Skiing at Hatcher

It has been a climbing sort of winter, but I was reminded again how good skiing can be!   Super fun day out on Marmot in Hatcher Pass.

Ryan at the base of Marmot Peak



It was so good!

 

The End: Escape

We shoveled before we went to bed, and twice in the night, but when we woke up there was less wind and the snow was falling gently. It was still completely white out, but we were optimistic of it breaking.

A couple hands of cards later, we had more visibility then we had had in days.

Oh Yeah, We Did a Lot of Shoveling!

 

One Mostly Buried Wand, Others Gone till Spring

There was no hesitation on any of our parts about getting the (expletive) out of there when the weather finally broke.

 

Joy in the Sun

Above Whittier, Straight Shot to Town 

 

Maybe next year! Not going out there ever again if the weather is calling for rain and snow!

Perfect April 20th Ski

It was a perfect sunny day as Heather and I toured to the top of peak 2.

 

We sat in the sun, then had a nice ski down. Short and sweet, I love skiing in the front range.

 

Last Day of Skiing in Valdez

It got pretty windy the night before and although we tried to remain optimistic about the snow conditions on our intended line, it just wasn't that good of snow. But it was an awesome trip to Valdez!

 

A Couple Soft Turns

 

More Skiing in Valdez

It started out as a beautiful bluebird day with light winds...toward the top was a whole different story.

 

It got ridiculously windy and cold toward the top of the peak, so we bailed down off the windy ridge and looked up an inviting glacier bowl.

We ended up finding a 1000 ft untracked powder run that we lapped.  It was pretty awesome.

Yum!

 

More Valdez Skiing

A beautiful sunny day with no wind is a special treat in Valdez.

 

Touring is super fun, but its amazing how long it takes to get to the tops of peaks around here!

 

Ryan

 

Boot Packing the Steep Bits

 

Beautiful Powder! So worth the effort to get up there!

 

Skiing in Valdez is Awesome!

 Day one took us up a cool gash that eventually opened up into more gentle terrain.

 

We skied over a glacier bowl to some interesting ski lines.

We skinned up a fun couloir till we hit the ridge and a short boot later were standing above a beautiful powder filled run..

Ryan and I

So nice to be in Valdez!

 

Skiing in Kellie's Backyard

Fantastic day out skiing with Kellie.  We went up Virgin Creek (i think), I would not do this approach during a low snow year!  We did one lap in the shade, then skied out toward the Tesoro in the sun.  Awesome day out!

Meeting Men on the Ridge

 

Turnagain Arm

 

Kellie and I

 

Really Good Skiing

 

Looking Back Up the Run

 

Skiing in the Front Range

I'm a little embaressed to admit that this was the first time I have ever skied peak 2 and 3....I have seriously been missing out on the local goods.

Ryan Skiing the Ridge

Skiing Powder down Peak 2

 

 

Skiing in Valdez

I can't remember ever seeing so much snow up in Thompson Pass and down in Valdez. Its definitely a better winter for skiing than climbing!

We parked off the road by the Worthington glacier and started up toward the mountains in the sun.

A little bit of clouds rolled in and out, but it was mostly a brilliant sunny day.

We toured to the top of a glacier then booted a short ways to the top of the peak.

We debated skiing the sunny south side, but in the end the light fluffy looking powder on the north face enticed us more. It was a fantastic run.