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2018/2019
by: Tim Kelley
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Mid April 2019:
The Last Quiet Crust Ski At Craigie Creek? |
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There are two
sides to Hatcher Pass. The east side, and the west side.
The masses of people side, and the private side. The zoo
side, and the quiet side.
I don't do
zoos. If you peruse this website, that fact will probably
be apparent. The number of times in the last 10 years I
have skied areas on the east side of Hatcher Pass I could count
with one hand. And have fingers left over. I'm a
Hatcher Pass west-side guy. Craigie Creek, Bald Mountain
Ridge, Shorty Creek,
Black Mountain, Willow Mountain, Purches Creek, Herning/Willow
Sled Trail,
Willow-Fishhook Road when it's not plowed. For decades
this area has been one of my go-to skiing venues.
But recent
news indicates that the zoo will soon be coming to the west side.
The dark side will be coming to the good side.
A
snowcat and helicopter operation will likely get a permit to
start bringing skiers and boarders to ridges in this area.
Is this the
end of the world? No. The helicopter and snowcat
noise will be obnoxious. And more disruptive to the
wildlife that is unaccustomed to it than to me. And having
a snowcat road will have pluses and minuses. Plus if it is
groomed smooth. Minus if it is a rough trench that skiers
and snowmobilers will have to contend with. But I'll still
remain a west-side guy. And I'll still ski west-side
venues.
But is this
the end to quiet on the west side of Hatcher Pass? Again,
I would say - No. These operations will likely be
massively hyped at first and get a short-term bump. But then the clientele will
figure out that these ridges are podunk compared to Valdez,
Haines or the Tordrillos. The 'radness' will be
short-lived. Then the economic realities will set in.
Not enough clients. Too far a distance to transport people
for too little vertical. Previous
cat and
heli operations in Hatcher Pass failed, even though they
were better located.
Craigie Creek neighboring areas have a long history of reclaiming
quiet. Many gold mining operations here have come and gone
over time. They were once noisy and disruptive activities. But in the end, the laws of economics returned these
valleys to quiet. My bet is that this will be the same
fate for the heli and cat skiing operations that are proposed
for
this area. |
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Pictures above and
below of skiing "dust on crust" at Craigie Creek in April 2019. |
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A sight never seen
before. Snowcat tracks going up the Craigie Creek valley.
Maybe a test run by the folks applying for the state permit?
A harbinger of what's to come? |
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Mid April 2019:
Curry Ridge Trail |
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Early April 2019:
Parks Highway, Milepost 173 |
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Late March and Early
April 2019:
Broad Pass Crust Skiing, Alaska Range Side |
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Late March 2019:
Skiing Colorado, In Alaska |
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Late March 2019:
Broad Pass Crust Skiing, Talkeetna Mountains Side |
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Late March 2019:
A Few Road Trip To Canada Pictures |
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We went on a road trip to try
and become better van dwellers/travelers (we're newbies). Not much snow in
Canada, but found some skiing at higher elevations and on lakes Good times. |
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Skis at the ready. |
Kluane Lake, YT |
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Haines, AK |
Haines Highway, BC |
Lake Laberge, YT |
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Log Cabin, BC |
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We keep our van
quite tidy compared to the residents of this place in Salcha,
AK that we drove by. |
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Late February 2019:
Knik Glacier, From A New (For Me) Starting Point |
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Early February 2019:
Some Short, But New (For Us),Trails In The Su Valley |
Happened
across a couple of short trails in the Su Valley that my wife or
I hadn't skied before.
The first one
was a trail from the K'esugi Ken campground at Milepost 135 on
the Parks Highway to the Lower Troublesome Creek pull-out.
Looks like a park ranger with a wide track snowmobile packed
this trail from the K'esugi Ken Campground/ Curry Ridge Trail to
Lower Troublesome Creek and back. The trail had flagging
all the way, so it is apparently an established route and not
just a random snowmobile track. I messed up with my phone
and had the GPS turned off. So no GAIA route info.
And the route was not marked on the trail maps at the
campground. My guess is that the trail is about 5 miles
one way. The trail skied nicely.
Also, while
skiing the X-Y Lake Trails in Talkeetna, I noticed a trail
called the "Erratic Loop" had been dragged. I skied this
trail and checked out the big 30 foot tall(?) glacial erratic it
goes by. Cool trail. |
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The
red line on the above map shows the general location of this
trail between the K'esugi Ken campground and Lower Troublesome
Creek on the Parks Highway. Gradual grades through mixed
forest. Nice classic skiing. |
Expand the map above
to see the Talkeetna Glacial Erratic Loop (marked in black).
If you feel the urge, you can scramble up the erratic from the
south side (north side is shown above). |
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Early February 2019:
Emerging from the fog, of illness |
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My wife and I
got tagged with the 6 week, endless-cough flu that's been going
around. No fun. Attempts at skiing have often been
punctuated with coughing and gagging spells. What a joy.
Getting back on top of things now. So hopefully start
recovering lost fitness and getting some ski trips in. |
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Winter 2018/2019:
No new ski trips yet ... |
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