cone & Peak 86 (Tofino) - hike (September 2024)
  • Mount Athelstan ("Pk. 2460") - scramble (September 2024)
  • Excelsior Peak and Cowap Peak - hike (October 2024)
  • Hollyburn Peak - hike (October 2024)
  • Cheam Peak - hike (October 2024)
  • Blanchard Needle - scramble (October 2024)
  • Debeck's Hill & 4 Lakes Loop - hike (October 2024)
  • Mount Hallowell - hike (November 2024)

*As of 11/28/2024


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| Featured Trip Report |



March 2012

Heli-skiing is like nothing else - the highest highs, the lowest lows. Literally. As you can imagine, the Chugach has some killer pow and terrain, but also the potential for long bouts of crap weather which will ground the heli while you sit about watching your precious vacation days pass you by. Alaska Backcountry Adventures (ABA) did their best to make the most of any weather windows (aka "sucker-holes") that occurred, even to the extent of squeezing in one quick run at 6pm like they did on our final day (only run of the day). Funny story really, we were five minutes from sticking the keys in the ignition for the five-hour drive back to Anchorage, when suddenly... "The pilot's here, we're flyin'!!" Talk about a Chinese fire drill! To add insult to injury, five of our party of nine elected to extend their stay by a couple days and as fate would have it the weather broke. Ain't that typical?

Long story short - although we found the 'down day activities' and 'self-serve BBQ lunch' promised by ABA to be curiously absent; the staff and guides did what they could make us feel welcome and to ensure that we enjoyed our time skiing/boarding at Thompson Pass. Owner Dave "Happy" always managed to put a positive spin on the rather ambiguous weather forecasts and gave us hope that the weather would "pop". Who could forget our ex-military pilot Frank with his ass-kicking attitude and his roller coaster flying antics? A certain knife-edge ridge landing with skids hanging off either side comes to mind. The wind was really beginning to whip, and being second-to-last to disembark I could have sworn that Frank was sweating it just trying to keep the heli in position. And finally, we all took exception to 'Badger's seemingly harsh warning - "...there's nothing but death for you there", referring to the rear heli rotor during our initial orientation, but hey...this is Alaska after all!

We spent a couple days around Anchorage, skied at Alyeska resort then drove the very scenic loop over to Thompson Pass (about 30 minutes outside of Valdez) where we RV'd it for the next week or so. We skied in all conditions, from low light to blinding sunshine and dust-on-crust to bottomless Chugach blower pow. It dumped about a foot while we were there, but unfortunately the heli was grounded for most of that period. Definitely a learning experience, all of it, and with Anchorage only a 3 hour flight from SeaTac it's a lot closer than one might think. Considering that about half of our group still has a credit for a day-and-a-half of heli runs, I guess we have no choice but to come back.

Interestingly, for only two months out of the year (March/April) this valley is where many skiing/boarding superstars get it done. In fact, Mack Dawg and Warren Miller were flying and filming with ABA while we were there (look for a cameo appearance in the after-hours bonfire scene in their upcoming movies)! We hung out with pro riders DCP and Jussi (among others) on ABA's porch while the heli was grounded, and spotted skier Jeremy Nobis downing brewskis at the Alaska Rendezvous restaurant and pub a few miles down the valley. What a privilege to be rubbing elbows with celebrities, even if they out-prioritize us un-sponsored types. Down-days are a great equalizer though - sponsored or un-sponsored, nobody flies. While we took to drinking beer and sessioning a backcountry booter, Jussi and company were engrossing themselves in back-to-back episodes of Lost Season 3 which they apparently downloaded via the RV's satellite dish. Whatever it takes to pass the time, eh? In the interest of traveling light, all but two of us decided to leave our backcountry gear behind - a decision I would come to regret, as backcountry skiing around Thompson Pass is limited only by one's imagination.

We took a lot of photos and even more video clips. Given the flat light that was prevalent most days we skied, and having to ski slopes in pitches and/or glacier spacing, this did not lend itself to very good ski footage. In other words, I won't be making a movie. For that, you might want to tune-in sometime after April 2008! In the mean time, I'll be accruing air miles and dreaming of next spring.

Welcome to Alyeska! On the road to Valdez
Afternoon on top of the RV Descending 'Stale Fish'
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