I have returned in one piece.
I arrived in Valdez (with my friends Bill Spitz and Chris Auman) on March 17 after a 10 day 10 foot local snow
storm. Even the flight attendant was looking out the window, as we passed Prince William Sound and the
Columbia ice field, saying she hardly ever saw it so clear. A Norwegian group of skiers was just leaving who had
spent 12 days in Valdez and only skied about 6 runs (the equivalent of one day) due to bad weather. This was not
a happy group. They spent their spare time climbing frozen waterfalls. We went straight from the airport (after
flying most of the evening and night) to the helicopter. They gave us our beepers (to help others find you if you are
buried) 10 foot foldable probes (to find others) , shovels (to help dig people out), and harness (to assist being
pulled out of glacial crevasses). All of which we carried with lunch in our pack. The guides also carried portable
sleds, stoves and overnight survival gear in their packs. Off we flew into the Chugach range to ski what Valdez is
famous for; long, incredibly steep runs that can drop up to 5000 feet with pitches of 50 plus degrees. The
helicopter would drop you on a ridge or peak sometimes having to dig its skids into a snowbank to provide a
"stable" landing spot. You would hop out with the rotors going and it zoomed down to pick up another group or
wait for you on the bottom. As the snow is heavy, even with the previous weeks 120 plus new inches, the slopes
have a tendency not to slide as much as in other terrain. I skied on skies specifically designed for this terrain with
assistance from the head of this Heli operation - Dean Cummings, one of the worlds most famous extreme skiers
(he also guided us one of the days.) The skis are very wide to hold you up in variable snow. Those who skied on
their own skinnier skis were exhausted and could not keep up till they switched the next day. We got about 6 runs
a day. Always having to wait for the previous person to have gotten down to a "safe" area before you would
proceed on the slope. Our guide once did get swept off his feet in a mini snow slide. On another occasion we
skied over an area where the wind slab snow collapsed. In general thought they ran a very cautious and extremely
professionally managed operation. Our guide for the first 3 days (Spencer Wheathly) is the reigning "World
Extreme Skiing Champion" and showed us the run (actually a series of cliffs on a 2000 foot vertical wall) he won
the championships on last year. We skied a less extreme shoulder off this same run. After the first perfect day we
had an enormous 3 day "wind event" (Alaskan for storm) which packed the snow so the skiing was not quite as
good, but the location and slopes where still mind boggling. In total we got to ski 5 of our 8 days which is about
average. On the last (5th) day that we skied they took us deep into the Alaskan range for better snow in what was
truly breathtaking scenery. As this area was rarely skied we got to name many of the slopes we went down as first
descents. Most of the mountains in these area have never been climbed. At my request, as a special thrill, on our
last run out the pilot took our helicopter at full speed down a narrow canyon to get us back to our base camp. It
felt like being inside the Star Wars movie. Altogether it was an incredible trip and almost makes it worth turning
50 (this was mine and Chris's 50th birthday presents to ourselves). My movie version is available for those who
show up in Lester Place.
Any way we had a great time, I then spent the weekend in Anchorage with Liska and family and got to ski Mt.
Alyeska with David and Gary on Sunday before my return, which was also lots of fun.
Martin
Go to Photos of Trip
I arrived in Valdez (with my friends Bill Spitz and Chris Auman) on March 17 after a 10 day 10 foot local snow
storm. Even the flight attendant was looking out the window, as we passed Prince William Sound and the
Columbia ice field, saying she hardly ever saw it so clear. A Norwegian group of skiers was just leaving who had
spent 12 days in Valdez and only skied about 6 runs (the equivalent of one day) due to bad weather. This was not
a happy group. They spent their spare time climbing frozen waterfalls. We went straight from the airport (after
flying most of the evening and night) to the helicopter. They gave us our beepers (to help others find you if you are
buried) 10 foot foldable probes (to find others) , shovels (to help dig people out), and harness (to assist being
pulled out of glacial crevasses). All of which we carried with lunch in our pack. The guides also carried portable
sleds, stoves and overnight survival gear in their packs. Off we flew into the Chugach range to ski what Valdez is
famous for; long, incredibly steep runs that can drop up to 5000 feet with pitches of 50 plus degrees. The
helicopter would drop you on a ridge or peak sometimes having to dig its skids into a snowbank to provide a
"stable" landing spot. You would hop out with the rotors going and it zoomed down to pick up another group or
wait for you on the bottom. As the snow is heavy, even with the previous weeks 120 plus new inches, the slopes
have a tendency not to slide as much as in other terrain. I skied on skies specifically designed for this terrain with
assistance from the head of this Heli operation - Dean Cummings, one of the worlds most famous extreme skiers
(he also guided us one of the days.) The skis are very wide to hold you up in variable snow. Those who skied on
their own skinnier skis were exhausted and could not keep up till they switched the next day. We got about 6 runs
a day. Always having to wait for the previous person to have gotten down to a "safe" area before you would
proceed on the slope. Our guide once did get swept off his feet in a mini snow slide. On another occasion we
skied over an area where the wind slab snow collapsed. In general thought they ran a very cautious and extremely
professionally managed operation. Our guide for the first 3 days (Spencer Wheathly) is the reigning "World
Extreme Skiing Champion" and showed us the run (actually a series of cliffs on a 2000 foot vertical wall) he won
the championships on last year. We skied a less extreme shoulder off this same run. After the first perfect day we
had an enormous 3 day "wind event" (Alaskan for storm) which packed the snow so the skiing was not quite as
good, but the location and slopes where still mind boggling. In total we got to ski 5 of our 8 days which is about
average. On the last (5th) day that we skied they took us deep into the Alaskan range for better snow in what was
truly breathtaking scenery. As this area was rarely skied we got to name many of the slopes we went down as first
descents. Most of the mountains in these area have never been climbed. At my request, as a special thrill, on our
last run out the pilot took our helicopter at full speed down a narrow canyon to get us back to our base camp. It
felt like being inside the Star Wars movie. Altogether it was an incredible trip and almost makes it worth turning
50 (this was mine and Chris's 50th birthday presents to ourselves). My movie version is available for those who
show up in Lester Place.
Any way we had a great time, I then spent the weekend in Anchorage with Liska and family and got to ski Mt.
Alyeska with David and Gary on Sunday before my return, which was also lots of fun.
Martin
Go to Photos of Trip
| Heli Skiing Vadez Alaska March 17-25 2001 |
