VIDEO: Eric Pollard Getting Tubed and Spat Out in Alaska The beginning of this video is fun to watch. Then, you see the POV angle in the end. Wow. That’s some of the most ideal ski terrain we’ve seen. Spines, pillows, nobs, little chutes, and all of it steep. It’s a dream line. Eric make a mistake in the end and lets his sluff catch up to him. But, the guy is a pro and he simply points it, gets completely shacked by his sluff, the muscles it and get spat out into glory. A celebratory beer was certainly deserved after this tube spitting line. […] SnowBrains | July 25, 2014 0 Comments
Group Skis Alaska’s BIG THREE in 1 Trip: McKinley, Foraker, Hunter A group of four ski mountaineers just climbed and skied the “Big Three” of Alaska: 14,573-foot Mt. Hunter, 17,400-foot Mt. Foraker, and 20,320-foot Mt. McKinley. They pulled off this feat in only 31 days. They climbed and skied over 67,000-vertical feet. The group consisted of Evan Pletcher, Anton Sponar, Jordan White, and Aaron Diamond. Of these three peaks, Mt. Hunter is by far […] Miles Clark | June 17, 2014 1 Comment
Killian Jornet Shatters 20,320-Foot Mt. McKinley, AK Speed Record in Sub-12 Hour Ascent/Descent! Spaniard Kilian Jornet is simply an animal. He’s currently making a name for himself by speed climbing all the most iconic peaks in the world. Last year, Kilian set the record on the 14,682-foot Matterhorn in Switzerland climbing it up and down in only 2 hours and 52 minutes beating the previous record by 20 minutes. Kilian also broke the […] Miles Clark | June 15, 2014 0 Comments
What a Season of Backcountry Skiing in Alaska Looks Like: Ever wondered what it would be like to ski a full season of backcountry in Alaska? Well, here ya go: Here is a backcountry edit of a few days in March and April. Alaska had one of the worst ski seasons seen in many years. plagued with a low and dangerous snowpack most of the season, it was hard to reach the desired terrain in the Chugach Mountains. By March our snow level was 45% […] SnowBrains | June 1, 2014 1 Comment
Japan to Alaska: 2014 Season Review, Part 7 | The Final Chapter… Check out all 7 pieces to “Japan to Alaska” As May arrived, we decided to go for a little fly in camping trip. The home zone. Paul Forward photo. Evening powder turns. Paul Forward photo. Camp is at the end of the shadow. Paul Forward photo. Eike ridge walk. Things started to heat up, and even […] Backcountry Lee Lyon | May 19, 2014 0 Comments
Japan to Alaska: 2014 Season Review, Part 6 Please check out all 7 parts of “Japan to Alaska”: Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 *** Things were starting to heat up around Turnagain Arm, so we headed for higher climes. Hatcher. Same run different day. Billy from the Powder Palace. Still good north facing powder on Thompson Pass. Long couloirs, long bootpacks. Phantom, Berlin Wall. Dimond, north side. Lonely turns on the Worthington at the end of April. […] Backcountry Lee Lyon | May 19, 2014 0 Comments
Japan to Alaska: 2014 Season Review, Part 5 While the storm didn’t exactly deliver as much as we’d 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
Backcountry
