March madness, Alaska style

While the rest of the country is obsessing with brackets, up here in Anchorage, March means longer days with plenty of good snow still left in the backcountry. (Acknowledged, there are many b-ball fans here too).

We are only halfway through March and already my body is screaming for rest. Starting with the Tour of Anchorage two weekends ago, we have been taking advantage of the great snow and clear days we have had.

Last week, Chester and I skied Peak 3 on a Wednesday night and had great fresh pow turns in the pink alpenglow. Thursday, Andrea, Chester and I skied the middle fork after work – finishing in the twighlight as the temps dove into the single digits.

This last Saturday, Andrea and I skied with L&S, P&R, Teeny and 4 dogs on the A to I traverse, which travels from Arctic Valley in north Anchorage, back behind the front range, 24 miles to Indian on the Seward Highway. It was a long nine hours but the day was beautiful, clear skies and windy only at the very top of Indian Valley. The snow coverage was great and we were able to ski all the way to the car – although some sections were more skiing on logs than snow.

Sunday we had a beautiful clear day at Alyeska – a “rest” day so to speak. : )
More adventures this week, hopefully including some more time on Peak 3, Anchorage’s best “urban” backcountry skiing.