Supposedly the three peaks we bagged had never been climbed before. But even so, whoever named this bay must have known how spectacular it is up on the peaks, because the views definitely hit the Jackpot!

These days I don’t have as much time for big adventures, so I have to ration them. But that doesn’t mean I’m not getting outside. I’ve been doing more runs in the mountains right near home. Here’s a great one I just did: up the Falls Creek trail to South Suicide peak, then drop down the ridge behind McHugh Lake, then run out the Rabbit Lake trail. Its amazing that all of this is less than 20 minutes from home!

Erik, my ski buddy from the Park City days, and his wife Emily were in town recently. Erik really wanted to try this packrafting thing that I’m always raving about. And you know me - I’m always up for a run-n-float!

June 16: We had quite the large flotilla on Eagle River on Saturday. Ten of us hiked over Cross Pass from Girdwood and floated out in our packrafts.

April 29, 2007: If I had to pick one ski route as the quintessential Southcentral Alaska crust ski - it would be Center Creek.

April 14, 2007: Tim, Tim, Benji, and I encountered crust, corn, and fresh powder snow during our ski from the Peter’s Creek trailhead, up and over Bombardment Pass, and out the Ram Valley.

Plenty of snow this winter + recent warm weather and rain + overnight temperatures below freezing = Crust skiing 2007! I kicked off my spring crust cruising season with a trip to Spencer Glacier with Chris, Seth, Chris, and Gary.

A couple of years ago, Scott and I tried to ski up Willow Mountain looking for crust. That time we didn’t make it, but this time Tim and I used classic skis and had better luck. Tim’s video of this ski:

March 11: Ian and I took advantage of a bright sunny day to do the Indian To Arctic ski. Snow conditions were perfect for backcountry touring: hard crust base with 4 inches of powder on top. Plus a large group of about 10 or so had set a track for us!