Chugach Range, AK Report: Wind-board, Ice, Crust, a Little Powder, & Insane Views

Miles Clark | Post Tag for BackcountryBackcountry | Post Tag for Conditions ReportConditions Report

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Report from April 6, 2021

There was a fierce wind event here in the Chugach on Sunday and Monday.

It blew away a lot of the good snow.

Bob & I decided to go for a walkabout today anyway and give it a good scratch and sniff.

Options… image: snowbrains

The day started cold but warmed up nicely and winds were mostly light.

On the hike up, things were looking dire…

Firm, icy, bad snow with breakable crust littered with uncertainty.

The ocean does weird things in Alaska… image: snowbrains

We kept going up.

But not too far.

We eventually dropped in off the shoulder of a ridgeline and truly expected to ski horror show snow.

Bob sunburst. image: snowbrains

And it was at first before gently giving way to some softish, very skiable snow that was fun.

When your expectations are very low, any improvement feels like elation.

I was pumped at the bottom as I simply couldn’t believe we’d found a bit of ok snow.

Vista. image: snowbrains

It felt like a big win for me and we drove home happy.

There wasn’t a cloud in the sky today and the views here are simply stunning.

As you gaze into the Chugach range, at any given time, you see about 100 mountains each of which would be one of the best lines of your life.

This place is special.

Rail vista.  image: snowbrains

Avalanche Forecast:

image: chugach national forest avalanche information center, 4/6/21

Weather Forecast:

image: noaa, 4/6/21

Photos:

Bob probing for his UAF project. image: snowbrains
The ocean does weird things in Alaska… image: snowbrains

Miles & Bob in Alaska. image: snowbrains
Bob up! iamge: snowbrains
Miles Clark skiing Alaska.  image:  snowbrains
Rail life. image: snowbrains

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