Turnagain Pass Update - 11/22 to 11/29

Here's a quick hit of pictures from a few outings on Turnagain Pass on the Kenai Peninsula these past two weekends. The first was with a new group of partners, all hard-ass skiers, a couple with Olympic credentials. We had a great day on **** and made the most of the conditions at hand. The season is rolling but still feels a bit hesitant in really gaining momentum. We had a wet warm up this past week with lots of rain near the alpine. But if you were willing to slog through the mess down low you were rewarded with stable and perfectly acceptable powder skiing. This was certainly, "you don't know until you go" kind of skiing. How sweet it was.

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Turnagain Pass - First Look 2015-16

The anticipation of winter is always an oddly stressful time for me. I used not give it much thought as winter always came and the skiing commenced. But that was before whatever is going on now. Global warming? Natural cycles? Depending upon your political leanings, you can choose your explanation. But the bottom line is that winter has been fickle and elusive the past few years. Each year I'd say, "....well, it can't be any worse than last year...." and then it is. Gives me heart burn. Fortunately, this season seems to be shaping up in a more positive way.

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First Turns Nice and Early

It's hard to complain about fresh powder in September so I won't. It's not uncommon for the first snows to come early in AK. The summer ends fast here and fall seems short. The remnants of a Japanese cyclone sent some wet weather our way and dumped some lovely snow up high. The weekend forecast cooperated so Karol and I went and sampled the loveliness. We were not disappointed.

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Late Season Seward Goodness

Mt. Ascension, dead centerDuring a spot of high pressure and exceptional weather, Karol, Jen, Kyle and I went down to Seward on the Kenai Penninsula for a long weekend vacation. Karol still owns a house there so base camp is sweet. The mountains tower over Resurrection Bay and I've always wanted to get in them on skis. Typically, I'm training for mountain running so all I do is look and dream. But this year, I've decided to forego racing and mix up the activities a bit this summer. This fact opened the door for some ski exploration.

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Penguin Peak Delivers

Penguin Peak later in the summerAlthough it's easy to say that this winter in Alaska has been dismal without precedence, I've managed to find damn good skiing almost every time I've been out. Sure, I've had a few utterly horrid outings on Peak 3 boiler plate while being pummeled by wind and spindrift. And, it's true. The days out skiing have been far fewer than what I consider normal. But the days I've had have mosly put a smile on my face.

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