5/06/08

The 2008 season has come to an end. It was a great year and we thank everyone who skied and rode with us. It was good fun getting to know new friends and catching back up with old ones. 2008 goes down into the record books as one of the funnest years. It was consistently good fun all season long! We had more weather than normal during a few weeks but overall it was another exciting and safe season. Many weeks are already booking up for 2009. In fact several weeks are already sold out in the private.

 

Check back soon as we will be adding new pictures from the 2008 season to our photo gallery. If you skied with us and have some good pictures please email them to us. We'd love to post them onto the site. We hope to see everyone again next year!!! Have a great summer.

 

4/23/08

Extended high pressure has allowed us to fly far and frequently over the past ten days. While the 4/16 wind event did affect snow quality, we have nonetheless been able to find good skiing including Meteorite and Jerry's Wall in powder! The run list from this week is stacked with classic steeps like Cherry Coulior, Kiwi Wall, Mad Cow, Meteorite, Aftermath, the Cauliflowers, and of course, Dimond as well as rarely or never before skied steeps like The Haunted House and Mt. Logan near the Tazlina Glacier. Currently we are skiing everything from good chalk and corn to north facing powder.

Mark and John point out their line on Aftermath

Scott Raynor on Max High

Dennis and Mark in the North Circuit

Jeff Zell and crew building a landing zone on Jerry's Wall

JZ lays down a line on Jerry's Wall

North facing pow, it's still out there! Deep in the heart of the range near the Tazlina Glacier.

The man and his machine, Christian and Never Summer

Chris Figenshau shoots filmmaker Daryl Miller on No Sticks

Jess McMillan after skiing 420

4/15/08

Monday was a sleeper. Clear skies began opening up at about 10am and by noon skies were mostly clear to the east of the Tsaina. The Private ship skied 40 Elephants, Cauliflowers, Clueland (Clueless and Clued In), and Fork It In. The Public skied Crudbusters, the Iguana Backs, and 40.5 including Contest Line and 42 Mile. Snow depths varied from 20-40cms deep. Photos are on there way. . .

4/13/08

We have been battling a contiued low pressure system, but Friday split open being perhaps the best day of the season. We skied powder all over Thompson Pass and the Private Ship went south and skied The Wall, the shoulder of Pontoon, and Superbowl in the Cleave. The snow was deep, in some places being up to our nipples. Below is a shot of The Wall, a run that reminds us all that the wait is always worth it.

Always worth the wait: Doug Workman on The Wall,  Photo: Mike Stoner

Schlopy on the shoulder of Pontoon, photo: Mike Stoner

Eric Henderson free-heeling on The Wall, photo: Mike Stoner

4/8/08

Partly cloudy skies today with large blue holes over the Tsaina allowed us to ski many runs all the way from Back It in in the Dimond Basin to the Cauliflowers. By the afternoon the quickly moving blue holes settled over 40.5 where we skied just about every run possible including 42 Mile, Contest Line, Film Line, Ladies Tee and everything in between. The forecast for tommorrow is mostly cloudy with a chance of snow in the afternoon.  Snowshowers are expected through Thursday evening with clear skies expected over the weekend.

Classic Chugach sluffing on Film Line High

4/7/08

The last two days we have had excellent powder skiing in beautiful light. Yesterday groups skied near the Tsaina heli base including RFS East Face, Steep Camp Couliors, RFS North Face, and White Ice. Today, the Private Ship skied in the North Circuit including Stained Glass and the Japanese Wall. Meanwhile, the Public skied Cherry Coulior on Python, RFS, and the Karat Ramps on Dimond.

Noah hits Steep Camp Coulior

Fresh tracks on RFS shoulder

4/6/08

Continued snowfall throughout the Chugach Mountains has deposited anywhere from 2-6 feet in the mountains. Window shopping is expected this afternoon with a possible break in the weather.

4/4/08

A stagnant low pressure system continues to bring snowfall to Thompson Pass. Snow totals vary dramatically throughout the region with 2 feet plus in the southern region as well as in the Tsaina Valley. Backyard and Road Run areas have seen 20-30cms of snow and are skiing well when the typical afternoon blue hole develops over the Tsaina. Yesterday we began skiing at 4pm and got 4 runs in at the foot of Mt. Dimond on Back It In, Karat Ramps, and Stairway. More snow is expected through the weekend.

                                                                                      Evening powder skiing on Back It In

4/1/08

A low pressure system has kept us on the ground for the past three days. New snow accumulations vary depending on the region with the most snow falling in the southern part of the range near the coast. Below are some pictures from a ski tour up Stairway yesterday. Even on a "down day" we managed 6000' vertical!

Also, some pictures from the Teabaggers 2008 trip:

Will, in the White Room

Todd's track on 42 Mile

3/29/08

Clear and calm weather dominated the region for the past 4 days allowing both the Public and Private Ships to ski throughout the Chugach. The Private hit all the Chugach testpieces including Meteorite, Pontoon, and the Sphinx.

The Sphinx

Atop The Wall

Approaching Meteorite

Pontoon

The Public ship skied throughout the North Circuit and to the East including Aftermath, Fancy Pants, Supercoulior, Elephant, Bowling Ball, Superbowl, and Pyramid. Clouds began forming yesterday afternoon and light snow is expected throughout today on Thompson Pass.

            Clients awaiting a pick up below 40 Elephants

      Karl skis the sluffpile on Crudbusters East Coulior

Eric Henderson and crew atop 40.5 Mile

Ceviche in The Cleave

3/25/08

Partly cloudy conditions kept us close to the Pass on Monday. While window shopping on the Road Runs we skied 6-8 runs. Light snow on Tuesday night gave us a fresh coat of paint to ski on. The Private Ship went south and skied in the Deserted Glacier, The Valley of the Tusk, The Wall, and Meteorite. Meanwhile, the Public Ships layed wall to wall tracks in the Cauliflowers, CMH, East Face Elephant, Bowling Ball, and 40.5 Mile. New snow depths ranged from 15-50cms of light density powder. Many 5 year veterans called it one of their best days ever!

                                                   Mark on Cauliflower #3

                     Tracks in the Cauliflowers

3/24/08

We had another great day of skiing.  All groups did at least 6 runs, while a few got in 7 or 8. The private also had a great day venturing into the North Circuit. If you are sitting somewhere else in Alaska and not heli-skiing due to weather, give us a call. We have a few spaces left this week.

 

3/23/08

Its the start of a new ski week and last week was awesome! We flew 6 of 7 days and our clients got between 30-36 ski runs for the week. It was great powder skiing as we slayed the backyard. Forty and a half skied great on Friday with knee deep powder. Thanks to everyone who joined us. We are already looking forward to skiing it up again next year. Here are a few pictures........

                                               

                                              

3/20/08

The skiing continues to be fantastic. The weather has been challenging this week and we have not been able to ski as much as usual. We've made the most of it though when we can. Yesterday we had an afternoon break in the weather and launched at 2:45 pm. We were able to ski up to 7 runs for both helicopters and a total of 5 groups. The skiing was unreal!

 

3/18/08

Our season is off to a great start. The skiing conditions have been fantastic. We are on a weather hold for today but are looking towads better weather coming in the next day or so. So far this season we have skied in the Cauliflowers, Clueland, Tsaina Valley and the Mega Crud area. 

 

We have had a recent cancelation for a private package for the week of April 20-26. Its available at a discounted price. Please email or call us if you are interested.

 

3/12/08

We have been finding excellent skiing with good quality powder. Pictures to come soon. Everyone is having to much fun to stop and take the cameras out to get good shots!

 

3/10/08

Our 2008 season has started. The Chugach Mountains have just finished a large storm cycle with heavy snow and strong winds. The skiing is reported to be very good. We still have space for some weeks in April so please come join us. We will be updating this site more frequently so please check back soon.

 

2/12/08

Our season starts in less than a month. Check back for pictures from the upcoming season. A few new videos have been added to our Video Gallery page. All of our privates are booked for the season but we still have space in some weeks for our individual packages. Call (907) 835-4528 or email us for more information.

 

1/15/08

We've added a new album to our Picture Gallery page and a few new videos to the Video Gallery page. You might also enjoy checking out the trailer for the movie Steep. The movie is a great documentary on big mountain skiing with a focus on our founder Doug Coombs and Valdez.