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| This web site is a skiers'
resource for exploring Southcentral Alaska on cross country skis.
Check the ski trip links above for ideas of where to ski backcountry
winter trails and crust skiing venues. Check the weather links
below to determine what the ski conditions will likely be where you want
to go skiing. Scroll further down for skiing tips and more
information. Be safe, have fun ... and ski as much as you can! Click here for the old home page. |
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South of Anchorage |
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McHugh
Creek webcam, shows cloud cover at the end of Turnagain Arm (click
here:
for temp and wind) |
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Portage Lake Visitors Center webcam (must click on site, direct link no longer supported by FAA) | ||||
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Borealis Broadband Potter Marsh weigh station webcam |
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Bird Point road cam and weather data |
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Portage
Road intersection webcam (where you can park to ski the Placer River
Valley, click here:
for temp and wind) |
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Portage hourly temp and wind |
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Tunnel to
Whittier cams in Bear Valley, shows cloud cover at Portage Lake
(click here for temp and wind:
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Whittier webcams |
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Whittier hourly temp and wind | ||||
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Whittier/ Passage Canal marine weather |
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Prince William Sound tides |
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Western Prince William Sound marine weather | ||
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Weather forecast (Girdwood / Portage / Whittier) |
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Alyeska Resort snow and weather conditions |
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Alyeska Resort webcams | ||
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Turnagain Pass DOT webcams (often not working) |
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Turnagain Pass current temp and wind (often not working) | ||||
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Turnagain Pass hourly telemetry data |
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Turnagain Pass snow depth graph | ||||
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Tunnel (end of Placer River Valley, near Spencer Glacier) hourly data |
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Grandview hourly temp and wind data |
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Seattle Ridge (above where Seward Highway begins climb from Turnagain Arm to the pass) | ||
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Summit Lake weather conditions and webcam views |
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Summit Lake hourly weather data (good for Manitoba Mountain & Mills Creek) | ||||
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Chugach National Forest Avalanche Information Center |
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Sunburst Webcam (view north to Tincan, Center Ridge below) |
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Moose Pass hourly weather data | ||
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In and to the East of Anchorage |
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Greater Anchorage area (including Glenn Alps) Mesonet weather data |
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Borealis Broadband Webcam Multiview of Anchorage and surrounding areas |
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Anchorage weather forecast | ||
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Borealis Broadband webcam on top of Denali Towers North - great view of the Western Chugach front range |
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Anchorage tide tables (tides near or above 30 feet will flood much of the Anchorage Wildlife Coastal Refuge) | ||
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Wundermap Interactive, for Southcentral AK |
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Southcentral AK weather radar |
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Chugach Mountains webcam - Flattop |
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Alaska DOT Road Weather cams and weather data map for Greater Anchorage (click on the site you are interested in) |
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Lake Hood Alaska Airmen's webcam, shows Western Chugach Mountain cloud cover | ||
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Indian Pass hourly weather data, this site is at the high point on the Arctic Valley to Indian traverse |
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Eklutna Lake (the AMBCS "MORAINE" station, 1000 feet above the lake on the Bold Ridge Trail, 5 miles down the lake) | ||
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North of Anchorage |
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Hatcher Pass hourly weather data. Site near Park Service HQ building near mine |
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Hatcher Pass NOAA graphical trends of snow depth, temperature and winds |
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View north of cloud cover over the Talkeetna Mountains (from a DOT web cam at Glen Highway MP 24 at Thunderbird Falls) |
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View north of cloud cover over the main Chugach Mountains (from a DOT web cam at Glen Highway MP 24 at Thunderbird Falls) |
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NOAA hourly weather observations (Select site: Palmer, Wasilla, Willow, Sutton, Sheep Mountain, Eureka) | ||
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Mat-Su Valley weather, NOAA observations in Palmer for: Palmer to Chickaloon, Wasilla to Big Lake and Houston | ||
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Parks Highway
(near Big Lake) webcam, temp and wind:
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Willow weather (also good for Nancy Lakes, west side of Hatcher Pass) |
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Su Valley High (at start of Talkeena Spur Road) hourly weather data |
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Talkeetna weather (also good for Sheep Creek, Trapper Creek) |
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Parks
Highway / Talkeetna Road webcam views,
temp and wind:
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Su Valley High snow depth |
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K2 Aviation Net Cam in Talkeetna |
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Broad Pass webcam and weather data | ||
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Alaska DOT RoadWeather webcams at Gunsight Mtn, shows what conditions are like near Sheep Mountain, Majestic Valley and Eureka |
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FAA webcams at Sheep Mountain and Tahneta Pass (must click on site, direct link no longer supported by FAA) |
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Sheep Mountain weather/ Copper River Basin forecast |
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Eureka weather/ Copper River Basin forecast |
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West of Anchorage |
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Borealis Broadband Mount Susitna webcam |
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AlaskaMart - AnchorageWeatherCam: Mt. Susitna, Mt. Redoubt, Fire Island |
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Performance Backcountry Skiing Tips ... |
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| NEW: Gear Suggestions for Performance Backcountry Skiing | ||||||
| NEW: Intro To Performance Backcountry Skiing: Where To Go To Give It A Try | ||||||
| NEW: Consider Recycling Your Ski Wax - Here's How to Do It | ||||||
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Tip: You sure don't want to be many miles from the road, have the crust softening under the hot sun, blow up a ski or pole - and have no way of repairing the damage. To wade for miles post-holing to your armpits in wet slush would not be a fun experience! So bring along the repair basics: duct tape, wire and a Leatherman tool. | |||||
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| Tip: If you blow up a ski - use the Leatherman tool to cut willows and wire and duct tape them to the ski. Use the Leatherman pliers to tighten the wire if you use it. | Here Tim Miller limps out of the Twentymile Valley on an emergency spliced ski. Notice the waterproof hunter socks for wading streams. | Tip: Same with poles. If you snap one, get to the willows. Cut four or five small branches and duck tape them around the pole. It won't look pretty, but it will get you back to where you started. | Tip: You can modify cross country skiing equipment to make better performance backcountry ski gear. Click here to see how. | |||
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Tip: Should you have the misfortune of breaking through ice into deep water ... you hands are the only thing that will save you. You'll need your hands FAST ... to keep from going under the ice, to get your skis off, to use your pole tips as ice picks and maybe even to swim. You won't have use of your hands if they are handcuffed onto your poles with modern day racing pole straps. So use classic ski pole straps so you can easily flick your poles off and get your hands free. |
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Left: Smart straps for performance backcountry skiing. Easy to get off. Right: Very stupid straps for skiing off groomed trails. They could be the cause of your death if you break through ice on a lake, river or stream. Leave them at home !!!
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Tip: Bring along spare ski(s) and pole(s) and leave them in your vehicle. If you break gear right at the get go ... you can quickly go back, reload ... and save the day. |
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Tip: Buy a pair of combo (skate/classic) boots, put them in your vehicle and NEVER take them out! That way you will never forget your boots when you go skiing. It only takes one drive to Portage on a crystal clear, perfect crust day and then realize that you left your boots at home - to learn this lesson. Damn ... I can still remember the day I did that !!!! |
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Tip: Keep your head up while spring skiing. Skiers aren't the only animals that enjoy spring crust ... Black bear tracks are shown in the picture to the left The picture to the right shows a brown bear paw print. When skiing in wooded areas or when it's windy, make a lot of noise so bears can hear you coming! |
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Tip: If you are skiing on snowmobile trails, make sure you have room in your pack to pick up the treasures that snowmobilers spill during the winter. Recently I have found a Phillips screwdriver, wrenches, a pair of channel-lock pliers, a large-size (80 dollar) Leatherman Tool, unopened 7-Ups and Diet Pepsis (tasted great!), unopened quarts of 2-cycle oil, bungee cords, goggles and this bad ass hunting knife (at left). Here's examples of other treasures found out on the trails: |
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| A sinister "Darth Vader" snowmobiler's face mask. | A dead Wildcat on Mt. Susitna. | A dead Yamaha Mtn. Max near Trapper Creek (didn't fit in my pack). | A big box of DVDs on the Kusko (left them there). | And it's always fun to find treasures animals leave you. | Best find ever. A wallet. MY wallet ! Fell out of my pack, I backtracked 10 miles and I found it. Whew! Always double-check pack zippers! | |
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Please: If you see a moose while spring skiing - don't go near it! Winters are exceptionally brutal on moose. Moose are starving and stressed to the max trying to survive - so don't startle them or make them run. On a recent ski (2004) near Alexander Creek I came across 5 dead moose in 4 hours of skiing. Grim. But on the flip side - dead moose mean food for wolves, coyotes, wolverines, foxes, eagles, ravens, martens and, soon, bears. Warning: Hell has no fury as a grieving mother moose! Yearling (baby) moose die first - because their legs are shorter and they have to work harder to wade through snow to get to willow patches. As yearlings are still with their mothers this time of year, when they die the mother is consumed with grief, rage and fury. They will do ANYTHING to protect their calf for several days after death. There are many accounts of unprovoked mother moose charging snowmobilers as they approach a dead calf on a trail. If these mama moose have no problem kicking in cowlings on snowmobiles, they won't think twice about breaking every bone in a skier's body. (Note: If a moose is looking at you and its ears are back ... that is bad. Get away quick! If a moose is walking towards you and wagging its tongue (this is no joke), you've got big problems ... the moose is about to charge) So give moose their dignity and respect ... and stay away from them. Way, way, way away!!!!
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Frequently Asked Questions |
| What is "Alaska Performance Backcountry Skiing"? Alaska Performance Backcountry Skiing is the exploring of Alaskan backcountry areas using lightweight cross country skiing gear. |
| Where does the name "Performance Backcountry Skiing" come from? The ski industry calls cross country skis that are one or two notches below top level racing skis - "performance" skis. These performance skis are best for lightweight backcountry skiing. Thus the name - Performance Backcountry Skiing. |
| What kind of skis, boots and gear do you use? click here |
| Where is a good place to try crust skiing or backcountry winter trail skiing? click here |
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Spring Skiing (and Winter Trail Skiing) Links |
| Pictures and Videos of Alaska winter trail, crust and spring skiing - 2009, 2008, 2007, 2006, 2005, 2004 |
| Skiing the north ridge of Mount Susitna (February 2005) - click here |
| Example spring skiing overnighter trips: Aniak to Bethel Kuskokwim River Ski, Skiing to Burnt Island, Skiing to Pt. Possession |
| Tim shares plans for building a Susitna 100 sled, can be modified for bigger sleds, click here (will link you to a fasterskier.com web page, and then scroll down to see sled pics). |
| Tips for making better Performance Backcountry Ski Gear - click here |
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Want
more? Check out some of my favorite Alaskan outdoor adventure web
sites:
Cory Smith's
www.endurefun.com - Great on-line
photo gallery of skiing, hiking and packrafting trips in Southcentral,
Alaska.
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Skiing West of Anchorage |
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| To the west and northwest of Anchorage, there is often great skiing in the Susitna River Valley, and beyond. You can access this area from trailheads ranging from Knik to Talkeetna. But after a while ... you could be drawn by the skiing possibilities even further west. The catch is, there are no roads to get you there. So say you've got a free couple of days and you want to ski an area 50 to 100 miles from the road. You could take a small plane to get there. But in my opinion this option is expensive and a hassle. I prefer joining league with the iron dog. Yep, strap your skis to a snowmachine, blast out 50 or more miles to your starting point, ditch the sno-go in the woods, ski as much as you want and end up back at the sno-go, change and head back. You can ski lots of new country this way. | ||||
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Left: Snowmobiles can get you out past the bad conditions, like this bank to bank ice, to the good snow zones. Note the ski bags strapped to the sno-gos. |  |
Right: Besides being a lot of fun to drive, snowmobiles can cook your food while you drive. Here Chris "Flash" Clark gets ready to bite into his first muffler cooked caribou hot dog. Mmm Mmm !! The hot dog cooker in this picture inspired a YouTube comedy video!
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Skiing the north ridge of Mount Susitna (February 2005) - click here |
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Try a new ski-sport: Skifishalon ! Combining skiing and ice fishing, it's a good way to explore the Susitna Valley (December 2005) - click here | |
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Prince William Sound |
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| If you want to try some unique spring skiing, especially in May or June, try Prince William Sound out of Whittier. You can get their by private boat or commercial water taxis can drop you off and pick you up. There are also guiding companies that can take you spring skiing in PWS. Or you can kayak out to ski if you have the time. When the weather is nice in the Sound, skiing there is spectacular. Here are some pictures of skiing on June 21st, the first day of summer. | |||
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The Colin-ator churns up a ridge high above Three Finger Cove off Cochrane Bay |
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Skating above Cochrane Bay. Noon and 70 degrees F. |
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Sweet summer shredding! |
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From
winter to summer - ski to the sea ... and then jump in!
Wow guy! That sure is one sickly looking "Alaska Tan" !!
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Ahhhh !! Wait a minute ... Brrrr !!!! |
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Don't forget Perry Island. On days like this ... well, I'll let the picture do the talking! |
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May Prince William Sound skiing pictures below: |
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Harriman
Fiord |
Derickson Bay | ||
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Click on the picture to the right for Culross Island skiing pictures: |
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Meteors give us remote weather data! |
| No, I'm not kidding! Remote weather sites in Alaska often use a technology called meteor burst communications - to bounce radio signals off the ionized trails of meteors high in the atmosphere. The bounced signal is then picked up by a receiver at a base station, fed into a computer and the data is then posted on the Internet. A company here in Alaska put together the remote meteor burst telemetry systems referenced on this web page. That company is Micro-Specialties of Wasilla (www.micro-specialties.com). And the logo you see for the above telemetry sites is their logo. For more information on how meteor burst communications work - click here. |
| This website is maintained by Tim Kelley for fellow South-Central Alaska skiers and outdoors folks (and for people who just want to see how much fun we have up here). If you find any errors with the links on this web page, or if you know of good weather cams or data sites that could be included on this page, you can email me - tkelley a t alaska d o t com. Good skiing (or mushing, ski-joring, snowmobiling, ATV'ing, showshoeing, snow hiking, snow biking, kiting or ... ? ) to ya ! Be safe. |
