Picture Story-Skiing in the Alaskan Backcountry
Alaska is known for its majestic mountains, long winters, and epic skiing opportunities, but skiing in the Alaskan backcountry holds much more than mystic appeal and towering peaks enshrouded in scattered clouds and penetrating sunshine. Each day starts the same, with the promise of adventure and opportunity brightening the horizon, but from there, the possibilities range as infinite and intriguing as Alaska’s many peaks. Every season, skiers and snowboarders wait for the first snowfall which signals the beginning of an eight-month epic adventure.
Shot on location in Alaska, featuring sites in Valdez and Thompson Pass, Hatcher’s Pass, and the Turnagain Arm. Showcasing Harrison Alger, Christopher Dunaway, John Marc Dunaway, and Nathanael Ray. Photos and captions by Bethany Ray, 2008-2009 Ski Season.
In winter morning chill, the sun peaks through low morning clouds which hover around the base of “The Sunny Side,” along the Turnagain Arm, sounding a silent alarm for a new day of skiing—the promise of another adventurous day in the great Alaskan mountains (Photo Bethany Ray).
Responding to the call of the mountains, Nathanael Ray and John Marc Dunaway awake on this February morning to prepare for the day. In order to get an early start, they drove down to Turnagain the night before and camped at a pull out to make the most of the short winter days (Photo: Bethany Ray).
A routine part of every ski morning is assembling gear and getting ready for the coming day. Before setting out, Nathanael Ray puts on his climbing skins, an integral part of touring and skiing the Alaska backcountry, which enable skiiers and splitboarders alike to gain access to the vast array of mountainous terrain that lures so many venture out into the wild (Photo Bethany Ray).
After gearing up, Nathanael Ray, followed immediately by Harrison Alger, sets a skin track ascending up to Benzene Alley in Valdez on March 15, 2009. Regardless of destination, each day begins in much the same way, setting a track to the peak (Photo: Bethany Ray).
“It is super important to pack enough of the right stuff in your pack so you are prepared for all types of conditions. Weather can change quickly, and regardless staying hydrated and fed is crucial. There is nothing worse than finding yourself, after an hour or two of skinning, without the proper gear and supplies to sustain you throughout the day,” comments Harrison Alger as he enjoys a much deserved break for water after making the April Bowl Ridge in Hatcher Pass (Photo: Bethany Ray).
With short winter days, rests are fleeting, and eager mountaineers must push through in order to log multiple laps. “Up is up. As we say, farther in and further up,” says Christopher Dunaway (Photo: Bethany Ray).
But, as winds pick up and conditions change, the group exercises caution, filing one at a time, behind Nathanael Ray’s skin track to avoid added stress on the snow pack. As beautiful and striking as blowing snow and shining sun are, the combination of these elements poses the potential for wind-loading and sun-baking, with can result in instabilities in the snow pack, heightening the risk of avalanches (Photo: Bethany Ray)
Christopher Dunaway and Harrison Alger down hike along April Bowl ridge, preparing to conduct snow tests before skiing the backside of the bowl. Especially, when subjected to the wind and sun typical of this season, such tests are key. “Skiing in the backcountry is an amazing experience, but if you don’t know what you’re doing it can be deathly,” says Alger. “Having a good and accurate idea of the snowpack is of vital importance. Without it, you are putting your life and your buddies’ lives in danger” (Photo: Bethany Ray).
Bracing himself against the howling wind and oncoming weather, Nathanael Ray eagerly awaits the return of Harrison Alger and Christopher Dunaway, who will bring with them the results of their snow test. Using their probes and shovels to dig a pit and examine the layers, Alger and Dunaway will be able to better assess the conditions and the gauge the probability of a slide (Photo: Bethany Ray).
True to predictions, the elements have had their affect on the snowpack, causing point releases and sloughing off the April Bowl ridge. “I spend a lot of time out here, and avalanches still scare me,” admits Dunaway after conducting the snow tests with Alger and Ray. “And the thing about snow tests is they can only tell you if snow is unstable-they can’t tell you if it’s stable” (Photo: Bethany Ray).
Appraised of the conditions, and surrounded by the vast chutes and faces of Hatcher’s Pass, Harrison Alger pears over his skis at his line, anxious to at last experience the freedom of descent, and the thrill of Alaska powder skiing (Photo: Bethany Ray).
“One love,” remarks an exhilarated Christopher Dunaway after shredding the bowl to the looker’s right of Tin Can in Turnagain. The rush of speed, the release after hours of hard work, the invigoration of tearing down the mountain–all of these elements combine to create the overwhleming draw of skiing in the Alaska backcountry (Photo: Bethany Ray)
