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  1. #1
    Join Date
    Nov 2010
    Location
    Seattle/Chamonix
    Posts
    67

    Talking TR: Girls Gone Wild AK Style

    Friends have been talking about Alaska for years. The land of perfect, stable, bootable snow that sticks to everything. Massive unridden spine walls, endless couloirs, huge alpine faces and large glaciers running from the sea to giant serac'd capped peaks. It snows at night and is bluebird in the morning. There are wild but friendly unicorns and rainbows atop every spine line. The climate heals any weak layers in the snowpack. It's not that dark in the winter. Ok, the unicorn part may be a tall tale but everything else is absolute fact.

    The past five years I've saved all my pennies to get to Chamonix and going to Alaska just seemed out of the question. I always thought, "Alaska couldn't be much radder than the Alps could it? A girl just can't have it all." I tried to remain content with staying in the Alps, which I totally was... BUT this year I got lucky and decided to go find out for myself what the BFD was with AK. And boy oh boy Alaska did NOT fail to deliver.

    We flew into Anchorage, and Emily from Silvertip Aviation, www.silvertipaviation.com picked us up and her lovely fiancé, Matt flew us out to the Tordrillos. I'd highly recommend Silvertip, they fly out of Wasilla to the Chugach, Talkeetna, Tordrillo and Alaska ranges. Super nice couple, great service and solid pilots.


    Alaska had a pretty bad season this year, low snow and a gnarly persistent layer I kept hearing about which made me kind of nervous to be 100 miles out on a glacier in the middle of now where with help far, far away. A little different than being in Chamonix with a free heli evac service just a phone call away. It's also different than Cham because you don't have a bunch of D bags dropping in on your head or racing you up to a classic line that's in condition... they also aren't around to open up a big line for you in sketchy conditions (the only time they're appreciated).




    We set up camp then went for a little evening sesh on some west facing glowing slopes near our tents. The new snow that had fallen in the last 2 days was kind of baked with a nasty sugary layer underneath. I made some sweet fast turns then got up onto a spine to let my slough pass through the choke at the bottom. After it passed I pointed it over the shrund and out onto the glacier. SO FUN! It took us a couple days to figure out the snowpack, the weather and where the good snow would be then we crushed for the following 8 days.

    We got up at about 3:45am almost every morning after that and hit the northeast aspects, where the snow was blower, that had light on them at sunrise. We'd come home after an 8 or 9 hour sesh, eat whiskey snickers pancakes, nap, drink some pabst then go back out for an evening sesh when the light was on the northwest aspects.


    Caroline getting some sunrise turns in. Absolute gorge.


    Me in my tent on one of two down days.


    Carolina in the pink light! This morning there were windslabs everywhere from a storm that deposited about a foot of fresh overnight. We stayed on smaller lines with good run-outs. I cracked a few small ones off. It was a good lesson in risk management and hazard evaluation.


    Jay Beyer and JT Thompson going to crushtown in a crevasse.


    Here's a silly movie I made, entitled Men at Work, about how hard it is to be a photographer/filmer.


    Megalaspine zone miles from camp.


    One afternoon we were tired from endless spines and powder, soon we got bored and we decided to make a music video.


    We called this zone Cham, because it looks like Mont Blanc and the Tacul. Want.


    Overall Alaska was an AMAZING experience and now I'm begrudged to make it happen every year. Oh dang. I'd really recommend camping out on the glacier for an extended period to get to know your zone and maximize shredding potential. I taught a splitboard course in the rain at Mt. Baker in a white out yesterday, dreaming of being back in AK.
    www.lizdaley.us
    @liz_daley

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Dec 2010
    Location
    Last Best City in the Last Best Place
    Posts
    7,237
    Nice pics, sounds like an awesome trip.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Nov 2004
    Location
    Too far from the snow
    Posts
    503
    Good job not putting that "music video" pic first. I'd have never seen the rest!

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Jan 2014
    Location
    303
    Posts
    102
    RAD! Thanks for sharing your stoke!

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Feb 2006
    Location
    New England
    Posts
    12,098
    Great TR as usual...


    And that video may just make up for the missing "Thatcherettes"
    Screw the net, Surf the backcountry!

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Dec 2005
    Location
    Posts
    15,768

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Dec 2007
    Location
    monument
    Posts
    6,895
    Quote Originally Posted by BettyDee View Post
    Friends have been talking about Alaska for years. The land of perfect, stable, bootable snow that sticks to everything. Massive unridden spine walls, endless couloirs, huge alpine faces and large glaciers running from the sea to giant serac'd capped peaks. It snows at night and is bluebird in the morning. There are wild but friendly unicorns and rainbows atop every spine line. The climate heals any weak layers in the snowpack. It's not that dark in the winter. Ok, the unicorn part may be a tall tale but everything else is absolute fact.
    ... talk slower.
    In search of the elusive artic powder weasel ...

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Apr 2004
    Location
    cordova,AK
    Posts
    3,681
    I usually try not to make every post about myself. However since this post involves scantily clad hot women, modeling, BFD ,Alaska and the Tordillos. If your research happened to include Rodman Wilson's book on the history of climbing in the Tordillos I am the centerfold.
    Glad you made the journey and found AK worthy.
    off your knees Louie

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Sep 2005
    Location
    Not in the PRB
    Posts
    32,689
    stellar. thanks for sharing
    "fuck off you asshat gaper shit for brains fucktard wanker." - Jesus Christ
    "She was tossing her bean salad with the vigor of a Drunken Pop princess so I walked out of the corner and said.... "need a hand?"" - Odin
    "everybody's got their hooks into you, fuck em....forge on motherfuckers, drag all those bitches across the goal line with you." - (not so) ill-advised strategy

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Nov 2002
    Location
    Eagle River Alaska
    Posts
    10,961
    Think of what its like not in the worse snow year anyone can remember!
    Its not that I suck at spelling, its that I just don't care

  11. #11
    Join Date
    Nov 2010
    Location
    Seattle/Chamonix
    Posts
    67
    Quote Originally Posted by ak_powder_monkey View Post
    Think of what its like not in the worse snow year anyone can remember!
    That's what I was thinking the entire trip!
    www.lizdaley.us
    @liz_daley

  12. #12
    Join Date
    Feb 2008
    Posts
    5,722
    Beautiful. Again. Awesome

  13. #13
    Join Date
    Dec 2007
    Location
    base of the Bush
    Posts
    14,848
    "Don't know much about dancin'
    That's why I got this song
    One of my legs is shorter than the other
    'N' both my feet's too long
    'Course now right along with 'em
    I got no natural rhythm
    But I go dancin' every night
    Hopin' one day I might get it right
    I'm a dancin'fool, I'm a
    Dancin' fool"

    BettyDee Delivers
    www.apriliaforum.com

    "If the road You followed brought you to this,of what use was the road"?

    "I have no idea what I am talking about but would be happy to share my biased opinions as fact on the matter. "
    Ottime

  14. #14
    Join Date
    Oct 2009
    Location
    Southern NH
    Posts
    4,286
    Killer!

    Sent from my SCH-I535 using TGR Forums
    The Passion is in the Risk

  15. #15
    Join Date
    Jun 2006
    Location
    Ventura Highway in the Sunshine
    Posts
    22,429
    I just know any TR put up by BettyDee is going to be stellar, and this one did not disappoint.

    Thanks, as always for great TRs.

    I agree it is a constitutional right for Americans to be assholes...its just too bad that so many take the opportunity...
    iscariot

  16. #16
    Join Date
    Jul 2005
    Location
    Moose, Iowa
    Posts
    7,908
    Great stuff! I like how you just sneak the killer video in there on us

  17. #17
    Join Date
    Dec 2009
    Posts
    1,085
    SCORE!!!!!!!!!!
    "up in the ski resorts, up in hills they move ki's and had skis making drops on snowmobiles"- GZA

  18. #18
    Join Date
    Oct 2009
    Location
    Maine Coast
    Posts
    4,662
    Yo keep em coming BettyDee, you have a loyal fan base here.

  19. #19
    Join Date
    Mar 2006
    Location
    SLC
    Posts
    2,578
    Looks like you all had some good weather. Makes the trip for sure. Video was awesome!

  20. #20
    Join Date
    Nov 2010
    Location
    Seattle/Chamonix
    Posts
    67
    Ah jeeze, love you guys!
    www.lizdaley.us
    @liz_daley

  21. #21
    Join Date
    May 2009
    Location
    june
    Posts
    126
    Video was hilarious. Good job.
    I'll be the hyena, you'll see.

  22. #22
    Join Date
    Oct 2007
    Location
    bucks county pa
    Posts
    2,663
    great job , keep on dancing and skiing great TR thanks for sharing
    always forward but never straight

  23. #23
    Join Date
    Jun 2007
    Location
    Cruzing
    Posts
    11,905
    That was great. Love the fringe day light.

  24. #24
    Join Date
    Dec 2008
    Location
    cottonwood heights
    Posts
    1,680
    getin er dun there; that's like a real adventure!
    ski paintingshttp://michael-cuozzo.fineartamerica.com" horror has a face; you must make a friend of horror...horror and moral terror.. are your friends...if not, they are enemies to be feared...the horror"....col Kurtz

  25. #25
    Join Date
    Aug 2013
    Location
    shadow of HS butte
    Posts
    6,379
    These, these are the goods.

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