FasterSkier

Tag: Kenai

  • Turnagain Pass in June

    It’s June, which can only mean one thing…more skiing!

    Tim, Benji, and I headed to Turnagain Pass on June 2, hoping for a little more crust. We found some decent crust right from the road, but we had our sights set a little higher. We skied up to the ridge on the west side of the road (aka the snowmobile side) hoping to get into Seattle Creek. As we ascended, the snow got softer and softer. Our hope of finding crust on the other side did not materialize, but we still trudged up to the ridge and got some good views. After a few photos, we survived the rotten snow on the descent, then skied around the flats a bit before heading home. Here are Tim’s photos, and here are a couple of mine:

    Not exactly crust, but not exactly a bad day out either!

    Looking into Seattle Creek – Pan around or click here for a full screen version.

  • Biking Resurrection Pass with Dad

    June was grandparents month in our house. Both sets came for a couple of weeks each.

    One sunny Saturday my dad and I biked Resurrection Pass, 38 miles from Hope to Cooper Landing. I’ve been over that pass a number of times, but this was the first time it hasn’t been covered in snow. What a great singletrack ride!

    I wonder what the 70-and-up age group record is for the 20 mile climb from Hope up to the pass? I bet my dad crushed it!

    20110701-122059.jpg

  • Biking Resurrection Pass with Dad

    June was grandparents month in our house. Both sets came for a couple of weeks each.

    One sunny Saturday my dad and I biked Resurrection Pass, 38 miles from Hope to Cooper Landing. I’ve been over that pass a number of times, but this was the first time it hasn’t been covered in snow. What a great singletrack ride!

    I wonder what the 70-and-up age group record is for the 20 mile climb from Hope up to the pass? I bet my dad crushed it!

    20110701-122059.jpg

  • Biking Resurrection Pass with Dad

    June was grandparents month in our house. Both sets came for a couple of weeks each.

    One sunny Saturday my dad and I biked Resurrection Pass, 38 miles from Hope to Cooper Landing. I’ve been over that pass a number of times, but this was the first time it hasn’t been covered in snow. What a great singletrack ride!

    I wonder what the 70-and-up age group record is for the 20 mile climb from Hope up to the pass? I bet my dad crushed it!

    20110701-122059.jpg

  • Biking Resurrection Pass with Dad

    June was grandparents month in our house. Both sets came for a couple of weeks each.

    One sunny Saturday my dad and I biked Resurrection Pass, 38 miles from Hope to Cooper Landing. I’ve been over that pass a number of times, but this was the first time it hasn’t been covered in snow. What a great singletrack ride!

    I wonder what the 70-and-up age group record is for the 20 mile climb from Hope up to the pass? I bet my dad crushed it!

    20110701-122059.jpg

  • Biking Resurrection Pass with Dad

    June was grandparents month in our house. Both sets came for a couple of weeks each.

    One sunny Saturday my dad and I biked Resurrection Pass, 38 miles from Hope to Cooper Landing. I’ve been over that pass a number of times, but this was the first time it hasn’t been covered in snow. What a great singletrack ride!

    I wonder what the 70-and-up age group record is for the 20 mile climb from Hope up to the pass? I bet my dad crushed it!

    20110701-122059.jpg

  • Crust Season 2011

    Crust skiing is hard to predict. That is part of the attraction, and it adds to the thrill when you nail a perfect crust day.

    2011 was a relatively low snow year in southcentral Alaska, and it seemed that the general consensus was that the lack of snow would result in a poor crust season. But snow is only one factor that goes into baking good crust. Clear, sunny weather is just as important, and April this year had a lot of clear, sunny weather. As a result, there was a lot of good crust to be found this spring. It just goes to show that we should never try to predict crust conditions more than 12 hours in advance.

    But the predictions were right about one thing – my crust season wasn’t very good. The sunny weather just didn’t seem to mesh with my schedule. This is why I am continuing my campaign to make every sunny day in April a state holiday.

    But I did get out a few times to the usual spots: Portage, Center Creek, Glen Alps. And last weekend, Tim’s photos tempted Bill, Chris and I into a great day at Dogsled Pass.

    Here is a “quick hits” photo gallery of my crust season 2011:
     

    Center Creek

     

  • Crust Season 2011

    Crust skiing is hard to predict. That is part of the attraction, and it adds to the thrill when you nail a perfect crust day.

    2011 was a relatively low snow year in southcentral Alaska, and it seemed that the general consensus was that the lack of snow would result in a poor crust season. But snow is only one factor that goes into baking good crust. Clear, sunny weather is just as important, and April this year had a lot of clear, sunny weather. As a result, there was a lot of good crust to be found this spring. It just goes to show that we should never try to predict crust conditions more than 12 hours in advance.

    But the predictions were right about one thing – my crust season wasn’t very good. The sunny weather just didn’t seem to mesh with my schedule. This is why I am continuing my campaign to make every sunny day in April a state holiday.

    But I did get out a few times to the usual spots: Portage, Center Creek, Glen Alps. And last weekend, Tim’s photos tempted Bill, Chris and I into a great day at Dogsled Pass.

    Here is a “quick hits” photo gallery of my crust season 2011:
     

    Center Creek

     

  • Crust Season 2011

    Crust skiing is hard to predict. That is part of the attraction, and it adds to the thrill when you nail a perfect crust day.

    2011 was a relatively low snow year in southcentral Alaska, and it seemed that the general consensus was that the lack of snow would result in a poor crust season. But snow is only one factor that goes into baking good crust. Clear, sunny weather is just as important, and April this year had a lot of clear, sunny weather. As a result, there was a lot of good crust to be found this spring. It just goes to show that we should never try to predict crust conditions more than 12 hours in advance.

    But the predictions were right about one thing – my crust season wasn’t very good. The sunny weather just didn’t seem to mesh with my schedule. This is why I am continuing my campaign to make every sunny day in April a state holiday.

    But I did get out a few times to the usual spots: Portage, Center Creek, Glen Alps. And last weekend, Tim’s photos tempted Bill, Chris and I into a great day at Dogsled Pass.

    Here is a “quick hits” photo gallery of my crust season 2011:
     

    Center Creek

     

  • Crust Season 2011

    Crust skiing is hard to predict. That is part of the attraction, and it adds to the thrill when you nail a perfect crust day.

    2011 was a relatively low snow year in southcentral Alaska, and it seemed that the general consensus was that the lack of snow would result in a poor crust season. But snow is only one factor that goes into baking good crust. Clear, sunny weather is just as important, and April this year had a lot of clear, sunny weather. As a result, there was a lot of good crust to be found this spring. It just goes to show that we should never try to predict crust conditions more than 12 hours in advance.

    But the predictions were right about one thing – my crust season wasn’t very good. The sunny weather just didn’t seem to mesh with my schedule. This is why I am continuing my campaign to make every sunny day in April a state holiday.

    But I did get out a few times to the usual spots: Portage, Center Creek, Glen Alps. And last weekend, Tim’s photos tempted Bill, Chris and I into a great day at Dogsled Pass.

    Here is a “quick hits” photo gallery of my crust season 2011:

  • Crust seekers: The next generation

    Portage Glacier, April 10, 2011. Thanks to Bruce Talbot for the photo

  • Crust seekers: The next generation

    Portage Glacier, April 10, 2011. Thanks to Bruce Talbot for the photo

  • Crust seekers: The next generation

    Portage Glacier, April 10, 2011. Thanks to Bruce Talbot for the photo

  • Crust seekers: The next generation

    Portage Glacier, April 10, 2011. Thanks to Bruce Talbot for the photo

  • Sunny Weather Goes Up In Smoke

    As I was biking home from work today, my lungs were burning, my eyes were squinting, and my nostrils were flaring. Was I hammering? Nope, I was inhaling the smoke that has descended over Anchorage in the past few days. Here’s a cool map that shows the smoke.