A couple of weeks ago, two mountaineers wanted to climb Denmark Peak in the Chugach Mts., and they needed to go into this spot at 5000′ Elevation. 5000′ in late October is normally totally off limits to tires because the snow is too deep. I knew the Chugach Mts. were thin on snow thus far so I hummed and hawed and decided to give it a try with my tires first before I went through the thrash of switching to wheel skiis.

I touched my tires to the snow several times and I would begin easing off the throttle, but I could feel it was going to suck me in if I slowed too much. I was unsure how deep the snow was, and I noticed on my second pass that my tires tracks were not uncovering rocks, so I was leery to commit. I was pretty certain that I could do it, but I was not positive. It was a pretty tough call for me because I really needed to get in there. I formed a rule early-on that maintains if I am not 100% certain of a positive outcome…I go away. I was turning to tuck-tail and run when I saw a 150′ long gravel pad that the wind had blown clear of snow. It was in-between two frozen creeks with snowy banks and approximately 200 yards down valley from the deeper snow. I made several passes and then committed to it by setting down on the gravel and braking hard. Much to my surprise the first 50 feet of gravel was actually a sheet of ice with little bits of vegetation sticking through to fool me. It felt like I accelerated when I hit that ice with the brakes locked. Fortunately when I got to the good firm gravel my brakes were locked tight and I was able to stop before the deeper snow.

This picture shows me out on the snow. Near the creek it was very firm so I used it to extend my landing strip for take-off. It’s not fun to test variable conditions like this from the air.  I walked over to where I had been dragging my tires and the snow was about 12″ deep and it was really crusty.  I still think I could have landed in it, but who wants to play the “I think I can” game…not me.  It is a real peace of mind if you can get out and walk around a bit and test, snow depth, density, ice thickness, etc. I ended up using this spot for 6 more landings. I’m sure it’s buried in snow now.

This was an interesting little landing spot. Where I actually touched down it was really steep. It’s at approx. 6000′ elevation on a small glacier. The only way to get it on the ground is to fly straight at the ice field under full power. The aircraft cannot out-climb the rising terrain so eventually you will hit. What makes this challenging is that you can’t land just anywhere, it is very important that I pick a point on the glacier and land with-in a few feet of it. This was actually steep enough that while I off loaded the client and his gear, the aircraft began to slide sideways down the glacier. I dropped what I was carrying and grabbed the wing. My attempt was useless, but it made me feel better. It only slid a few feet and then got stuck in a small crease in the ice. It took three people to hang onto the plane and get me pointed down hill until I had full control. Not all landings are this intense but every once in awhile the situation demands it. Don’t worry I would not do this on a simple sight-seeing trip…unless you wanted to :o)

The mountain in the back ground is Thor (12,251′ tall) in the Chugach Mt. range.  This was a National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS) mountaineering course that was headed out for several weeks.  We flew them in and they skied/hiked out after many days of climbing.  This is a particularly gorgeous area of the Chugach Mts.  It is extremely rugged and the weather conditions are…challenging.  Only a couple of teams make an attempt on Thor and Valhalla (Thor’s smaller neighbor) each year.  I highly recommend it as it is not only challenging but also affordable and untraveled.  We fly climbers into Thor/Valhalla for a couple hundred bucks.  If this is your game you ought to come play.

Good memories from last spring. We were hauling a mountaineering course onto the Nelchina Glacier so they could climb Valhalla.

If you don’t normally fall off cliffs, then you should not have a problem staying out of crevasses either. Glaciers create perfect biking conditions. It’s like Moab Utah only on the ice, no joke. Studs are not needed. Huge natural half pipes are just asking someone to go big. I have access to thousands of acres of awesome biking conditions in the middle of the Alaskan Wilderness. Come and see. I’m serious.

I can drop you off for an hour or a week. I can arrange a guide for you if desired. The photography opportunities are endless.

You can see the variety of terrain options.

Getting ready to drop one of the numerous, perfectly contoured half-pipes….it’s bigger than it looks.

I lacked momentum.

My 12 year old nephew Vince helped me scout-out ski runs on a gorgeous April day in the Chugach Mts.

We stopped on a glacier at about 7000′ elevation, and dug a snow cave just for fun. If you’ve never dug a snow cave you ought to go. It’s good times.

I can’t always land right on top of the mountain so it’s not uncommon for me to land at 5500′ and the skiers will grab the last 500′-1000′ on their own.

If you saw it you would not believe it. The picture is nice, the reality is……..

You can see me standing down by the plane enjoying the view getting ready to fly cover.

Left to right: Me, Mark Doner, Rhett Buchanan,

Gettin’ er done. Skins are really nice, but not a necessity. I recommend them so the skiers are more mobile.

This was the first 500′ of a 6000′ vertical run…. need I say more ?

TO SEE THE VIDEO FROM THIS TRIP CLICK HERE.

You would have a smug little grin too…trust me.

Why does it feel so good to ski something totally fresh. I am pretty certain nobody had ever landed here before. It was some of the finest skiing imaginable.
I landed inside the circle. It’s skiable all the way to the bottom. Nice…very, very nice.

SEE THE SKI VIDEO HERE

 

The first six of these images were taken in the Mulchatna Drainage in Western Alaska.  I was counting moose for Alaska Dept. of Fish and Game.  We were staying in Port Alsworth and it was -25.  During the day it would warm up to about -1.  It was excellent moose survey conditions save for the winds blowing directly down the river.  It would blow a steady 35 mph over the river and it would be virtually dead calm 300 yards away.  It got rough enough that we had to call it quits.  I bailed out of Port Alsworth late in the afternoon worried about darkness on the other end.  I barely made it home as Mt. Redoubt erupted just hours after I departed Port Alsworth.  They were grounded for days.  I was happy to be home. 

The Old Timer is Don Glasier.  Long time Alaskan Bush Pilot.  50,000+ hours of flight time.  Great guy to work with.

I took the last two images while picking up skiers/mountaineers in my back yard.  Good ski conditions in the Talkeetna Mts. this spring.  But the Chugach is a little thin East of the Matanuska Glacier.

The View From my office…come and see it