Thompson Pass - Stairway Chutes
Our overall gloomy weather with brief windows in Thompson Pass continued on Friday, and our group decided to take advantage of it and head out on another bigger tour. This time we had our sights set on Stairway Chutes. Just 2,000' from Highway 4 lies a cirque encased in couloirs and chutes. To the east is the imposing Mt. Dimond, with steep couloirs pouring off its flanks and to the west is the area known as the Stairway Chutes. Much of the rock near Thompson Pass is tilted on an edge, creating stacked lines of perfect chutes of differing difficulties. Some are narrower, some are shorter, some are wider, some are STEEP.
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Thompson Pass - Cracked Ice
Last spring, Alex and I went on a spring ski trip to Valdez/Thompson Pass with our friends Meredith and Adam, and while we had a great time exploring Alaska in the winter with them, we also had less-than-ideal weather conditions while there. We were pretty limited on what tours we could complete due to terrible vis, high winds, and avalanche conditions and ended up leaving the trip feeling like we had unfinished business. Fast forward to this year, and we decided to book another spring trip to Thompson Pass.
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Photo Diary: Southeast Alaska Whales and Fjords
Over Labor Day weekend Alex and I ventured to the moody coast of southeast Alaska and enjoyed a long weekend cruising through the waters of Auke Bay and the Tracy Arm in search of whales and glaciers. Much to our delight, we found plenty of both.
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Over Ice and Tundra: 5 Days Backpacking with SEAG in Wrangell-St. Elias NP
In 2017 I visited Wrangell-St. Elias for the first time and was blown away by the scenery. The snowy peaks, lush tundra, and stunning glaciers seemed to imprint on me during my time in the park and the trip was cemented as one of the best backcountry trips I have ever been on. I wanted others to have that same transformative experience, so in early 2020 I teamed up with St. Elias Alpine Guides (SEAG) to put together a 5 day Women’s Backpacking trip through the park’s backcountry.
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Telaquana to Turquoise: Backpacking in Lake Clark National Park
“So do we turn back?” I asked the group, disappointment echoing in my voice. Everyone averted their eyes, staring off at the horizon or down at their feet. I knew it was inevitable: we had to return to camp. It was simply too hot to hike, the brush too cumbersome to bushwhack through, our nerves too frayed by the fourth day of our trip, and our exhaustion too high. We turned around.
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Kayaking through the West Arm of Glacier Bay National Park
“We’re ahead of schedule, get your stuff ready to go. Now!” One of the deckhands appeared out of nowhere and startled us. Alex and I hadn’t finished eating our lunch yet so we scarfed down the last few bites of our sandwiches and quickly headed to the deck below to gather our 13 dry bags and 3 stuffed-to-the-brim bear canisters. Standing at the bow of the boat, with a pile of gear at our feet Alex started up his camera and pointed it at me, “how are you feeling?”
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Ice, Glaciers, and the Tundra: 8 Days Backpacking in Wrangell-St. Elias National Park
I stared up at the ceiling of my tent and watched as a single water drop fell onto my sleeping bag. I immediately brushed it off but knew more drops were inevitable. It was the sixth day of my eight day trek through the wilderness of Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Alaska's notorious weather finally caught up to us.
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Kenai Fjords National Park: Hike to Exit Glacier
After our 3 day/2 night kayaking excursion to the Northwestern Fjord in Kenai Fjords National Park Alex and I decided to stop at Exit Glacier.
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