Short TR of a long day: 3000 miles to climb and descend the Tusk, Valdez AK

[wcf3]

I’d organized a trip to Valdez a couple of months ago. On this trip I planned on spending some time touring and some of the time heli-skiing (starting with the touring). For the touring part of the trip I’d hooked up with guide Jordan Pond:

http://www.skitouralaska.com/Alaska_...oarding__.html

Jordan and I had discussed several objectives but knew that conditions during my stay would be the final arbiter of what could get done.

When I booked the trip, the cheapest flight I found departed New Mexico early Monday afternoon and put me into Anchorage shortly after midnight. From there I would drive directly to Valez overnight. Originally I thought I’d probably just check into my hotel in Valdez when I arrived and get some sleep.

As the day of departure approached I started monitoring the weather forecast and it appeared that the only days of my touring session that would be clear were the day of my arrival and (possibly) the day after. As such, after a couple of phone discussions with Jordan, the day one itinerary was changed from hanging around napping to something a bit more ambitious: Hike and ski the Tusk.




The Tusk

Almost anyone who has spent time skiing in Valdez is familiar with the Tusk, one of the iconic peaks of the Chugach. Visible from the road over Thompson pass and close to a number of popular heli-skiing areas, it is an “often seen, seldom done” line. For some background and history see: http://freeskier.com/stories/big-five-tusk

The Tusk


After running into town to pick up a couple of large cups of coffee, I met up with Jordan on the road to the pass where he had his sled. We loaded up and headed out for the valley of the Tusk, the brisk wind from the sled ride insuring that I didn’t get sleepy.

Thar she blows! Approaching Valley of the Tusk.




Arriving at the base of the peak we got a look up at the climb ahead.
The Tusk, looking up from the base.



Jordan getting his gear organized.


A third member of our party (Wilson) was taking a different route in and didn’t arrive until later, but caught up to us on the climb without much problem. The first few hundred feet of climbing were fairly mellow. Luckily the bergschrund had been filled in in one spot by a sluff so that it was reasonably easy to get across.

Jordan enjoying the hike so far.


As soon as we got onto the main face though, the pitch increased dramatically and the climb became much more ‘sporty’. In some places, the footing was fairly solid, but in many areas the snow was only plastered onto rock slabs and didn’t provide a very secure feeling.

The ascent line.


Approaching the top ramp (sometimes referred to as the ‘lens’) the pitch became very steep and progress slowed markedly as Jordan was forced to tunnel up through the snow, while Wilson and I needed to reexcavate steps which were buried from the continuous small avalanche of snow from Jordan’s tunneling efforts. The remaining pictures are rather poor quality because I forgot my camera in an inner pocket where the lens fogged up. (They should give some idea of the pitch up there though).

Jordan tunneling.



View past adjacent peak to next valley.




Steep enough yet?



Thankfully at the very top (below the Tusk proper) there is a short bench of snow that is at a more moderate angle, which gave us a spot to gear up for the descent in a more relaxed fashion. From there you could see the (rather tattered and iced up) rope that Dean Cummings had used to rappel off the summit for his descent the previous year.

The descent (particularly the top part) certainly kept your attention, but after a few turns the worst of the adrenaline abated and one was able to ‘unpucker’ a bit and have some fun.


The descent line.


Jordan skiing the main face.





By the time I got back to my hotel, the thirty hours of travel and other shenanigans caught up to me. Two beers and I was down for the count…

[ak_powder_monkey]

sick sick sick

[buckethead]

wow, sick sick sick indeed!
serious achievement - congrats!

[sqikunst]

SICK SICK SICK again.... balls like a bull that was not steep that was upright.

[AfroMullet]

yes...be there in 12 days..oooohhhhh man.

[SimB]

ooh, she was a beauty! Well done, well done indeed!

[Chugachjed]

Hell yea. Didn't even cheat with a heli! Way to earn some sweet turns.

[yellowstoner]

Nice - way to earn it.

[_Aaron_]

Nice, The Tusk is a classic for sure.

[Alaskan Rover]

Fuck fuck fuck fuck!!! What the fuck????

--

[Ottime]

That looks like a mighty climb and descent.

[Nasty]

Nicely done. Way to earn it.

[mtl_ripper]

Fkna this is WIN! congrats!

[tone capone]

CAW, CAW.

[1thenaton1]

Wcf3 is a bad mutha

[leroy jenkins]

Isnt there vid of coombs skiing that in some old tgr flick? I think it looked a hell of a lot steeper in the video, I have a feeling the pics just don't do it justice.

[lynchdogger]

To the front page and the top where this belongs!

Are you kidding me?! Sweet. Badass.

[StuntCok]

Wow Will. Way to get after it and rep the geriatric ski club of Haines (or whatever it was our van was named). Sorry to miss you in Valdez this year!

[fortysix&2]

...the pitch became very steep and progress slowed markedly as Jordan was forced to tunnel up through the snow, while Wilson and I needed to reexcavate steps which were buried from the continuous small avalanche of snow from Jordan’s tunneling efforts

Wow. Strong work!

[BassBone]

that climb sounds a bit fucking terrifying.

serious respect.

[pfluffenmeister]

whoa, strong work.

[DeathVan]

I'm puckered !

[Meathelmet]

The Win is strong in this post.

[splat]

You done went to eleventeen. Solid fucking work.

[Huckwheat]

Damn....awesome.

So, do you have a bit of an AK resume? Would think a guide would only take you up there (especially day 1) if he had some trust in your skills.

Thanks for the great story and pics.