Penguin Peak Delivers
Monday, March 30, 2015 at 12:44AM 
Penguin Peak later in the summerAlthough it's easy to say that this winter in Alaska has been dismal without precedence, I've managed to find damn good skiing almost every time I've been out. Sure, I've had a few utterly horrid outings on Peak 3 boiler plate while being pummeled by wind and spindrift. And, it's true. The days out skiing have been far fewer than what I consider normal. But the days I've had have mosly put a smile on my face.
Last Sunday on Penguin Peak along the Turnagain Arm near Anchorage was one such day. Mat made the suggestion after reading on Facebook that a friend had found some good turns up there. The approach, typically made on skis from the car, was unusually bony and a massive pile of avalanche debris had to be negotiated before donning skis nearly 1,500 vertical feet up the path. No worries. We're admittedly desparate and are willing to go to significant effort to find turns right now.
After cruising the road on foot for 12 minutes we started up the avy path dodging icy rivulets before climbing onto avalanche debris of Biblical scale. 
It was 20 feet thick in places and looked to have run about 2,000 feet. It was frozen solid so the travel was easy. We eventually passed it and donned skis for the rest of the 4,000 foot climb to the ridge.
The snow on the sunny side of the bowl was smooth with just a inch or two of fresh. A couple of tracks from our friend suggested fun if not low angled cruising. We were hoping the steeper lines on the north side offered more. As we gained the ridge and eyed the business, they certainly looked tempting but stability needed to be assessed before any skiing was going to happen. 
Mat ready for some snow pit shenanigans
Getting it done while I have his backI anchored in and gave Mat a belay 30 meters down one narrow couloir where he was able to dig a proper pit and perform a couple of column tests. Although it looked like powder, it was mostly a cohesive thick slab of mostly stable chalk and packed powder.
We enjoyed the first 500 feet or so but the surface became firmer and firmer slide for life for the rest of the 1,700 vertical to the bottom. It was fun, untracked skiing but not completely awesome like it can be in this zone. We skinned back up to the ridge and headed to the summit looking for more.
Stunning views while skinning the Penguin summit ridgelineThe lines get steeper and more interesting as one goes higher, eventually gaining the 4,300 foot summit. Although we were convinced that the zone was locked up and safe we weren't going to mind one more definitive test. The summit peak was guarded by a frozen cornice lip about the size of a VW bug that would work for our purpose. After anchoring the rope, I rapelled down the slope a few feet and had a look at the cornice. The thing was like a rock. It had a undercut belly that would take the Backcountry Bomb nicely.
Just in case....Mat tied into the rope with enough freedom to do his thing cutting the cornice while I waited down the ridge to inspect the potential carnage. 
Look carefully and you can see the cable in position under the lip
"Fire in the hole!"
Impact
And down she goesHe dropped it with some effort and it landed on the waiting slope with quite a thud and then swept the full length of the run. Nothing moved save for a few inches of unconsolidated freshness from a few days prior. Green light.
Mat ripped the first run and I followed with both of us incredulous about how good the upper section was. We stopped short of the bulk of the boiler plate, electing to go back up for a couple of more hits of the tenderloin of the skiing this day. 
Not really sloppy seconds for meThe next two were just as good as the first and then we hit the sunny side for wide open GS turns down into the breakable shaded snow lower down.
"Groomed by God" someone said.
Skiing in AK is not all Valdez and Haines ski porn. This is everyman's AKA few survival turns to milk what we could in the avy debris and then finally the trudge out down the soften mess to the road. It turned out to be 8,200 feet and just over 7:40 worth of goodness. Another fine surprise.
Alaska skiing, Backcountry Bomb, Penguin Peak in Alaska Winter
Reader Comments (2)
Looks alot like Haines skiing actually. Good to know that Anchorage folks arn't intimidated by a good brush fuck approach.
Hey Jason. Found on old post, I see. Thanks for reading and commenting. I can't really admit to0 much bush bashing on this one. There is even a hiking trail down low when the snow line rises later in the spring. it's a fun zone for those looking for summer turns. Cheers.