Looking out across Crow Pass to Eagle RiverWe wait all summer and fall for them – those first turns of the year. Temperatures cool and we watch the hills after every storm to see what they call in Alaska, “Termination Dust”. Kinda funny. Well, the dust has been plentiful and, truth be told, first turns were had by many following a storm on September 31st.
I got the taunting texted pictures of the goods while I was vacationing back home in Jackson. It was sunny and dry there, just what I needed after a wet summer in AK. But the images of the powder had me looking forward to getting back north.
A few more storms have come through and then the long-anticipated high pressure that we failed to get this summer finally arrived. It even coincided with a weekend. Crazy. So, I rummaged around the gear room and got my kit together and, after sleeping in and having a leisurely morning today, I hit the road for Girdwood around 10:30 am.
I was heading for Crow Creek Pass trailhead where the track would lead me to the Jewel Glacier, a mellow, minimally crevassed glacier that serves as the launching point of the season for many locals.
A couple more storms and these lines should be ripeIn typical Teton style, I headed up the trail in my ski boots. I heard that the approach to the snow was about an hour but I was able to start skinning after only 30 minutes or so. There were a few rocks but I gingerly avoided them while making my way to the glacier. I passed a few others and one guy indicated that I was, indeed, headed in the right direction.
No freshies todayI finally crested the slope to see the amply farmed snowfield in full view. There were probably a dozen other skiers and snow boarders plodding upward. There was a light breeze, which affected the powder slightly, but it seemed like the turns would be worthy.
After about 20 minutes I was ripping skins in front of 6 others who were doing the usual chatting, changing layers, donning goggles, etc. I was quite warm from the effort so I just locked down and pushed off. The snow was fun, not quite blower, but good enough. The hard summer snow could be felt underneath every few turns. After only 30-40 seconds I was back in the sun and getting skins on for another lap.
More and more folks arrived. Lot’s of telemarkers and ‘boarders. Some poor bastards booting. I did two more laps and then headed over to the north face of Jewel Mountain that offered a steeper line and a few hundred feet more of vert. No one was over there but a couple of skiers had hit the line a day or two before.
Jewel Mountain nearbyIt was windy and chilly on top and I put on a wind layer before heading down. I center-punched the top snowfield and then traversed over to a shot between some rocks. I felt the old snow underneath but the added pitch was fun, nonetheless.
My lineAfter a few hours, my feet and ankles were feeling the novelty of skiing so I started back down. Although we skinned at least 1,000 vertical of the approach, it was thin and the descent was all booting. It was tedious in the sharp talus at times but once on the main trail walking was painless. Probably only took 45 minutes to get back to the car.
The Milk GlacierSadly, I forgot my watch so I don’t really know what kind of vertical I got. Somewhere between 4,000 and 5,000 feet, I guess. Best of all was getting a look at the adjacent Milk Glacier and the surrounding terrain. I’ll be back but not before we get more snow so we can ski back to the car. Walking is for the summer and winter is here, dammit.