Moonrise over Hidden Peak and The Ramp, Chugach Front RangeCan't say too much excitement has happened since I last wrote. We've had more rain in town and some light snow up high. The winds have paid a visit and ravaged the Kenai. Hatcher Pass has done better recently and was in decent form this past weekend. There're still plenty of sharks to be discovered and I've spent every evening tending to my ski's wounds. But at least we're skiing.
The Front Range finally saw enough snow to make our usual pilgrimage up there fruitful for training and getting turns. Friday was actually quite incredible with Marc and Mat rallying to make the journey. The air was crisp, winds calm and the skies perfectly clear. Six new inches of fresh over chalk made for fun skiing. The perfect light was intoxicating in the way only AK light can be. Mat and I watched the sun rise and set on this day with him digging some pits for his AAC observations and me logging nearly 9K vert along the way. Marc plugged in for 5K and then had to tend to family obligations. Considering this is only 25 minutes from my door, it was just about right.
Mat keeping tabs on the Front Range snow pack for the AAC
The next two days were spent under perfect weather conditions at Hatcher Pass. Aside from one creepy avalanche event on Marmot a couple of days prior, the zone was holding up well with the little snow it had. Mat and I got our share on Saturday and, feeling tired, went out for a more relaxed day with Karol and some friends on tele gear. Yep. That's right. I actually skied with some pinheads. This will be the first time pictures of this nearly extinct breed will be seen in these pages. We all had fun. The usual telemark head plants, misadventures and blown quads were on display. I only leveled a couple of "why?'s" along the way, knowing that it's pretty much futile if they're still doing this silliness in this day and age.
Kyle droppin' that knee!
It's all heels locked for Karol