Holiday Gifts - Powder and the Backcountry Bomb

I'm not sure what's up with the holiday weather this year but Thanksgiving and Christmas in South Central Alaska has been damn sweet. At least in the Talkeetnas, anyway. Some of the other ranges are still waiting for good conditions but Hatcher Pass and been the place to be over the last month. It hasn't been all perfect. We've had our share of wind and freezing rain in between but seem to come up with powder and clear skies when it matters. Best gifts, EVAR!

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Giving Thanks

Hatcher PassI’ve heard people familiar with Alaska say that “she’s” like a bipolar girlfriend. When she’s good, she’s awesome but when she’s depressed, well, she’s pretty damn intolerable. These past 10 days, or so, this beotch has been in a foul mood, one not conducive to psyching up the local skiers up here. Oh, she was awesome over the Thanksgiving weekend, that’s for sure. But we’ve had way too many days of freezing rain and drizzle even up in the mountains. I’m not ready to break up yet but I’m thinking about sleeping in the other bedroom.

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Alaska Late Winter Hits - Volume 1

For the better part of the last year I struggled to find the love here in Alaska. The weather was crap much of the time and winter took its sweet time coming. Everyone told me it would take a year to adjust and that seems to be what’s happening.

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Hatcher Pass Delivers

Sketchy conditions on Turnigan PassAs many of you know, the 2012-13 winter in Alaska has been a struggle for skiers. We had an early start, which was promising, with skiers getting turns at the end of September. This was followed by grim high and dry. Then the big dumps came with many feet of snow falling on two feet of facets. Turnagain Pass was an avalanche prone mess. Then we got some rain up high and it seemed we couldn’t catch a break. And so it goes.

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