Japan to Alaska: 2014 Season Review, Part 5 While the storm didnโt exactly deliver as much as weโd hoped, we still caught a couple decent powder days at Alyeska. The skies cleared, and the skiing was good on Turnagain Pass. Back to the top. Miles Clark photo. Backcountry Lee Lyon | May 15, 2014 2 Comments
Japan to Alaska: 2014 Season Review, Part 4 In March, it was time to head for Alaska. We arrived in Anchorage just in time for a good-sized storm. After a couple of endless days of shopping and organizing our van for camping, we headed for Turnagain Pass. Good to be back in Alaska. Unfortunately, new snow and rain crust weren’t getting along so well. We kept walking and stuck to mellower slopes. And eventually stability improved. Thin snow year equals more interesting couloirs. Elevator Shaft. Eekey Popplemayer photo. Then, it was time to head for Valdez. […] Backcountry Lee Lyon | May 14, 2014 5 Comments
Japan to Alaska: 2014 Season Review, Part 3 More fun moments from Japan. Travis Gohan flies in helicopters. Chaz on the guide run. A new view of some old mountains. On my birthday, I skied this “fun” variation of Ross’ Gold. Zach working some pillows in less than average snow. We were also able to ski a couloir that Iโve been eyeing for a few years now. It was good to finally get it done. And in great snow, too. Backcountry Lee Lyon | May 12, 2014 4 Comments
Japan to Alaska: 2014 Season Review, Part 2 While flat light, trees, and powder tend to be the norm in Japanโs winter months, we were lucky to have our fair share of sunny days this season. A good run on the Lone Tree. Much of the season was spent getting familiar with a favorite zone in the area. Weโll call it the spine pillows. And another favorite zone, not far off. The spine pillowsโ evil twin. […] Backcountry Lee Lyon | May 12, 2014 7 Comments
Japan to Alaska: 2014 Season Review, Part 1 With my northern winter coming to a close, I thought it would be a good time to look back on what has been a pretty fun season for me. Bear with me here, this could take awhile. My winter actually kicked off with a trip to Thailand and Myanmar. While I do enjoy the occasional non-skiing adventure, it was hard to focus […] Backcountry Lee Lyon | May 9, 2014 7 Comments
Skiing in Peru’s Cordillera Blanca: Copa and Quitaraju This May and June I had the opportunity to join a trip to try and ski some high peaks in Peru’s Cordillera Blanca.ย This report is from the third part of our trip: attempts to ski Nevado Copa and Quitaraju.ย Check out the first and second parts of our trip here: Quebrada Ishincaย and Artesonraju. Having been denied summits twice in a […] Climbing Lee Lyon | June 25, 2013 4 Comments
Skiing in Peru’s Cordillera Blanca: Artesonraju (Paramount Peak) This May and June I had the opportunity to join a trip to try and ski some high peaks in Peru’s Cordillera Blanca. This report is from the second part of our trip: an attempt to ski Artesonraju.ย For the first part, our adventure into the Quebrada Ishinca, CLICK HERE. After being thwarted on Tocllaraju, we retreated to Huaraz to […] Climbing Lee Lyon | June 19, 2013 7 Comments
Skiing in Peru’s Cordillera Blanca: Urus, Ishinca and Tocllaraju | Photo Tour This May and June I had the opportunity to join a trip to try and ski some high peaks in Peru’s Cordillera Blanca. This report is from the first part of our trip: the journey from Switzerland to Huaraz Peru, and our adventure into the Quebrada Ishinca. I entered this trip with some hesitation, for a couple of reasons. […] Backcountry Lee Lyon | June 18, 2013 16 Comments