Endure Fun » spencer

Turnagain Pass to Spencer Glacier Packrafting Hike

Cory — Sat, 02 Aug 2008 06:17:06 +0000

Last summer, Ian and I tried to hike from Turnagain Pass to Spencer Glacier Lake, then packraft out the Placer River. I call this trip “Center² Spencer” (Center to Spencer) because the route is Center Ridge to Center Creek to Spencer Glacier. Its as clever as I could get.

Unfortunately, we had to turn back at the pass near Tincan Peak, above Center Ridge. The cliff was a little too high and we didn’t have the right gear. So its been on my list to complete this summer. Friday was a nice day, so we jumped at the chance to do it again. We also took along Bastien, an orienteer who is visiting from France.

This time we made it. It was a great trip, but I’d be remiss if I didn’t tell you that some parts sucked. The bushwhack up to the top of Center Ridge wasn’t fun, but it was only half an hour. And after that, the walking on Center Ridge was great. Going over the pass was a challenge, but was made much more doable by good snow conditions and the fact that we had ice axes. The walking on the other side of the pass was easy-going with spectacular views, except for one steep bushwhacking section just before Center Creek Pass. And then, of course, the descent from Center Creek to Spencer Lake was awful. Some of the nastiest bushwhacking I’ve done. If they ever build the proposed whistle-stop trail down this slope, this could become a classic packraft trip. But not until then.

The trip took a total of 11 hours. We hiked quickly, but didn’t push the pace, and we stopped for a few snack breaks. We had a great time and made the most of a rare sunny day. Check out the photos for more details. Thanks to Bill for giving us info from his ski trip on this route in June.

A Grand(view) Ol’ Time

Cory — Sat, 19 Apr 2008 06:18:10 +0000

Today Tim, Benji and I headed south to Portage hoping to finally find some crust in the Placer River valley. We’d received over two feet of snow at home in the past two weeks (in April!), but the Portage area didn’t get as much. Plus the sun has been out for the past few days, so we were hopeful that we might find some crust. Our goal was to ski up past Spencer Glacier, then up and over the ridge to Grandview. I’d crust skied at Grandview before but I’d never crust skied to Grandview before. Getting there is a little tricky. The train gets there by going through a tunnel next to a river gorge. Not willing to risk our lives by using the train tunnel, we had to go up and over a ridgeline, which actually wasn’t that bad if you know where to go (which is why we go with Tim). It turned out that the crust was bomber most of the way, and the ski was spectacular. Click the album below to see my pictures. If you want proof that I actually was on this trip, check out Tim’s photos.

Center Creek ’07

Cory — Mon, 30 Apr 2007 04:35:58 +0000

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

Crust Ski To Spencer Glacier

Cory — Fri, 13 Apr 2007 04:30:17 +0000

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.

Spencer Glacier

Cory — Fri, 14 Apr 2006 19:33:47 +0000

April 14: It seems like I’ve been doing everything twice this spring. Two times up Twentymile, two times across Arctic to Indian. And today I did my second ski up the Placer River valley. This time I went to Spencer Glacier.

Center Creek Adventure

Cory — Sun, 17 Apr 2005 17:27:49 +0000

On Sunday April 17, Scott, Bill and I planned to explore the crust skiing in Center Creek. If only I could get us there…

Placer River Valley Crust Ski

Cory — Tue, 20 Apr 2004 16:08:23 +0000

April 20. After four days of warm, wet weather we finally got a freeze last night, so Scott and I jumped at the chance to get back out on the crust. This time we heaed to the Placer River Valley. Althouth the terrain here is very flat, there are two impressive glaciers to see.

Center Creek Crust Ski

Cory — Thu, 15 Apr 2004 16:02:58 +0000

Thursday April 15. Tim Kelley and Tim Miller invited me to join them for a crust ski up Center Creek, near Johnson Pass. It was a chance I couldn’t pass up, so I skipped work and grabbed the boards. We skied for about 4 hours in some of the best crust skiing terrain you will find anywhere.