Blog Posts for June, 2008

On June 26th my bud Grayson and I decided to go search for some snow and landed on climbing the main chute in Gold King Basin. The main “problem” we ran into actually accrued the night before when at around 1:00 in the morning we decided to go the next day. We were going to try and start walking at about 8:00am so we would have some time to chill out and take it in at the top. Needless to say we ended up getting a late start and didn’t arrive there until around 9:00. Although we had our doubts about how the snow would be once we got to the top, the conditions turned out to be ideal. It managed to stay cold enough to provide us with a nice thin layer of corn atop the firm under layer. I was stoked on the conditions and got to ski the chute switch top to bottom on my new Wagner Custom sticks. Grayson also tore it up after not being on skis for several months. The only low point to the entire expedition was my realization of how out of shape my vacation has made me, other than that we had a bright sunny day with some sick turns. Looking back we got incredibly lucky with the conditions and weather, which made for an epic day. The next trip we have planned at the moment is the Lunar Cup up in Savage Basin. It should be sick with all the snow we got this year! -Woody

So I’m just back from guiding a successful Denali climb with a great friend of mine, recuperating and trying to regain some of the weight that I lost while we were stuck in a storm at high camp for a week. (17,200′) Hanging around in Palmer at the National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS) base has been wonderful, eating five or six meals a day and catching up with old friends, but it took only about 15 minutes of being here for me to start getting excited about my next “project”. I’m prepping another Denali climb right now, with the intention of heading into the Range with a few friends and trying to ride some lines off of both summits. (Denali has two summits, the Southern being the actual summit and the Northern being a bit lower.) The riding potential in there is mind-blowing, with HUGE couloirs and hanging faces all around, including some first- and second-descents. I get blown away just thinking that I have the opportunity to make this trip happen, and that I have three close friends who can do it with me.

Having made our unavoidable trip to Anchorage yesterday, we spent today packing, repairing worn gear, re-sizing crampons to our ski boots, insulating our ice axes, consuming lots of calories, and generally doing all of the stuff one has to do before a 3-week trip at altitude. In some ways it feels like any other trip that we’ve worked together. Except that this time I get to bring my board, and they get to bring skis, and we get to do it our way. No clients, no students. Mmmm… I’m looking forward so much to traveling on my Wagner Custom approach skis after using snowshoes with my clients last month. And getting to ride lines that I’ve only dreamed about on past trips?! Holy crap!!! I will admit to being a bit disheartened after watching much of the snow on the upper mountain blow away during our high-camp storm, but it’s gotta snow before we arrive up there again, right? And if not, the Messner Couloir and the lines off the North Summit still had snow in them when we left. Just not powder. Any way you slice it, we’re going to have an amazing time, and I’m going to get the opportunity to put my board and approach skis from Wagner Custom through the wringer in the ultimate testing ground. Wahoo.

Cheers,
AJ