Life According to Kellie

Alaska skiing '11 - Eddie's south face on NYE

2012-02-01T22:27:00.002-09:00

Well, the post-Christmas time home was one of the best 2 weeks of my life for sure - I ultimately had to take a rest day because my legs just couldn't do it day after day in the brutal cold . . . but that rest day might have been the best day of the whole time off - there's something magical about earning the "right" to do absolutely nothing . . . love it!!

It started out with 2 days on Magnum/Goldpan and skiing my favorite face on Turnagain Pass for the first time this year . . .

My tracks on my favorite "little kid" line - Nick skied the burly line off the summit . . . what I would call a "big kid" line :-)

New years eve was a great day out on Turnagain - Charlie Renfrow, Corky Still, Paul Forward, Jared Gross, and I headed out for some new fun terrain in the sun! Awesome day, except for the rock I hit which gave me a huge core shot and pretty gnarly fall . . . such is life I suppose!

me headed up (photo: Charlie Renfrow)

Corky skiing (photo: Charlie Renfrow)

me on run #1 (photo: Charlie Renfrow)

(photo: Charlie Renfrow)

Paul incoming! (photo: Charlie Renfrow)

New years day was a super cold and brutal one . . . foreshadowing of the January to come . . . we ended up (me, Corky, Paul) exploring the Pete's area, hoping to ski the long S face on Pete's south, but getting shot down by windslab as we were trying to avoid ridge walking in the brutally cold wind . . . such is life!

Skiing Alaska - December '11

2012-02-01T20:28:00.000-09:00

Well, after an earth-shatteringly fabulous time off in November, my free time in early December was a bit less stellar due to two huge storms that pretty much shut the world down . . . the fringe benefit was of course appropriate weather to throw a raging 80s workout party (and properly enjoy the next day without too much exertion) and ski some resort days . . .

Somehow the tele crew found it in the heart to ride a chair with an alpine skier ;-)

Who said there's no girls in AK? Corky has his pick!

The good thing about bad weather is that it makes ice climbing a lot more appealing - and warm storms make for a lot more pleasant climbing! It was great to swing tools for a day and chat it up with Sherrie (although I have to say that skin tracks are more conducive to chatting than ice climbs!)

Sherrie on the lower pitch of Kid's Corner - I think I did one too many laps on the lower section cuz I was WORKED by the end of the last pitch!!

Colorful and talented Sherrie

The highlight of this time off was skiing Tincan Proper . . . at this point, the line has been skied so many times that it doesn't seem like a big deal . . . but the first steep line of the season, the first time on Proper this season, and the total unexpected nature of skiing a big line made it super cool . . . leave it to Erik to provide some inspiration!!

Kathy and Erik coming down the ridge

Kathy on the line . . . it was awesome!!

We actually went back and skied it the next day before partying it up for Heather's birthday and Shelley's cancer-versary . . . 80s workout theme! My floor was actually flexing from all the dancing, but all's well that ends well I suppose!

Mary really nailed it on the costume - right down to the hair!

Jen Mac and Shelley starting the dance party early . . .

North slope invasion of the party :-)

Skiing Alaska - November '11 favorites

2012-02-01T16:08:00.001-09:00

Well, what can I say? Alaska's early season was pretty much all-time this year . . . it was such a nice way to transition back home after Argentina, to reconnect with friends and feel like I hadn't missed a beat! Of course, my photos are spotty at best, but there are at least a few good ones in here!

11/7/11 . . . skiing with Corky and his buddies on the Sunnyside before it opened to snowmachines - a super beautiful and sunny day, cut short unfortunately by sketchy windslab and some avy action . . .

photo: Corky Still

photo: Corky Still

photo: Corky Still

11/8/11 Turnagain touring with Tim Glassett - Tim's working a bunch and in school, so it's a rare day that we get out touring - we had an awesome day though: Sunburst south face-Pastoral S face - super bowl - magnum W face . . . classic Turnagain mega tour!

dreaming of Goldpan lines!

Tim, our snow science enthusiast!

11/9/11 Magnum with Sherrie - this girl has got to be one of my favorite partners of all time and I feel so lucky when she comes skiing with me . . . when we ski together, I am not sure if the focus is skiing or chatting because both happen at pretty high levels :-) We had some wind this day, but still managed to have some excellent turns!!

11/10/11 - Sunnyside with Sherrie and Erin . . . this was Erin's first time touring and it helped both Sherrie and I realize that ski touring is actually really difficult!! Erin is a world-class athlete, but the heavy setup and new sport made for a funny day :-)

Sisters on the sunnyside :-)

Sherrie!

Erin and Sherrie

Me 'n Sherrie

11/12/11 . . . ladies day on Sunnyside - well, not so sunny, but excellent skiing regardless! It was fun to be out with Sarah Heck, Cortney Kitchen, and Erica Madison - all strong skiers and climbers, and super fun ladies!!

me, Erica, Cortney, Sarah

11/14/11 - my last day home and a super fun day on Turnagain . . . the snow was shockingly good and we were inspired to venture further than we'd planned . . . CB #2 couloir to Goldpan to the corner pocket area and out the magnum west face . . . finish at dark, all smiles to fuel some daydreaming at work!!

Russ above Goldpan

Russ on Goldpan

Moments of minor fame . . .

2012-02-01T15:18:00.000-09:00

I figured I'd share a few moments of minor fame . . .

When I got back from the mountains in Argentina this year, I had an email from The Yoga Journal, telling me I'd been selected for their "backpage" feature in Feb '12 . . . I was stoked!!

About the same time, Leah Hartl also posted some published photos of our Albania/Kosovo trip . . . in a German ski magazine, and also in a proper newspaper . . .

Skiing in bounds at Brezovica

Skiing in Valbona, Albania near the border with Montenegro - I think I am the skier

Photos of Bajram Curry, Albania as well as Brezovica, Kosovo

me skiing the deep trees in Valbona, Albania

In bounds at Brezovica

The amazingly cute boys we met in Valbona, touring the Valbona valley

A photo I took leaving Valbona . . . this building was once a hotel

Touring outside the Brezovica ski area

And the proper newspaper publication . . .

. . . back to Argentina - Valle de Colorado ski exploration

2012-01-12T21:23:00.000-09:00

To be honest, I'm not even sure where to start with regard to writing about this trip - it was super challenging on multiple fronts, but in retrospect incredibly rewarding. By the time I left, I had made the agreement with myself that this was my last Argentina trip, and now I'm dreaming of my return. I suppose that the reason I can write about the whole experience at this point is that I feel a return of my deep sense of joy, aliveness, gratitude, and presence that didn't necessarily characterize this trip for me . . . for much of it, I felt lost, like I didn't even need to be there, didn't love Argentina like I used to, could take it or leave it, didn't have the hunger and drive that have always characterized my approach to skiing, and life for that matter. I still don't know if I was just reacting to the conditions we found, or if it was where I was at that manifested those conditions into the trip we had - I suppose it's some combination of the two, and the reality is that it doesn't really matter.

So, what is the reality of Argentina 2011 and the Valle del Colorado ski exploration? I think if I had to sum up this trip in a word, the only one would be "intense." What other way to describe the landscape, the rockfall on our climbs, the terrain, the conditions, the access, the logistics? Then there was being in these extreme conditions while also being pretty sick and developing my favorite "death cough" in the high-altitude dryness . . . intense.

I always said that if I ever lose myself, I'll go to Argentina. This year, I didn't feel like I did much finding, but in the retrospect of pictures and memories, as well as seeing how life has gone since then, I did just that. My memory now is of the rawness of the trip - raw beauty of the location, raw adventure of being so remote in a foreign country, rawness of vulnerability. Reflections on rawness make the trip feel perfect and beautiful.

I also look back and see accomplishment. While we may not have skied the prize of Mercedario, it really wasn't right for us, and so I'm glad we didn't go. Same for Polaco. While it's natural to wonder or judge in retrospect, I am truly happy with our accomplishment of the steep lines and the amazing couloir off of the 18,500' Cerro Negro summit that we skied . . . I'm glad we came back safe, given the amount of rockfall and object hazard we found. I'm glad we came back friends, and having made new friends in the mountains. And, I'm so glad I went . . . really drives home that you never regret going . . .

So, with all that said, I guess I'll share the pics and tell the story . . . enjoy the view!

After a few days in Mendoza for food and fuel organization and waiting for Graham's lost luggage, we were off to the sleepy town of Barreal in San Juan provence and then on to the Gendarmaria outpost of Santa Ana where we began our walk up the Rio Colorado.

Graham with Santa Ana behind him

Amazing erosional effects on the walk in

Las mulas con el equipo

Our first night in Las Vegas - finished at dark, barely finding the mules and our gear - wouldn't have been the end of the world if we hadn't, but it was nice all the same, if for no other reason than fixing the holes that had developed in our sacks from transport.

Una mula :-)

Our first view of Pico Polaco with the valle del Colorado just around the corner

And then the Mercedario with her glorious south face appeared

El valle del Colorado

Skiing was a bit contrived to put it lightly - the sliver of snow heading up above Graham (on a water run since there was no running water near camp) to the ridge was our first ski line, topping out at about 16,500'

The plateau of Cerro Negro - in past years, all these lines have been filled in and skiable, but there were only a few that went . . . we ended up skiing the "obvious" line in the center, hiking along the ridge to the summit of Cerro Negro at 18,500'

Home sweet home

Our first day, I felt super sick, so just went on a mellow stroll up to the Italian Glacier. Our beta was that this glacier would be skinnable, but it was instead a super gnarly icefall . . . lovely day to be out for a walk, taking naps in the sun, and exploring for non-silty water sources :-)

The not-so-inviting Italian Glacier

Oh, hello Mercedario . . . the face looked okay upon our arrival , but got sequentially blasted by the wind until lit looked like a shining sheet of neve . . .

Graham in our kitchen . . . luxury!

Another view of "home" with Pico Polaco in the background

Graham part way up our first run - cool line, even if the snow wasn't inspirational :-)

view across the valle

Graham struttin' his stuff . . . perhaps a little bummed he'd forgotten his gore tex

Aesthetic alpine views, amazing color contrasts

Skiing :-)

The next day, we went to recon the potential route to Pico Polaco

We got to scope this awesome line off the Negro massif .. . . we ultimately climbed and skied looker's left of the ice/glacier tongue . . . a super aesthetic and unique line

Loving the color contrasts

Mercedario

The rare treat of clear water . . . we did a lot of carrying water on this trip . . .

Headed up our Cerro Negro couloir . . . we definitely returned to this spot just as it was getting dark . . .

Looking happy . . . if only I knew the awaiting pain of a 6500' climb at altitude :-)

Graham on the tongue

making progress up Negro . . . Cerro La Ramada in the background

Made the ridge! Built a cairn so as to find the right couloir on the way down!

Me on the top-out of our Cerro Negro couloir, en route to the summit - I think the ridge was around 17,000'

Lovely ski conditions heading up to the summit . . . took a lot of wind out of our sails since Mercedario looked similar from a distance

Summits deserve high fives! Ansilta Range in the distance

Graham still had energy on top! Mercedario in the background - I had originally thought this west face just behind him might also be skiable, but it was an obvious sheet of ice

It's about the down . . . losing light :-(

The ski was pretty sweet actually - good placa snow, nice fall line, amazing couloir walls, and we finished just before it was too dark to enjoy

Fox in camp the next morning . . . this little guy was responsible for lost peanut butter, dulce de leche, and other food items that we did our best to protect . . . wily little sucker!

Recovery day in the kitchen :-)

And then the neighbors, Dave McCoy and Mark Angelos with their guides Indio and Coque, showed up

They were living just a little bit larger than us!

Amazing light over Mercedario . . . really a stunning mountain

Graham headed up to the cool glacier/ice line off of Negro

Me on the climb . . . approaching the ice tongue

super trippy to be climbing next to this huge ice/glacier chunk! We had one tight section, but the snow stuck pretty well, so we were able to navegate it just fine . . . really cool place to hang out (despite the rockfall raining down us for the first bit of the climb . . . by this point, climbing in rockfall was really starting to fray my nerves!)

It's about the down! This was a super amazing line - a lot steeper than I thought originally - I really love the perspective in this photo!

Graham . . . and trippy ice formations

Did I mention I thought this ice was super cool?!?

The line really didn't let up until the end . . . in fact, the apron was some of the steepest skiing

Ultimately we decided our best ski option would likely be Pico Polaco - it looked like it had a reasonably straightforward line on it, and we decided it was worth a try . . . so we carted super heavy packs a few thousand feet up to its base

Graham approaching horrible scree followed by 5th class scrambling with heavy packs . . . a really unpleasant climb!

But then we got to the Polacos glacier, which was one of the coolest glaciers I've ever been on!

Graham skinning up - we were lucky there was a ribbon of snow along the ice to make travel much more achievable!

Cool glaicer, trippy cool clouds

Heading up glacier . . . this place was badass!

Graham with Polaco and its ridgeline above him

Pico Polaco - we had intended to climb the line essentially below the serac . . . everyone told us it "never " breaks and, although this angle doesn't show it well, you don't have to climb in the line of fire that long . . .

But the next day, we awoke to this sight - the serac had broken . . . and revealed some pretty shiny snow . . . we could also see that the upper mountain was a sheet of ice, making a summit descent nearly impossible.

Our glacial home . . .

We ended up climbing a cool line with another steep glacier in the middle of it, as opposed to heading up Polaco. Given the condition of the summit, the hazard on the route, my lungs which were in pretty bad shape, and our lack of gear to protect the route, we decided to leave the summit for another trip.

At the top of our line - lots more snow deeper in the range. . . . maybe we could have chosen a better zone to explore . . .

Looking down on the valle del Colorado and out to Barreal

More cool ice to climb and ski with!

Graham on the descent

Little me, big world

Our line . . . we climbed and skied looker's left of the ice

Graham skiing down the ice penitentes with a heavy pack . . .

Did I mention how other-worldly this place was?!?

Me skiing the valle del Colorado's equivalent of "trees"

Looking back up glacier and at Pico Polaco

Negro and the cool line from a few days before

Polaco in alpenglow

Dave, our new neighbor, decided to go out early, and we opted to go out with him and get a ride out of the mountains and back to Mendoza to go check out skiing on Ruta 7

Back in the lowlands, heading out a different route than we came in. Typical Argentine wind and a 1500' climb I really wasn't mentally prepared for!

A welcome sight . . . asado in a few hours!

An old ski club on the road out

Dave and Graham in the Nutibara lobby

Up to Ruta 7 near the tunel . . . I had looked at this peak a few years before, and have always had my eye on it . . .

Another cool looking line, a bit more up close in this picture . . . we looked it up on a map - Cerro Martienzo, named after a the pilot who perished in a nearby plane crash . . . 7 mile approach from the road and 6500' climb

Although neither Graham or I thought Cerro Martienzo would be possible in a day, we both thought the other person thought it was possible, and were both willing to give it a try based on that . . . so off we went.. Unfortunately, Graham had inadvertently left his skins up the valle del Colorado for the mules to bring later . . . made for a long bootpack!

Amazing rocks up high!

And then we made the ridge and were staring Aconcagua straight in the face - a really unanticipated and humbling view . . . also makes it clear why they "great stone sentinel" is so called . . . an impressive piece of rock to be sure!!!

Summit self-portrait in more Argentine wind

Me on the descent . . . rolled in somewhat mellow, transitioning to super steep next to the ice (a developing theme), but this was the best snow we skied the whole trip, and the longest consistent skiing we had . . . a really cool day!

Graham found a super cool condor feather . . . all-in-all the day only took us 13.5 hrs and we made it back to the car by dark - not bad!

We had a later start the next day and were joined by dogs!

and we ultimately skied the centerline on that peak . . . bummer was that the snow never softened - pretty brutal skiing!!

After our Ruta 7 ski days, we headed back to Barreal where we hoped to swoop in, pick up our gear, and head to San Juan to get to know the city a bit and take a different route back to Mendoza. Argentina had a different plan, however, and we found ourselves waiting in Barreal all day, unsure of whether the mules would come due to a freak storm that had brought snow level almost down to town. It had that eerie feeling of waiting for a plane in AK, and the potential to seriously derail phase 2 of both of our trips . . . but all's well that ends well and at the very last minute (8pm on the night before I had to fly the next morning at 6am out of Mendoza!), the gear showed up. Phew!

With that, Graham was off to Chile to meet a friend and continue skiing, and I was off to Buenos Aires. A day of shopping, eating gourmet food, and seeing good friends, and I was off to Miami . . . thankful for a safe journey through Argentina.

Me and Patricio, a great friend from my 2009 trip . . .

Some Talkeetnas bliss with Sherrie

2011-11-20T23:37:00.000-09:00

Well, after spending so much time in the rain last summer with Sherrie in the Talkeetnas, we got our redemption this year . . . although it was a quick overnighter of the Bomber traverse with a return via the Snowbird Hut, it was so wonderful to be out, and so wonderful to spend a long day walking with one of my favorite people in the world!!!

From the Mint Trail parking lot

I just had to lay in the sun - I was exhausted from a super stressful hitch at work!! Sherrie was so kind to let me relax and enjoy the time chatting and listening to the water pass by :-)

Was this really my first time at the Mint Hut?!?!

Ummm, holy beautiful place!! I was amazed at how big and stunning this area is!!

Looking down on the hut as we ascended over Backdoor Gap

It wouldn't be the Talkeetnas without some scree :-)

Looking over at the Mint Glacier

Descending the Penniroyal Glacier

Ever a good samaritan, Sherrie recovers some old balloon trash!

Stunning on the other side as well, although doesn't look too kind to travel much further up valley

Looking down toward the Bomber Hut

At the base of the climb to the Snowbird Hut . . . starting to sprinkle, but we didn't have much to complain about after such a stunning day of sunshine!!!!

View from the Snowbird

Heading up the Snowbird Glacier in the morning

And the clouds continued to part as we walked into them, with sun illuminating us all the way home!!

Soltis wins the fashion award

We're so cute!! So great to get out with Sherrie, even if only for a night!

Alyeska headwall traverse

2011-11-20T23:11:00.000-09:00

Although I didn't get out to explore as much as I would have liked to this summer, I did have a chance to do some of my favorite classic Girdwood things, like the Alyeska headwall traverse - we did it a little early in the season (late July), which meant we had some snow-based technical tennis shoe downclimbing, but we made it through and celebrated with some 7G fancy drinks!

Bobby nearing the "extreme" section

Ummm, I'd really like to come back this winter and re-explore the lines behind me!!!

My lovely Girdwood below - I can even see my house!!! What a wonderful idyllic little valley!!

Nothing like a fancy drink and a tram ride down!

The best part was that, after the hike, I had some inspiration left over and went for a bike ride on the new resort trails . . . hike a bike to the top of chair 4, techy downhill, and then a good dinner . . . not a bad way to spend a last day before going back to work!!! This was definitely a great two weeks off!!!

Lake Clark National Park - exploration on SUP

2011-11-20T23:03:00.000-09:00

Bobby and I decided to take his plane out to Lake Clark to use our new SUPs and explore a little . . . we found some stunning country, plentiful ideas for future trips, a little adrenaline, some peace and tranquility, and had a great trip overall :-)

Cook Inlet mud flats from the air - super awesome!

Twin Lakes - we had hoped to land here, but the only cub strip we could find was not suitable for the winds we had

Idyllic Port Allsworth

SUP exploring on Lake Kontrashibuna - about 3-4 mi from town up a super nice trail, with Tanalian Falls on the way!

Idyllic sunny day SUPping!

After our lake SUP, we decided to head down Tanalian River to Lake Clark . . . some folks had told us that "the kids raft it every summer" so we figured, how bad could it be?!?

Tanalian Falls - hence the portage :-)

Nearing Lake Clark, after the "harrowing" section of Tanalian River - glad to know we made it through alive!!

Headed for the lake, calm enough to stop for pictures!

Whew! Relief :-)

Happily lake-side, adding the larger fin for flatwater efficiency

We flew over Tanalian River the next day - I think this was the roughest bit - a little intense for our 3rd time on SUP!!

Overview of Tanalian River - such a cool day!

Next stop: Telaquana Lake

We hiked a few miles upriver to SUP down Telaquana River down to the lake

Bobby, with a view toward the lake

Me headed down Telaquana River

Me on Telaquana Lake - super beautiful night - we totally nailed the weather!

Our super beautiful camp site! Was a great place for a big fire later that night :-)

View of the section of Telaquana River that we SUPped, as well as our flight path toward home - stunning area!

Tordrillo views did not suck!

Looking down on the Triumverate Glacier - badass!!!

Summer SUP adventures

2011-11-19T23:50:00.000-09:00

. . . and when I came back, it was summer. It was time to run in Prudhoe Bay, time to wear flip flops, sit on the porch with smoothies and coffee, time to ride bikes, time to sleep in with the knowledge that there is no hurry for the day is long . . .

Probably the most random and fun thing of the summer was buying inflatable SUP and trying them out on a few Alaskan rivers . . . the first was Portage Creek - near home, mellow, gorgeous day, and a good river to get my sister out on a packraft for her first time!

From there, we stepped it up to Placer River, accessed by the Alaska Railroad. We went with Rebecca, Tim, and Yuki in packrafts, and had a good time practicing with Yuki on the SUP for a bit more balance practice! The rapids up by the bridge were pretty fun, and we had yet another great day!!!

Overall, a fun few days of exploring with a new toy!!!

And now, a little poetry . . .

2011-11-19T20:56:00.000-09:00

Ode to the Present

by Pablo Neruda

This
present moment,
smooth
as a wooden slab,
this
immaculate hour,
this day
pure
as a new cup
from the past--
no spider web
exists--
with our fingers,
we caress
the present;
we cut it
according to our magnitude
we guide
the unfolding of its blossoms.
It is living,
alive--
it contains
nothing
from the unrepairable past,
from the lost past,
it is our
infant,
growing at
this very moment, adorned with
sand, eating from
our hands.

Grab it.
Don't let it slip away.
Don't lose it in dreams
or words.
Clutch it.
Tie it,
and order it
to obey you.
Make it a road,
a bell,
a machine,
a kiss, a book,
a caress.

Take a saw to its delicious
wooden
perfume.

And make a chair;
braid its
back;
test it.

Or then, build
a staircase!
Yes, a
staircase.
Climb
into
the present,
step
by step,
press your feet
onto the resinous wood
of this moment,
going up,
going up,
not very high,
just so
you repair
the leaky roof.
Don't go all the way to heaven.
Reach
for apples,
not the clouds.
Let them
fluff through the sky,
skimming passage,
into the past.

You
are
your present,
your own apple.
Pick it from
your tree.
Raise it
in your hand.
It's gleaming,
rich with stars.
Claim it.
Take a luxurious bite
out of the present,
and whistle along the road
of your destiny.

Hawaii on a whim . . .

2011-11-12T20:30:00.001-09:00

So, I came home from work at the end of May, intending to go meet Paul Forward and friends in the Tordrillos for 2 weeks for yet another ski adventure. But, as things turned out, the weather and conditions were less than inspiring and the boys ended up coming out of the mountains early. After skiing a few things in Eagle River, realizing that ski season at home was slipping away (not to mention a less-than-inspirational weather forecast!), and having no real reason to stick around, I decided to use some airline miles and change things up . . . I needed to get away from even wanting to ski and Hawaii seemed like just enough of a change to do the trick! Plus, I have wanted to learn to kiteboard for awhile and this seemed like the perfect chance!

So, off I went - I have barely any pics cuz I was taking kite lessons and practicing pretty much everyday, sneaking in road bike rides before and after to explore some of the incredible road riding in Maui - it was so great to be on the bike!!!

On the road to Hana - this was an amazing ride!!!

Also on the road to Hana

Again on the road to Hana

On the ride-around-the-west-side loop . . . stunning scenery once I got off the highway!

Completely worked, but loving it! I had stopped kiting cuz the wind was too strong, so laughed at myself for the whole ride that I went on a road ride instead . . . holy headwind!!! Oh well, I guess I earned it :-)

West shore

Yeah, I didn't necessarily have any leftover light by the end of that ride . . .

The last morning, Andrew took me surfing - I am not a surfer, but it was such a lovely note to leave on!!!

Things I learned in Hawaii:

I love road biking, but am thankful to live in a place without good roads, and that I can get my "fix" in a week of it!
That I am not a city girl - I was so thankful to stay in the jungle in Haiku and to spend my time on the North Shore - a drive to Kihea and a ride to Lahaina was enough for me! Give me country roads and coffee shops anyday!
I got confirmation that I can turn even Hawaii into a place wrought with physical challenge, exhaustion, and challenge . . . and avoid having even one mai tai except for the free one on the flight in :-)
That we never lose our essential self, although we may lose connection to it . . . it was riding hard into a headwind on the shore of west maui (the same wind that was too strong to kite in, so what did I do? Go get on by bike and ride straight into it for a lot of miles). In that experience I found the me I love . . . the one that decides it's a good thing that it's so windy cuz that means I really earned every mile of my ride, and [barring torrential downpour] did it in the most difficult conditions, which somehow makes me happy . . .
That I dearly love my friends and family, but sometimes life starts to feel complicated with big decisions, conversations about life, and working through stuff together . . . it's felt really good to pretty much just talk about how to kite, enjoy random conversations in yoga studios and stores, and light conversations with Andrew . . . but no talk of work, relationships, rental properties (except where absolutely necessary), or anything else serious . . . maybe I can keep this appreciation and keep it simpler going forward . . . :-)
And I didn't let myself think about work, really . . . a few times here and there on a hill climb or other times it's more natural to feel frustration, but then I shut 'er down . . . really needed to get away from all that - it's amazing what it takes out of me.
That by focusing on restoring my right leg and letting it relax, I can engage my left in ways I haven't been able to since my surgery 6 years ago . . . thanks Cheryll for the insight into that one!
That part of losing connection to my essential self (see #4) was losing the ability to let things flow . . . not having plans here, going with the wind and flowing on the windy roads has put me back in a place of being much less driven and worried about having it all planned out . . . although that's necessary in some situations, I think I had become over-focused on planning, setting goals, etc. . . . funny how the trips I planned fell through and the unplanned ones were the best days . . .

Wrangells on a whim . . .

2011-11-12T19:35:00.000-09:00

It's always funny how trips come about . . . I really wasn't planning a Wrangells trip, but I ran into Lance Breeding at the base of Peak 3 and we talked about both having time off, and then I got a call a few days later with an invite to leave in less than 24 hours to meet his friend Kevin for a quick trip. Since I already had ski plans, I figured it was best to meditate over it on the skin track (to ski a super cool couloir in Ram Valley, I might add!) and go from there. I had a bunch to take care of before I could leave as well, so I eventually decided not to rush anything and to do as much as I could, going if I could fit it all in. I think it was about 11pm by the time I got home and I had to meet Lance at 4am in Anchorage, but somehow I managed to pack and drive back to town, even with about 2 hours in my bed :-) He was kind enough to do the driving to Chitina where Paul Claus picked us up and took us to the Ultima Thule lodge, where we met up with Lance's friend Kevin and flew in. Kevin had recently completed a new alpine route on University Peak and was looking to spend some time in the mountains enjoying before a summer of work at Ultima Thule.

So, off we went . . . Paul pretty much followed the weather, and of course knows the area better than anyone, so we ended up in a pretty sweet ski area in the Granite Range. These pictures didn't load in order, and I lack the fortitude to re-organize, so enjoy the smattering of images from a wonderful mountain getaway :-) Ski on!!!

This was ultimately our last day - we had wanted to ski that couloir, but we got up part of the base of it and were greeted with nasty windslab, so bailed :-)

Me putting on skins in camp - the views did not suck!!

The famed turbine otter, on our arrival day . . .

Lance on the way up right outside of camp

This was a super sweet N face that was ultimately our best ski run of the trip . . . I ended up skiing pretty much 360 degrees of this peak throughout the trip . . . pretty sweet!!

Kevin in our megamid kitchen! Luxury camping :-) Lance had gone pretty all-out on food too, so we were not suffering!!!

Not all days were sunny days . . . but couloirs aren't bad in low vis either!

Those lines right outside camp were sweet . . . super steep near the bottom :-)

This was a great south facing run Kevin and I ended up skiing - super satisfying!!

Me on the top of our first run of the trip . . .

The one scary part of this trip was that cornice breaking below my feet and sending a large chunk off the other side - welcome to the mountains . . .

Our final run - we actually had a miscommunication and Paul came earlier than we expected, so we were halfway up this face when he arrived . . . free trip back to camp, and ended up being good luck that we got out that day, as the actual pickup day was gray and likely not-flyable . . .

Spring ski flying: Talkeetnas, AK range, Mt. Susitna

2011-06-04T21:09:00.006-08:00

March in Alaska is always a fun time of year, especially with planes to explore :-)

First, we went to the Talkeetnas for an afternoon . . .

Then we headed out to Backside Lake on the lower Ruth Glacier after exploring the Ruth Amphitheater with planes . . .

Nellie and Matt

Bobby and his plane :-)

And a few days later, we headed out to Mt. Susitna for an evening mission :-) It was a bit longer mission than we planned on, but super great to be out there and super fun to ski on a mountain we look at all the time from Anchorage!

The United Nations of Shred - back to Kosovo

2011-03-16T21:54:00.004-08:00

And so it was that we left our idyllic valley of Valbona, briefly visiting the nearby town of Bajram Curry for a bit more culture before crossing the border into Kosovo to the ski town of Brezovica. Kosovo, comprised of 90% ethnic Albanians, had been a province of Serbia within the Republic of Yugoslavia, but with the help of the 1999 NATO bombings, gained independence from the Serbian government which had undertaken a campaign of ethnic cleansing to eradicate the Albanian identity. Today, Kosovo is bordered by Serbia, Albania, Montenegro, and Macedonia and its recent history of violence and nation-building accounts for the strong United Nations and European Union presence throughout the country. With Pristina, Kosovo being the best airport access to Valbona, we had actually spent the first night of our trip in Brezovica, incidentally arriving on their 3^rd anniversary of independence. We joined the somewhat surreal celebration in an Albanian bar, enjoying the night with people who had actually been a part of their nation’s fight for independence. With entertainment provided by a gypsy band, the excitement/enthusiasm was tangible despite the quaintness in the ski town bar and the relatively small Albanian representation in town.

The ski resort in Brezovica was built as a backup for the 1984 Sarajevo Olympics, the Yugoslav government desiring to assure the games could go on if Bosnia had a low snow year. Although 3 lifts were constructed and remain in place, only one has ever operated. Communist Yugoslavia under Tito, as described by the locals in Brezovica, was much “looser” than the austere and severely restricted image most in the west have. As such, Brezovica thrived as an international ski destination for the region, welcoming many from throughout Yugoslavia and foreign nations. Since the eruption of violence in the region, culminating in war in Kosovo, the ski area has suffered substantially, including multiple years of being closed, as well as one year without power when the locals continued to hike for their turns. Brezovica itself, as well as the town which supports it at the base of the mountain, have traditionally been Serbian villages, with Albanian influx only in recent years, due in large part to the fact that Albanians in Kosovo can’t get a passport since they are not formally recognized by the UN Security council as an independent nation. As such, the only ski options are obtaining a passport on the black market, or skiing within the country. As a result, Brezovica today consists of a mix of Albanians and Serbians who interact constructively, due in large part to their shared mountain passion as well as economic interdependence. I had the chance to talk to a local Serbian restaurant owner and snowboarder who confirmed his friendships with the Albanians in town, but who expressed frustration at the treatment of Serbs in Kosovo and his strong feelings against Kosovo’s independence. While once an international destination, travelers to Brezovica from outside Kosovo are rare today, with many Serbs being nervous of the treatment they may receive travelling across Kosovo to get there, and other international travelers still considering the region war torn and unfit for holiday. With that said, however, growth is returning to the region with multi-ethnic youth camps being held to build relationships amongst Serbian and Albanian children, and growth of a freestyle scene complete with competitions and construction of terrain parks.

Our first morning skiing in Brezovica, it was actually unclear whether the lifts would operate. It was a Monday and skiers were pretty sparse, so we spent about an hour having coffees on the deck until about 11am when someone showed up and the lift started turning. After a week of earning our access out of the lowlands in Valbona, we were thrilled to be carried 2000’ up to the alpine on a chairlift. Most of the group investigated the sidecountry and terrain under the mothballed lifts, while Lea, Lorenzo, and I took off to explore outside the ski area. Venturing along the most obvious ridgeline to the top of a line we could see from the valley, we were pleasantly surprised to find an alpine playground unfold before us on the other side. Lea and I, who have explored extensively in the Andes, couldn’t help but feel like we were in a mini-Las Lenas Argentina. With a lovely face covered in sparkly snow below us, we all chose wonderfully aesthetic technical lines to descend and were all smiles at the bottom as we set the skin track to do a few more laps, increasing the creativity of our lines as we better learned the terrain and snowpack. Eventually, we skied the original line we’d scoped as a means to return to the hotel, skiing the creek bed all the way to the road which accesses the town. The terrain we discovered was so unexpectedly wonderful, we headed back out the next day to explore further along the ridge and ski a more distant peak we’d seen the first day. Yet again, we were overwhelmed by the aesthetic and efficient ridge travel, the steep and interesting lines, and the limitless options for future ski exploration. Alas, the weather rolled back in and our trip came to an end before we could explore further, but skiing the sidecountry of Brezovica was a perfect end to an overwhelmingly unique trip.

The United Nations of Shred - Valbona first days

2011-03-16T21:53:00.024-08:00

In 1992, the Albanian Communist Party led by Enver Hoxha collapsed as the iron curtain was falling across Eastern Europe. Albanian, located in the southeastern Europe north of Greece and across the Adriatic sea from Italy had been a closed society under the communist influence, with outside news available only with subversive techniques like using antennas at night to pirate Italian tv signals. Fast –forward 19 years: The Lonely Planet has named Albania #1 on the top-ten places to visit in 2011, due in large part to the intersection of culture and natural beauty, coupled with the insanely hospitable Albanian culture and reasonable travel costs.

Although substantially more modernized and connected, much of Albania today still remains detached from mainstream commercial centers, most notably (especially for skiers) the Albanian Alps in the NE corner of the country. This area, bordered by Kosovo and Montenegro is home to the roughest terrain and the highest peaks in the region. These highlands, considered “unconquerable” to past invaders due to poor access and difficult travel, was often left alone, the Ottomans and others figuring that controlling the cities below would suffice. Between the fall of communism and the construction of the road to connect the major cities of Tirana (the Albanian capital) and Pristina (the capital of Kosovo) less than 5 years ago, the area was essentially lawless, subject to vigilante justice due to isolation from any government officials. In the outskirts of this isolated region lies the Valbona Valley, a dramatic landscape of steep mountainous walls along an idyllic valley and a culture that, although undergoing modernization, has a sense of being stuck 100 years back in time.

The mountains surrounding this remote village in the Albanian Alps had yet to be thoroughly explored on skis and was the reason that our international group had come to the region. Self-named the United Nations of Shred, we were ultimately a group of 12 skiers representing Albania, France, Switzerland, Germany, the UK, and the USA. This trip was the brainchild of photographer Benoit Vollmer, a French skier with a knack for culturally adventurous ski trips, and Gent Mati, a passionate Albanian skier who owns and guides for an adventure tourism company called Outdoor Albania. Summertime sees the valley full of tourists exploring the heritage trails amongst the Shepards that return every summer to raise their animals, but winter has little to offer economically-speaking, which accounts for an exodus of the valley’s residents in Valbona and other similar villages to find better opportunities in commercial centers. In order to sustain the local economy with sustainable tourism throughout the winter, Gent and Outdoor Albania are seeking to develop a base for the world class ski mountaineering Valbona has to offer, offering a truly unique adventure while simultaneously supporting the preservation of Valbona’s mountain culture.

And so it was that I find myself landing in Pristina, Kosovo, the nearest major city to Valbona. We arrived in Valbona travel-weary after dark to a very comfortable lodge – nice rooms with hot showers and one main dining room with espresso and a bar . . . perfect for our program. We awoke the next morning to partly sunny skies illuminating a valley so dramatic it was overwhelming to consider from the standpoint of a skier. Not having much context for “what went,” info the best access into the upper elevations, or any other beta from previous ski missions, we headed up-valley to where our maps, relics of the Yugoslav army, indicated there was a trail leading through the densely forested lower elevations. Although no such trail ever appeared, we were able to navigate the forest into an open bowl, which transitioned to the upper alpine region we had drooled over from below just a few hours before - truly the stuff ski mountaineering dreams are made of! From this vantage point, we could also scope the valley better – about 10 miles long and with about 5000’ of relief on all sides, the upper elevations held plenty of classic ski mountaineering lines, but most were insanely exposed over cliffed out sections for much of the interesting ski terrain, with the most obvious access routes including the use of large avalanche paths . . . hmmm, this could be an interesting week! But, as it was, we were perched for great skiing so those concerns would be for another day. The group split up and a small group of us headed up toward an enticing couloir. Only the apron was visible from below, but the hidden line continued to unfold in front of us as we climbed, finally topping out at a rock band above a truly classic alpine gem. The exposure was intense, as were the first few steep turns. Although we’d dug a pit and assessed conditions on the way up, we were still in truly wild and rugged unskied terrain, a couple thousand feet above a primitive village which is 5 hours drive away from the most realistic hope at modern medicine. In other words, this was definitely a place to play it on the safe side and maintain elevated caution. But, this remoteness also gave our run the added buzz that comes from exploring in such a raw area, a true feeling of aliveness. I dropped in first and nervously executed my jump turns out of the steep cruxy top of the couloir, followed soon after by my friend Adam U, a ski buddy from my Mt. Baker past, as we leap frogged down the couloir and out the rocky exit. The others followed and then headed to check out a pencil-thin couloir, while I headed up to nearby col to see what I could see. Fascinated by “looking over the other side” as a way of life I was excited to get the lay of the land for our remaining time here. Happily, the col unveiled a lifetime of ski opportunities, including a very doable approach to the largest peak in the area. As I re-joined the group, we were all jazzed to return to this area and set up base camp, exploring and shredding every corner we could see.

Alas, Valbona had different plans and the next day dawned cloudy with a big storm forecast to move in, sending us off in search of some tree skiing. Although logging is now outlawed in the Valbona valley in an effort to preserve its resources, a recent past of timber sales offered us the convenience of logging roads as a means to get out of the lowlands. We found our way up one such road to a dramatic col, dropping off the other side into perfectly gladed tree skiing before the forest closed out into a low-snow obstacle course of downed trees, rocks, moss, and just enough snow to survive our way back down to the road. With laughs at the absurdity of it all, we popped out amongst the sheep and farmhouses of Valbona, thankful for another safe day of ski exploring.

The United Nations of Shred - Valbona storm days

2011-03-16T21:53:00.023-08:00

As the storm rolled in and we waited for snow to accumulate on the melt-freeze surface we arrived to, we explored local culture instead, including a local school which had been destroyed in flood but was reasonably intact with a lesson on the blackboard and a huge map of Albania left in a room full of desks. On this day, our group also grew to include Lea and Lorenzo, a German couple living in Austria and the two with whom I would partner for most of the rest of my trip. Now that we were a group of 12, backcountry travelling en-masse didn’t seem like such a great idea!

As the snow continued to fall, we remained hungry for adventure and a small group of us took off for the village of Qukui. About an hour’s hike out of Valbona (from which the children literally do walk an hour through the snow to get to school!), we had heard the village was super quaint and interesting and that there was a high potential of good tree skiing to be found. So, we took off from our lodge and developed skills in the sport of fence-hopping as we made our way across farms and over to the access road to Qukui. Eventually we arrived in a small valley with two farmhouses and made our way over toward the one where people milled about outside. We were welcomed by an amazing family who invited us in. We spent the next 2 hours chatting in international hand signs; our combo of English, German, French, and Spanish was no substitute for Albanian, but we muddled our way through sharing the basics of our origins, ages, and the other basic life info while enjoying Turkish coffees with bread and cheese, overwhelmed by the family’s hospitality. Eventually it was time to ski, so off we went, with a surprise greeting outside by the two boys on their own skis, quite literally shaped pieces of wood with little rubber stirrups to put their shoes through. Off we went up the backyard hill. We walked with ease on our modern gear as the two boys, 13 year old Fatlium and 9 year old Florian, struggled as they used built-up snow on the base of their skis for traction – actually finding some value in the iced-up bases we seek to avoid. When it was time to descend, they used their wood poles to beat the snow off and then poled their way back to the house . . . super cute and definitely a cultural moment that was a highlight for us! Meanwhile, back in the ski exploration, we were able to find an open slope just across the valley and enjoyed a wonderful powder run in the perfectly-spaced trees, ending our day with smiles ear to ear from the experience we’d had.

As the storm raged on, we traded locale’s the next day by exploring where the rest of our group had gone the day before – another logging road across the valley from our hotel that led to more perfect tree skiing . . . we returned here multiple times throughout the week, ultimately finding perfect blower pow as the storm continued. As an Alaskan deprived of good tree skiing exploring with Lea and Lorenzo who ski the Alps and are oftentimes deprived of super deep powder skiing, we all fell in love with this zone. The perfectly spaced trees at the base of dramatic rock walls looming above created the perfect backdrop for face shots in deep powder – storm skiing doesn’t get much better!

On our final full day in Valbona, Lea, Lorenzo, and I decided to return to Qukui for another dose of culture and the hopes of new and different tree skiing to explore. We decided to start from “downtown” Valbona and left the car at the local bar, a one-room gathering spot for the men in town to watch TV, smoke, drink coffee, and enjoy some Raki, the local alcohol. Having made friends with Izzy the bartender, we were sent off with smiles and a hug for our day of adventuring, with promises to watch the car in our absence. Back across the farmland, and up the road, our goal was to bypass social obligations of the farmhouse so as to focus on skiing, stopping there on our return for a quick hello at the end of the day. The boys would have it otherwise, however, and at the first sight of us they ran inside and geared up for skiing, waiving us over to their house such that they could join us. Suffice it to say, it was awesome. This time, they came much further and were a joy to tour with, again working double what we were, but continually concerned for our fatigue, smiles ear-to-ear as they led us up the road. When we got to a fork and decided to go left toward the upper valley, it was clear we were leaving their approved areas, and they quickly went into descent mode and headed home. We continued to venture on, running into their father out hunting with the dogs about 10 minutes later. He showed us his Russian shotgun and described the local area (again in international hand signs), pointing out the col that forms the border with Montenegro and providing our inspiration for the day – living in a huge country, the idea of skiing across an international border was too enticing to pass up! So, off we went through the thick lower forest, eventually arriving in the alpine and navigating funky conditions in the upper bowl to arrive at the super windy border col. Lea and Lorenzo, living in the Alps and skiing across borders for coffee, were not quite as thrilled with this event as I was, and did not find it necessary to battle the conditions to the other side but were kind enough to indulge me in my little international adventure. The vistas were amazing as another lifetime of terrain peaked out of the clouds below and our conversations were around how this place could really use a hut system so that a skier could legitimately access the overwhelming amount of terrain. Our run down was everything you’d hope for in an alpine descent – weird snow in the exposed upper bowl, transitioning to nice pow in the trees as we managed to find a more open route to descend and were greeted again with spunky tree skiing with plenty of features to hop off of and fun tree lines to enjoy!

We couldn’t resist visiting our new friends in the farmhouse and were once again warmly greeted, this time with mountain tea made from herbs gathered in the local area during the summer. We left them with what disposable items we had (like ski wax!) as a thank-you and then headed back to the bar and our car. We were warmly greeted back at the bar by Izzy and our new friends and once again offered mountain tea as a group of about 10 guys inspected my ski boots with awe and we had yet another hilarious cultural exchange.

Forever interested in culture, Lea and I decided to finish off our day by going down valley to meet Catherine, a New Yorker who’d come to Valbona on vacation and fallen in love with Alfred Selimaj. She returned shortly thereafter to the USA to sell everything and move permanently to Albania, now running Hotel Rilinja with Alfred and administering a UN grant they’ve received to develop sustainable tourism in Valbona, again in support of preserving traditional lifestlyes. We ended up chatting for about 4 hours about Albanian history, our own life experiences, and the impact that one’s culture has on their path. Between Lea, growing up in Germany where national pride in the post-Nazi era was awkward at best; Alfred, whose family were the first to receive a land grant from the Ottoman Empire in the Valbona valley over 400 years ago; and Katherine/me with an American culture that focuses more on freedom and limitless future than on staying rooted to a familial past our conversation was truly fascinating. Alfred and Catherine also shared perspective that much of the warmth we’d experienced from the locals comes from a deep love of culture and country which manifests itself as a deep appreciation for those who come to experience it, coupled with gratitude for the nations which have helped preserve it.. Today, Albania is statistsically 70-80% Muslim, but religion is not a huge part of Albanian culture – the number one belief in Albania is simply being Albanian. Ottomans, although Muslim, did not undertake a big conversion campaign, rather charging Christians higher taxes, thus benefitting one way or another. Christians were able to hold government postions and rank in society, so there was no real drive to convert, although some did. Religion was officially outlawed in 1967 under the communist government, allowed to be openly observed in the early 90’s with the onset of democracy. So, today weddings may or may not happen in a church, religion may or may not guide family life, but their Albanian identity unites ethnic Albanians from the countries they inhabit (more than half live in Albania and Kosovo with substantial populations in neighboring Montenegro, Macedonia, and Greece). “Being Albanian" defines their culture more than any other belief or value set. We also learned random facts about Valbona: the stream is home to a species of trout not found anywhere else, the town used to be in a different location but was completely destroyed by floods and relocated, until a few months ago the only cell phone service was in one spot in a tree and all the townspeople hung their phones their and stood under the tree to hold a conversation.

I always have a hard time leaving incredible places, especially when I haven’t had a chance to explore them thoroughly and experience them in good weather. So, on our last morning I decided to head out on a solo mission to make peace with leaving the people and the mountains I had begun to fall in love with. I left at 7am before anyone at the hotel was awake and the valley was quiet, opting for the nearby trees we’d been skiing all week due to the foggy/cloudy skies. Across the valley and onto the skin track I went, where our trail had been imprinted with tracks from some of the 400 wolves estimated to live in the valley. As I ascended through the forest, quietly appreciating the summer shepards cabins and the poetic trees, I climbed out of the fog and into bright sunshine I hadn’t seen for a week. Across a meadow below a dramatic rock buttress I ascended to our highest skin track. With plenty of time, sunny skies, and a mellow path above, I decided to keep climbing until I had a compelling reason to turn around. My journey took me up to a bench where I imagine a beautiful alpine lake forms in the summertime, and then around a small knob into a dramatic bowl with high cliff walls that made me feel insignificant amongst the grandeur of the amphitheater I was in. I continued up through a little couloir and a short steep bootpack through one final slope to the col I’d had my eyes on for awhile. From a mini-mountain between two giant peaks, I was able to see over the other side at another lifetime of world-class ski mountaineering. From my perch, I saw signs of natural slab avalanches from the recent storm, wind-affected slopes, and enough exposure to make any skier a little dizzy in contemplating the realities of exploring the terrain. To the west, I was able to see that there was a route that went up a peak that seemed to close out from below, and to the east, a sneaker route emerged to the top of the peak that looked unskiable from the hotel. I began to realize the access was actually much better than it had appeared from the valley below, and to appreciate the perspective I’d gained in our week of exploration. Taking in the grandeur, infinite possibility, and extreme object hazard included in exploring these peaks (I really don’t think I’ve ever seen so much secondary exposure in any other ski terrain I’ve explored!), I was able to make peace with leaving. All I had to do was make it safely down my route, and then could depart with the satisfaction of our group of 12 safely exploring and skiing in a place that had previously seen minimal ski activity, an accomplishment in and of itself given the conditions and remoteness. I told myself I’d organize another trip, now having as much expertise as any other skier, acknowledging that the first trip to any new area is always one of reconnaissance, and that I’d for sure be back. And with that thought, I ripped my skins, took one more glace around the astounding panorama in front of me, and dropped into my run. A few fun turns in the upper bowl, transitioning to steep jump turns in the mini-couloir, a traverse across the dramatic amphitheatre, to some utterly delicious powder turns all the way to tree line. There is something so surreal and wonderful about solo backcountry skiing – the consistency of skiing top-to-bottom without anyone else to watch, the quiet air pierced by the sounds made by skis disrupting the perfect snow, the feeling of aliveness that comes from knowing its all up to you. That morning was definitely perfect, and I’ll forever treasure it.

The United Nations of Shred descends on Kosovo . . .

2011-03-11T21:11:00.018-09:00

So, it's not everyday that a friend you haven't seen in years invites you on a trip with people you don't know to a country you had never considered visiting . . . but such was the case when my friend Adam U invited me to join an international crew made up of mostly French, but with 2 Germans, 2 Swiss, and an Albanian to ski in Albania and Kosovo. Since the trip met my criteria for being totally random and interesting and the only thing Adam could conclusively say was "guaranteed adventure," I decided I should probably give it a go . . .

So, on Feb 17, 2011 I found myself landing in Pristina, Kosovo on their 3rd anniversary of independence . . . wow, now there's a concept! I had studied the Balkan conflict in high school but had honestly forgotten most of what I'd learned in the interim and admittedly hadn't paid much attention to how the situation had developed since then . . .

Adam entering Kosovo

We opted to head straight to Brezovica, a ski area built as a backup for 1984 Sarajevo Olympics, and only about 1.5 hrs away from town, but first stopped in downtown to have a drink and a quick snack . . . Driving down Bill Clinton Blvd, I learned that people in Kosovo were super pro-US due to our support of the 1999 NATO bombings that ultimately turned the tide on the Serbians performing an ethnic cleansing of Albanians (Kosovo is 90% Albanina, 10% Serbian) out of the country, both by force and by forced adoption of Serbian language/religion/customs, etc. In current times, it was a little uncomfortable to be in a country that is so pro-US after spending so much time travelling lately with a sense of guilt for the role our country has played on the international scene, but I have to admit it was nice as well . . .

So, we arrived in Brezovica and headed up to the Albanian bar, where we celebrated independence with Peja beer and gypsy music . . . it was a pretty mellow, but fun evening!

Adam and I . . .

A happy ex-soldier from the Kosovo Liberation Army, as commemorated by the medal around his neck . . .

The gypsy band

The next morning saw high winds and the ski area on hold, so we decided to take off for Albania, but not until after some strolling and a nice lunch! It was nice to have a good night's sleep and a mellow day to start the trip on, thus mitigating some of the jet lag!

Total fashion envy . . .

Brezovica was historically a Serbian area, in part due to the village at the base of the mountain being Serbian, but today it's enjoyed by Serbians and Albanians and serves to many we spoke to as an example of how economic co-depedence (Serbian business owners need Kosovo's Albanians to support the ski area, especially since international travelers have not really come back, and many Serbians don't feel safe traveling in Kosovo) is the necessary integration to create a peaceful future.

An Albanian and Serb working rental huts at the base of the ski area, pointing out (in international communication signs of course) their friendship

And so, off to Albania we went for a week of ski touring in the Valbona valley . . .

2010: Early winter touring

2011-03-11T21:10:00.018-09:00

Well, a year later and I finally link to Luc's video of last year early season . . . I hope this year delivers like last year - looking forward to being home!!!

Pump 3 to Arctic Village - a Brooks Range traverse - August 2010

2011-03-11T21:09:00.008-09:00

From Prudhoe, down the haul road to Pump 3 with a trucker, and then across the Brooks Range to Arctic Village. North-to-south, including a cross of the continental divide, some rain and some sun, some tundra in full colors, some great walking and some not-so-great walking, some land and some rivers, some caribou and some sheep . . . 6 days in the Brooks Range with Rebecca :-)

Exploring Bremner Mine - August 2010

2011-03-11T21:08:00.003-09:00

Bobby and I flew out to Bremner and spent a few days lightweight backpacking in some beautiful country . . . enjoy the view!!!

Skiing Mt. Chamberlin July 2010

2010-09-29T21:48:00.013-08:00

Is it really a year later and I'm just now writing about this? I guess so, but such is life . . . I guess that means it's been a good year full of interesting things to distract me :-) The group consisted of Bobby and me in his plane and Matt Harper and Nellie Love in Matt's plane - the two had been introduced before this trip, then spent some plane and mountain time in the Brooks on the trip, which turned into a romance and now engagement . . . so yeah, a lot can happen in a year!

Suffice it to say this was one of the coolest trips of all time - we flew into Schrader Lake with Bobby's Supercub and Matt's 185, with the hopes of climbing and skiing Mt. Chamberlin. From there, we'd do a plane shuttle to take Bobby's plane to Kaktovik and then he/I would float the Hulahula to the coast and Matt/Nellie could make it back for work as they had less time off . . .

Given the remoteness of the area and the infrequency with which the Brooks Range is visited, it was super difficult to get info on the "strip" we landed at, as well as intel on the area in general. The year before, Joe Stock and Matt Hage had skied Chamberlin for its first descent (although there was a claim made after their write-up that it had in fact been skied before - who knows!), landing on the Hulahula river and hiking in from the opposite side. I think they'd wanted to land on the Shrader Lake side, but the strip was too wet for the larger plane - thankfully we had the cub to check it out with, and do shuttles from a bigger landing strip if necessary . . .

Mt. Chamberlin from the air - we went up the far looker's left

As it turned out, we were able to get both planes down with no problem - we had perfect weather too, simply stunning country!

We had a lovely evening by the lake and a nice dinner, getting up the next morning at a pretty mellow hour, knowing that with 24 hrs of daylight, we'd have whatever time we needed . . .

Hiking up, Shrader Lake below

Matt and Nellie

Gaining some elevation as we neared the glacier toe . . .

When we got to the glacier, Matt and Nellie decided this was more ski mountaineering than they were up for, and opted to descend and explore the area near camp. Bobby and I continued up to see what the peak had in store . . .

We started out with about 1000' of cramponing up bare glacier - to the right of my head is the main face - we started up the gut, but got shot down by slab avalanche conditions near the ridge, which forced us to descend and ultimately climb on the far climber's left.

So, we headed up the gut of the face, finding nice climbing conditions - the route looked super straightforward from below, but as it turned out, this mountain just did not give it up!!! Our first obstacle was a super gaping crevasse - I probed it and got air pretty much right away, so we decided to look for a better crossing. We descended to the climber's right and found a nice snowbridge, which I was able to safely get across and then place a screw to belay Bobby across. He got safely across, and then climbed above until the end of the rope, which happened to also be when he got into some nasty snow - about a 4" thick crust on facets - classic slab avalanche conditions - uggh. So, we again descended, first trying the far climber's right, but realizing that we'd be over death exposure and it wasn't worth it. So, we essentially decided to go down . . . but, as I was traversing back over to our route, I noticed a nice ice line (read: no avy danger) on the far climber's right, so traversed over to it. Amazingly, the route went, so we were upward-bound once again - hooray!!! We gained the ridge fairly quickly and then climbed up the last face, happy that the slab we'd experienced below was not present up higher. We had one scare near the summit as I found a huge crevasse right near the summit that I was definitely not expecting, but we navegated around it and topped out about 10pm.

Climbing up the gut, just before the first crevasse . . .

Me on the final steps to the summit!

I have to say that this summit was one of the most special moments of my life. Being at the highest point in the Brooks Range in the full light of 10pm, with a sea of clouds below was almost surreal. That we'd suspended doubts and safely navegated the face, working well together throughout, was super fulfilling from a relationship standpoint. That the clouds had hung in the valley and let us continue climbing was wonderful . . . truly an incredible experience.

Enjoying the summit - hooray!!!

And then it was time to ski! Of course, on a big mountain with lots of object hazard, it wasn't like we had it in the bag by any means, but it does always feel good to get to the skiing part of a ski mountaineering trip . . . the climbing part is cool and all, but . . .

All things considered, the line skied pretty well - we pretty much followed our up route, enjoying some glacier ice intermixed in some of our turns, but edgeable all the way down. We had a nasty breakable crust near the bottom of the face, but it was more annoying than dangerous, so we just suffered through it. Props to Bobby since he was a telemarker until a few months before, so he really didn't have that many days on dynafits before this trip!

Me skiing off the top - hooray!

Our line below me . . .

When we got off the face, we still had all that bare glacier to navegate . . . being a skier, and a lazy person, I had no desire to crampon back down, so suggested we keep the skis on . . . it wasn't that steep after all and it was smooth enough to navegate . . . and so we did :-) I'm not gonna lie, it wasn't all pleasant, but it did have that feeling of ridiculousness that made us roll our eyes and laugh, glad that we could do it!

Loving the glacier ice!

Bobby on the extreme lower half, our line illuminated in the background

15 hours after leaving camp, we safely arrived back to the tent, stoked on a successful climb and ski, and glad to be off our feet! The next morning, I was pretty out when Bobby woke me up abruptly . . . I thought something was wrong, but instead it was that our camp was completely surrounded by caribou!!! By some miracle, we were in the middle of the migration of the Porcupine herd of Brooks Range caribou - it was incredible!!! We got up and watched in camp as we ate breakfast, deciding afterward to head up-river a bit to perch on a rock and watch them up-valley as well. As we were joking about wanting to see some drama, a wolf appeared a few hundred yards in front of us and started hunting . . . it was insane to watch the caribou behaviour, how he chased them into sheep country (I had no idea caribou were so nimble!), and ultimately their ability to outwit the wolf - we watched for about 2 hours and the wolf was unsuccessful - seems kind of crazy in a herd that big that he couldn't get one - pretty cool to watch, and awesome to armchair quarterback the hunt from our rock perch!

Can you say caribou?!?

After about 5 hours of watching caribou pass, with no end in sight, we decided to move on with the plane shuttle . . . so the boys did some flying while Nellie and I did some hiking . . .

Grasser strip on the upper Hulahula

Nellie and me on our hike

A heck of a place to chill for the night . . . upper Hulahula

The next day, Matt and Nellie took off, and Bobby and I spent most of the day walking upriver to check out the higher elevations before starting our float out . . . just as we got in the rafts, the rains came - uggh! Thank goodness for drysuits!!!

Day 2 of the float was about the coldest I remember being - I made Bobby promise me we could go to Chena Hot Springs when we got to Fairbanks, feeling like the only way I could handle the cold is if I knew there would eventually be an end in sight!! Given all the rain, we had the river at flood stage, which made the canyon section pretty festive!!! The wave trains were super big - when Bobby went before me, he would disappear in the troughs :-) The cool thing was that it was just big waves, but no holes or other scary river features, so it was a fun section. Just after the canyon, as we reached the last mountain before the North Slope, we decided to stop and camp with the hopes that the weather would be nice enough to get a hike in the next day before we had to leave the beautiful country . . .

Before the canyon - pretty mellow floating, but the river was cranking so we made good time . . . too bad we couldn't enjoy the views though!!

Trying out new styles in the Brooks Range

The next day was clear enough to get a hike in, so up we went . . .

Looking north . . . super cool country

Floating out of the Brooks - our hike is just on the left side of the photo - thankfully the river stayed decently fast for awhile . . .

The next day, we floated all the way to Arey Island in the Arctic Ocean - after a night of rain, we had a sunny morning (hooray!) and the river was still moving pretty well for the first part of the day. As we neared the coast, the gradient lessened substantially and we had a helluva crosswind that made it necessary to paddle 100% of the time or get swept out of the main current and into a gravel bar. I did not stay a happy camper in this section, wondering why on earth I would ever voluntarily go to the north slope . . . but eventually we made it and got to the bug-free island at around 1am . . .

Bobby in camp

Off ice in the river . . . I guess this is the arctic after all!

The next morning, I woke up super sick, but was eventually able to get moving and paddle the 4 miles into Kaktovik - it was a nice flatwater paddle in no wind, right along the pack ice - pretty cool actually. We arrived to find the plane there and waiting for us, got adopted by a native man the drove us around town behind his 4-wheeler and took us to the general store, and generally enjoyed Kaktovic on the rare sunny day we had been blessed with! From there, it was a flight through Kavik camp to gas up, then to Anaktuvuk for a bathroom break, and on to Bettles for the night before flying back to Anchorage via Fairbanks . . . definitely a long flight!!!!

I guess it's really hard to capture a trip like this in a blog post, but I guess that's the beauty about things like these :-)

Talkeetnas traverse in the rain with Sherrie . . .

2010-08-09T14:55:00.005-08:00

Well, as it turned out, this summer in Alaska was not the nicest on record. But nonetheless, Sherrie and I had high hopes for some wilderness fun in the Talkeetnas . . . our goal was to do Roman Dial's "Independent Sheep" trip, so we had her friend Raphael help us with a car shuttle by dropping us off at the top of Hatcher Pass to start our walk . . .

Sherrie's trip reports are probably better than mine will be . . .

Day 1

Day 2

Day 3

Up Craigie Creek and over Dogsled Pass and over a few more passes to the upper Kashwitna River . . . all in the rain!!!

After a night in our "dry" tent, we were off again the next day, in improved weather, but still sorta dreary . . .
This particular location as we were travelling to and over Stegasaurus Pass was particularly brutal boulder navigation . . . uggh. It's sorta hard to stay in a good mood when slipperly boulders are threatening your well being at every turn, but Sherrie and I did our best :-)

We made it over and were ready for our "easy" drop to the Kashwitna. Too bad it wasn't destined to be that way . . . the upper elevations with nice travel and beautiful lakes were nice, but sooned transitioned to willows . . . and then to alders . . . uggh.

In retrospect, we should have stayed high and dropped down the fall line to the river . . . but we got sucked into the drainage too low (my fault) and found ourselves navegating super steep wet alders with cliffs, saved by things like sketchy sheep trails (that forced us to take our packs off and pass them forward to get through) . . . and eventually popped into the lowlands and on to the river. We set up camp right on the game trail cuz it was the only open area in the area . . . always feels weird (and wrong!) to camp on a game trail, but I guess you gotta do what you gotta do . . .

The next day we got on the Kashwitna River . . . the upper section was super fun and festive - class III "big" water . . . we're both moderate packrafters, so this was about the upper eschelon of what Sherrie and I like to paddle . . . it was super fun though, and cool to look back and see the gradient of the river . . .

It slowed down after those first few miles, and we had some decisions to make . . . the climb to get over to Sheep Creek was going to be 1800' uphill through wet alders to another dreary wet rainy pass that was hard to navegate, over to a class IV river that may be at flood stage . . . things were starting to feel like our original idea may not have been the best plan . . .

The only thing I really knew about the Kashwitna was that Roman's blog said that everyone he knew that had tried this trip had bailed down the Kashwitna . . . so we figured it must go, right?!? So, down we went . . .

Just before the confluence with the N Fork, the gradient started to increase, and we made the commitment to scope things before we ran them, and to take a conservative approach to the lower section. Then, we saw humans on the side of the river, so pulled over to say hi (we're super social). They turned out to be the local landowner and his friends, who told us we were stupid and that nobody had ever run the lower Kashwitna and survived. Although we thought there was a good chance it would be fine, his cautions, coupled with an offer to take us out on 4wheelers had us packing our bags and heading for the car with a bunch of drunk strangers . . .

In retrospect, this exit was likely more hazardous than the river would have been, but we made it out okay, and got safely back to the car in a few hours. The only bummer was that, as we were heading out to the highway, Sherrie's car overheated and we found ourselves spending the rest of the night waiting for a towtruck and getting towed back to Anchorage!

Overall, it was an interesting trip, to be sure. The highlight was definitely getting to spend time in the wilderness with Sherrie, which is definitely one of my all-time favorite passtimes. She's so much fun, so tough, and we have a good trip partnership . . . we've been through some challenging times but seem to make the best of them! Thanks Sherrie :-)

June 24: Alaska Mountain Wilderness Classic finish!!!

2010-08-09T14:35:00.007-08:00

Well, the next time I came home to full-on summer . . . watching my ski season melt away from afar was pretty brutal, but I guess that's life.

So, I came home to a mountain bike in the front range, and then Matt and I flew in his plane up to McKinley village so we could hike in and meet Bobby and his partners for the conclusion of the Alaska Mountain Wilderness Classic . . .

Bobby and Matt . . .

Chris Robertson and his wife . . . she took a break from studying for medical school boards to come meet him! The parking lot and official finish is in the background . . .

The winners at the finish line, signing the finisher's roster . . . only one other team finished, and it was 3 days later!!!

A happy finisher in clean clothes :-)

The flight home . . . airplane living is a good life :-)

Here's the article from the Daily Newsminer in Fairbanks

Whittier to the Bard N couloir

2010-08-09T14:25:00.006-08:00

Skiing out of Whittier and Bard Peak a few days earlier had been so wonderful that I couldn't help but go back! So, I coerced Nick Stadnicky (not a hard sell) to join me to go after a sweet N facing couloir off Bard that I've always had my eye on . . .

Again, the views out of Whittier did not suck, not even a little bit :-)

We skied another (different) sweet line off the first peak . . . line was right in the center to the looker's left of the huge cornice above the arete

And then we skied to the Shakespeare to climb the obvious coolie in the middle

Nick on Bard - hooray! He broke the sketch bootpack, which was awesome!

Umm, yeah.

Back on top of our first peak, ready for 4000' of fun!

Nick enjoying the rewards of the day

One of the best days of the spring for sure!!!

Eagle Peak May 3 - one of the best lines of the season!

2010-08-09T14:02:00.010-08:00

Every now and again, the stars align for amazing days, and May 3 was definitely one of those days . . . we assembled a crew of Kathy and Eric the Viking, Galen Johnston, Eben Sargeant, and myself to attempt Eagle Peak . . . we knew it would be a long day and wondered if the alders down low would shut us down, if the couloir would get too warm, etc. but felt like we had to give it a try, so off we went . . .

We had an 8am start from the Eagle River Nature Center and walked up the trail to Echo Bend where we crossed the river.

Eric keeping his feet dry!

Out of the alders, climbing the lower apron of the mountain

It was here that my skins started glopping - lame!!!

From there came the super long marathon bootpack up the big face/couloir, transitioning into the tiny steep couloir and onto the face near the peak . . . that's where it got steep and deep, but the snowpack was solid and gave us the confidence to venture into the new fall line and up to the peak . . .

And then we topped out - what a joyous moment!!!

The skiing was excellent! I was first off the peak, which was super steep and technical - I was really nervous about sluff taking me down the wrong fall line, but that didn't end up being a problem. The turns into the little coolie were techy, and then it was steep jump turns, with the final transition into the wide openness of the main line . . .

In this photo center, you can see the upper couloir, and a skier on the main line . . . big alpine terrain for sure!

Eagle River visible below, great skiing where we're at :-)

At the base of the technical skiing, ready to transition to alder navegating . . . but for now, joyous and celebratory!

There are some classic alder pics out there, but alas! I don't have em ., . . but it was class IV alders for sure! We followed the river out after that, re-uniting with the trail again at Campground Rapids and hiking back out to the car for a 10pm return and the conclusion of our 14 hr day!

Wow, what a great day! Truly one of the best lines I've skied in Alaska and such a classic group to ski it with - a true joy :-)

Skiing outta Whittier with the girls . . . and finally nailing Bard!

2010-08-09T13:56:00.004-08:00

Well, May rolled around and I found myself seeking skiing out of Whittier . . . it's not a place I normally ski, but conditions seemed right and the weather was certainly right, so off we went!!!

Jenna on the climb outta town . . . this area tops out for a 4000' run back to the car - awesome!!

Nancy making stylish turns off the summit of our high point . . . not sure what it's called, but it's the peak to the looker's left of Bard, across the Shakespeare Glacier . . . a super fun ski off the top!!! And the ice chunks skied like gates :-)

Jenna incoming

From there, the girls had to bail but I needed some skintrack meditation, so crossed the Shakespeare Glacier over to Bard Peak - I had gotten turned around on the peak earlier in the year and wanted to re-investigate.

I made it to the top of the west face (I guess that's not really the summit, but it was the summit that I was going for) and spent a moment of gratitude before dropping in for a super sweet line overlooking Portage Lake in perfect light and great snow! I was so joyous at being there and loved the ski!

From there, it was back across the Shakespeare, where I decided to hike back up to the plateau and enjoy the long run back to town instead of skiing to Whittier via Portage Pass . . . it was totally worth it, and then I got a ride through the tunnel and back home, no problem!

Skiing Byron Peak N face April 25th

2010-08-09T13:52:00.003-08:00

When we came back from the St. Elias range, we went to Moose's Tooth for dinner and ran into Luc and Erica . . . Erica told me that Byron was skiing well, so the next day Bobby and I headed out to check it out . . .

Me on the initial ridge climb with Portage Lake behind me

Bobby with Portage and Whittier behind him - gorgeous day!

The Byron N face that we eventually skied, with the spunky glacier route below :-)

Overall, it was a great day - the wind came up and shocked us with how wintry it still was up high, but it's such a classic line and I was super psyched to have a chance to ski it! Conditions were excellent as well . . . a little funky for the first few turns, but pretty good from there. We skied the second half down the fall line (instead of doing a high skiers left traverse) and were successful at navigating a route through the glacier . . . a spectacular day!!!

April 2009 . . . tent time in the St. Elias range

2010-08-09T13:22:00.010-08:00

In mid-April, I ventured into the St. Elias mountains with Eben Sargeant and Jorge Kozulj, transported to the Mt. Goode area by Paul Claus's turbine otter :-) We had 12 days on glacier, 8.5 of which ended up being spent in a tent - uggh! The good thing was having the chance to read Pillars of the Earth, finally, and have ample time to discuss it with Eben. The other good part was the chance to stare at Mt. St. Elias a few times, as well as the other huge peaks around us, and enjoy the grandeur of Alaska. But, I'm not gonna lie: that much time in a tent was not all that fun - I'm still a little traumatized!

High overcast was a good day to tour over toward the Bagley and scope out the neighborhood

Exploring closer to home on our sunny day was awesome too . . .

Skiing deep pow on Mt. Goode was pretty sweet . . . we had wanted to summit, but ended up choosing a ridge route that was not optimal for travel, so skied a sweet line instead . . .

This photo is the best representation of our trip:

After the first wave of storm days, it was time to venture out and see what had happened . . .

Given the high winds, it was a little difficult to assess avy conditions - most of the accumulated snow had blown away, but we didn't really trust the absence of windslabs, so took to some cornice cutting!

And then some skiing - definitely skied solid . . . in retrospect, we probably could have been more ambitious, but the reality of the remoteness and the unknown had us preferring a much more conservative approach . . .

After phase 1 of touring, we passed through camp and went to check out the terrain up-glacier - we found a bunch more eye candy and a lifetime of ski opportunities!!!

And opted to ski this lovely face . . .

And then tent-time came back . . . Kirsten Kremer taught me never to go on a camping trip without the means to draw and color - Jorge took advantage :-)

When we got another brief clearing, we took full advantage of the afternoon (which lasts until about 10pm in Alaska in May!)

The wall of clouds hung over St. Elias . . . and the Bagley is quite a large icefield :-) Paul told us the ice is 10,000 ft deep in that zone!

Eben and I got into some high country and got to scope a few more amazing lines . . .

. . . as well as enjoy a few more amazing views

Looking toward camp . . .

Looking toward the Wrangells

Oh yeah: we're on a skiing trip! Eben enjoying the turns we got :-)

and then enjoying the nice walk home

The day we left, like the day we arrived, was bluebird . . . but this one was an easy trip to leave from . . . staying positive and psyched with that much tent time was somewhat challenging, especially cuz I had lots going on in my personal life at home . . . I have to admit I was super glad to see Paul show up :-)

Another gorgeous flight out of the mountains . . .

We actually spent a few hours at Paul's lodge - a nice transition back to reality :-)

Overall, it was great to be in a new zone, and to ski some new stuff . . . I'd like to get back in that area at some point, but maybe with kites on a more travel-oriented trip . . . I'm pretty sure bad weather is the norm out there!!!

We interrupt ski adventures to bring you . . . work travels

2010-08-09T13:20:00.003-08:00

So, one time my old boss Joe Lammers pointed out that I have a linear mind. My first reaction was to dispute this assertion, feeling resolutely like I am not like all those other engineers - I'm free thinking and free spirited . . . anything but linear! But, it turns out that I do in fact like systems and order, data and facts - and I do process things in a linear manner a lot of the time.

So, with that in mind, I find myself a year behind on my blog, and unable to bypass the last year before I move on to exciting upcoming trips that I'd like to share, as well as some great experiences over the last year. So, I'm gonna do the reader's digest version of the rest of 2010 - enjoy!!!

--------------------------------

April was a cool chance to do something new work-wise, both in the chance to attend fire training in Elko, NV and to work on a cool project to replace some compressors in Prudhoe Bay (which involved a few trips to Arcadia, CA!).

Fighting fire in Elko

Jeremy, me, and Jeremy :-)

The fringe benefit of work in Arcadia was the chance to catch up with some friends from college for dinner in LA . . . super fun to see Lindsay, Julie, and Jen . . . so much has changed, but so much felt the same as well - thanks ladies!

March Madness . . . the month of making attempts :-)

2010-08-09T11:48:00.005-08:00

Although March is often the best skiing in southcentral, this year in the local mountains we had some funky conditions that didn't make it the slayfest it can be . . . buried surface hoar is not our friend!

Bobby and I were hoping to ski the N couloir on TT43 . . . on the way up the NE face, we saw this gully and talked about not wanting to skin across it . . . but right on the edge, we were on shallow enough snow to affect the buried surface hoar responsible for the Cornbuscuit slide a few days before . . .

It broke just under Bobby's foot . . . I was a few steps ahead . . . we were both out of the way of danger, but it was a big slide with big propagation nonetheless . . .

. . . with big debris that went almost to the trees . . .

A little snow science . . . yep, buried surface hoar.

So, we took some time to enjoy the sun and chill out for a bit

and then decided to get on the rocks and head toward the summit - different angle, deeper snowpack . . .

We looked down the N couloir, but decided today wasn't the day, especially since it would be best completed with a descent down the east face that may have similar buried surface hoar . . .

Summit happy couple photo :-)

I managed to break off a huge cornice before skiing the W face, so we had a decent stability test before dropping in . . . the skiing was excellent!

And we finished the day with a view of our slide . . . yikes!

The next day dawned sunny again, so we decided to head to Portage to make an attempt on Bard . . . I've had my eye on it for awhile!

We got partway up the face above my head when we dug a pit and found some pretty unsettling layers and an unfavorable compression test . . . so down we went . . .

Me enjoying a brief moment in the sun before skiing the fun apron turns, crossing the Shakespeare Glacier, skiing to Whittier, and hitchhiking through the tunnel - a much better return than slogging across the lake!!!

A few days later, we headed out with Chris Page and Ben Ward for an attempt on Captain's Chair . . . again, I stress attempt!

Beautiful views on the skin up - eye candy!!

Gaining the ridge . . .

Me on the spicey trail break!

We decided the ridge had too much rotten snow, and there was a natural crown on a similar aspect to the one we wanted to ski, so we opted out early . . . deciding to break the cornice over one of the N shots before we skied it . . .

Cornice break was successful, then time for fun skiing! Our line is just below the high point on the ridge . . . we may not have gotten the line, but we got a damn nice one anyhow!!!

February 2010 . . . CA creek and more

2010-08-06T09:12:00.007-08:00

Well, there are always those days you'll remember for a long time . . . they're fun, inspiring, exhausting, and memorable for the beauty as much for the challenge. Our exploration up into the Raggedtop valley and down California Creek was definitely one of those days. 14 hours, start to finish, we had intended to go back and ski Fish's Breath, but were inspired by what we found along the way, and decided to stay and explore instead of heading back to the windhammered objective of earlier . . .

Me and Chris Page . . . the boys undertaking some cornice-cutting extravaganza to "safe-out" our run

Kris Abel on the other end . . . first time skiing with Kris, and I'm not sure he knew what he was getting himself into! Great sport though, and fun to have new folks along for the exploring!

Me coming up the skin track we lapped, with the dog that followed us all day . . . I bet that dog was regretting that choice!!!

I guess the scenery was okay . . . if you're into that sort of thing! Me lovin' it!

Galen, Kris, and Bobby scoping their lines . . . this was also my first time skiing with Galen - we went on to have multiple memorable ski days this spring!

Galen surfing the big skis!

Kris showing us how it's done, with style!

Stairway/pathway to heaven . . . still skiing, despite the fact that the day is clearly waning . . . too beautiful and amazing to leave!!!

I think this is Kris again, although it could be Galen . . .

On the last descent into CA creek - me and Kris - if only we knew what we were in for!

From there, it was alder-bashing, skin-failing, creek-navegating in the darkness on legs that had been climbing and skiing all day . . . perhaps not the most graceful end to a ski day I've ever had, but all's well that ends well and it was a truly remarkable and memorable day overall . . . I am so amazed sometimes by how much insanely cool skiing exists in the Girdwood valley and how a lot of it really isn't that far away . . . I learned some lessons about skiing in this area though, and am super psyched to go back and explore more this season . . . yeah skiing!!!!

Milk Glacier to Goat Couloir

2010-08-06T08:28:00.008-08:00

The day started like most ski days do. A phone call around 8:30 to finalize meeting times, ski partners, and the objective for the day. Only this time, mention of the group’s desired ski goal made me nauseas: Raven Peak. It’s a big mountain in the upper Girdwood Valley at the head of the Raven Glacier, but more importantly it’s the location of a major avalanche I was involved in almost two years ago . . . although I feel healed from that experience and have gone on to reintroduce skiing and climbing in exposure, I hadn’t really considered the potential of going back for my redemption. But, at the same time, it was the last day of a super high pressure stability window and there was no reason not to go. When we got to the trailhead, Zach realized he had forgotten his skins, so we drove back to Girdwood to borrow a pair from Aaron. On our way, we laughed at backcountry skiing in Alaska, where we seem to always be walking a fine line between backcountry skiing and ski mountaineering . . . I am not even sure that, at this point, I know what the difference is.

So, we remedied the skin debacle and were on our way back up, ready to get cranktastic in an effort to catch the other three who had gone ahead to break the trail and travel at a more relaxed and enjoyable pace. I struggled a bit on the initial skin in, as I was on my backup skis having broken my binding the day before on my Bro Models. I was also a bit agitated, probably due to the underlying uneasiness over where we were going, and the chance to meet my fear head-on. As we traveled onto and then up the Milk Glacier, we got a view of the ramp we’d intended to ski, a super aesthetic line with sustained 40-45 degree slopes. However, we could also see that it was pretty wind-affected and made me immediately want nothing to do with it . . . no need to get owned by windslab twice in the same area . . . thankfully, the boys ahead had the same realization and had headed over to a nearby face that had been wind buffed instead of wind hammered and looked quite appetizing. We all met up at the base of the bootpack and Erik took off ahead, creating a lovely stairway to heaven. We topped out in one of the most beautiful places I’ve been, with the expanse of the Eagle Glacier and the heart of the Chugach Mountains at our feet. Our spirits were high both with the view and the fact that the sun, hard to come by in Alaskan January, was illuminating the entirety of our run . . about 1200 feet of perfect 40 degree alpine terrain. Mike dropped in first, arcing huge turns down the slope, making me smile at how my role in a particular group varies so widely . . . in this group, I wasn’t even near being on team get-rad, with these boys all being super strong skiers who prefer big fast turns in big terrain. Zack went next, taking the extreme entrance as he aired off a perch on the col we were standing . . . a few more GS turns down the face and he was in the safe zone below. Neil did the same, and then my turn.

Since 2010 is the year I’ve decided to no longer be traumatized by taking air, I chose a fun entrance with a small rock to launch from, running out my speed before I started down the skier’s left of the line. The snow was lovely and fast, supporting pretty aggressive turns that popped me from ski to ski . . . and then, with burning legs, I made it over the bergshrund and to the guys below. Erik came last putting the final touch on our artwork for the day with style.

Psyched from our run and enjoying the loveliness of the afternoon, we decided there was probably time to make it back up the bootpack and drop off the front side back to the car. At our initial top-out, we had realized that we were actually at the top of the Goat Couloir, perhaps one of the most aesthetic lines in the Girdwood Valley that, although many of us have skied tons of peaks in the area, had eluded our exploits thus far. Our desire to exit the area in style was unanimous, so back up we went . . . oh how we love to bootpack! We topped out at around 4:30pm, just as the sun was setting and the alpenglow setting in on our run. We poked around the super corniced entrance and found a location that went without air, as a mellow entrance was much preferred given the death exposure over cliffs that was necessary to navigate before entering the main couloir.

I dropped in 4^th and executed my critical turns without issue, entering the couloir to be greeted by super lovely sluffed and buffed slopes. It was one of those lines that’s so beautiful to be in – high walls on both sides, steep enough to be interesting and to capture the momentum in the transition between turns, surfing the gravity wave down to the bergshrund, safely airing out of it, and enjoying the glacier apron turns to the group below. From there, it was extreme meadow-skipping turns . . . mellow angle, but necessary to watch for and dodge crevasses all the way out. In true Alaska style, we had some alder bashing and creek navigation to end the day with, but smiles as we finished the 4300ft line to the car.

So, in the end, the day had become the type that reminds me why I live in Girdwood and why I love Alaska. What I’ve learned is that Alaska pretty much always brings it and the potential is endless, both for amazingly aesthetic ski descents, and for unknown challenges and adventure . . . sometimes you end up accidentally skiing a classic couloir you’ve dreamed about and sometimes you end up realizing the fine line we walk everytime we set foot in the mountains. It’s amazing and wonderful to me that this can all occur in a location from which I can see my house . . . On this particular day, we had worked well as a group, moving efficiently through varied terrain, selecting beautiful lines suitable for the weather and wind pattern the area had experienced, taking advantage of the available light, and unintentionally skiing a truly classic line. I am in awe that such grandeur exists out my back door, and so appreciative for the ability to go and experience it.

And so, although the weather window closed today, I will smile and close my eyes with frequency, remembering what it felt like to stop in the middle of the bootpack and scope out a lifetime of incredible ski descents with poignant inspiration to keep exploring; remembering the soft light on the distant peaks and the soaring feeling in my heart engendered by their expansivity; re-living the rhythmic jump turns in the alpenglow-illuminated Goat Couloir; feeling again the chilly breeze on my cheeks as I watched my friends nail their lines with grace and style; and appreciating the fullness that I feel in recollection of how cool our sport is, how amazing these mountains are, and how extraordinary our lives are to be out adventuring here.

Epic January/February in Girdwood . . .

2010-08-05T16:28:00.017-08:00

The last week of January/First week of February was truly one of the best weeks of my life.

It started with 2 big days roaming around Turnagain Pass . . .

And then an epic day finally skiing Big League in Girdwood - hell yes!!!! Aaron, Nick and I were headed out, and ran into Kathy and the Viking at the trailhead . . . so we all went for it. Up Max's, down the S face, up the backside of Big Leauge to the top of the W face. Eric, Aaron, and I were pretty jazzed to ski it, so Kathy and Nick skied the super beautiful N couloir and then they talked us down the face. From there we summited Max's again and skied the west face at last light . . . truly incredible . . .

Having scoped Little League on the Big League day, Aaron and I knew what we needed to do Sunday . . . Ryan Morrill came along for the slaying, so back we went . . . up Max's, down the S face, then up Little League, down the west face . . . I got to drop in first and it was amazing!!! I had a huge sluff waterfall going, but the skiing was excellent and then I got to guide Aaron and Ryan down super aesthetic lines . . . then back up Max's at sunset, and down the west face at last light . . . another helluva ski day . . . Happy Kellie for sure!!!!

The next day was another day in the same area, with Kathy and Eric the Viking again - I love skiing with those two! Anyhow, back up Max's, down the S face, and then up Orca to ski a line I can see from my toilet . . . I've had my eye on it for awhile and it's so aesthetic! From there, it was up Mt. Alyeska and down the N face into Winner Ck. It kind of turned into an epic as we finished at dark and found some pretty hard snow on the pretty contrived line into Winner Creek, but all's well that ends well and it turned out to be a pretty awesome day . . .

After that, it was one more epic day (see next post!) and then back to work . . . thakfully, my return-to-work day was cloudy, so I just enjoyed some domestic time and didn't feel compelled to ski! Oh the addiction . . .

Late December in Goldpan

2010-07-22T10:15:00.008-08:00

Okay, it's time to do some updating . . . and I know myself well enough to know I can't just skip over ski season . . . I guess I just get so focused on skiing that I forget about the blogging part!

Anyhow, late December was rad. Chris Page and I, with some "visitors" to our program, pretty much fueled the addiction on some combination of Magnum, Cornbuscuit, and Goldpan for about a week . . . some of the best skiing, ever!

Enjoy the view!

SOUTH AMERICA 2009: In a word . . .

2010-02-02T11:24:00.007-09:00

Well, the physical journey, and now the writing about it, has come to an end. But, I feel like I want to cap the story in some way, as much as a closure for me as anything. And so I leave you with a word that sums up the trip for me: alucinante. It means incredible, but in a magical, brilliant, almost hallucinatory way - extraordinary.

Magical, like the series of overwhelmingly fortuitous circumstances and occurrences that led me to the summit of Aconcagua to ski it in the most perfect snow imaginable with two truly wonderful Aspen boys, sweetened even more by truly wonderful people met all over the mountain.

Brilliant, like the warm smile of Marcos at the Refugio San Bernardo and Raquel & Paola in the Buenos Aires boutique. My Argentine father whose confidence and kind words inspired me, filled my heart, made me laugh, and moved me forward with a super positive outlook . . . and my Argentine mothers who replaced my groundlessness with love and connection and sent me on my way with the good luck charm that I carried to the summit :-)

Hallucinatory in that the whole 7 weeks is amost like a dream . . . the time in Chile feels like forever ago, and yet it was less than 3 months. I feel like this trip has been remarkable in that it felt like a true journey. It was a voyage of self discovery, an exploration of new corners in the Andes, a chance to strengthen old friendships with the feeling that not a day has past despite the fact that years have past, and a plethora of new friends both in the mountain and in the city who have forever changed my life and made it a much richer place to be.

There were challenges that have given me plenty to think about and grow from, solo time to let it sink in and to dream, serious suspension of disbelief and amazing rewards for doing so, risk taking and risk management, incredibly fulfilling human interactions, great practice speaking spanish, laughs, and tears.

It was wonderful, challenging, insightful, rewarding, exhausting, hilarious, and overall a truly extraordinary adventure . . . un camino alucinante.