March 27, 2019

Something about being in Alaska keeps me off the grid. I really enjoy soaking it all in! Which in result, I am not on top of my blogs, Instagram, email, or anything along those lines. I love being in the mountains and living the mountain life. And every March and April when I am in Alaska that is exactly what I do! I am on my way home now. The season got cut short this year in AK…. Unfortunately, it rained and got too warm. When we showed up it was not the best and warm weather killed it all. Totally okay with it! We had one hell of a month at the 35 mile in Haines! Guide school went great! Got out for a tour during the avalanche portion. Hiked up to Gopher Mountain behind base. Then got in the helicopter for three days in a row!!!!! That was the highlight of Alaska! As always! That is why I go!!! The first day we stuck to very low angled lines skiing glaciers. Still amazing! The second day we started to step out a little more and got some sweet lines in!! I sent a monster cliff! Got on top of a spine and sent a thirty footer at the bottom of it! Felt great to get airborne like that! The third day was also incredible!! Got into some bigger stuff!! We never fully teed off Alaska style, but no complaints from me when heli skiing!! It was an amazing three days of heli skiing! Good snow! Not full on POW, but we found plenty of soft and cold snow! Facet skiing! Sand skiing!! I flew in the heli one of the days too!! That was crazy intense!! It is when the guide brings in the helicopter to the landing zone! The heli flies in directly at you and the pilot sets the nose of the helicopter right in front of you!!!!! INTENSE!! After that last day in the heli, I did not ski anymore in Haines. A storm rolled in, which at the time we were super stoked for!! Had a week ahead of snow! Sick!! During those down days we went over to Juneau on the ferry! That was awesome!! We went there with a Brazilian film crew that was making a TV series! Got two incredible POW days at Eagle Crest!! Very deep snow!! Wet heavy spongy POW! It was so playful!! Jack and I partied hard while in Juneau! So much fun! Also went out on a boat on the ocean, threw down some crab pots, went to an island, and just cruised around! The Brazilians were stoked on the time we showed them. We came into Juneau hot and slayed it!! Hit Juneau the best you possibly could! SMASH LIFE! That storm that was nuking all week finished off warm…. And it rained haaaard!! The mountains got wrecked!! Avalanches everywhere! A lot more rock showing! Sad moment for a ski bum, but it was all good! We were still slayin life!! Chilled back in Haines for a bit getting things done around base and staying busy. Went One Wheeling down in town for a morning! That was beautiful! We hung out for some sunny days with hopes of a storm coming in to heal things up! A storm did come, but it was weak, wet, and warm. Pretty much put the cherry on top for the season to be over. Lee, Jack, and I made the decision to hop in the bus and boogie to Silverton, Colorado! It is all time in Silverton right now. So we threw a party at the base to end things on a great note and that night we brewed up a plan to go to Yakutat to surf!! Total whiplash! Before I knew it, a group of us were getting into a Beaver airplane with just sleeping bags, Rx Bars, and ourselves headed to Yakutat, AK! Went from planning on being in a school bus B lining to Colorado to being in a plane flying to surf in Alaska! It was an unbelievable experience! We flew from Haines to Yakutat over the Fairweather Range and tons more incredible mountains and glaciers! I had never seen anything like it! Coolest flight of my life!! We landed, went to Icy Waves Surf Shop for gear, hit the liquor store, grocery store, and went to Boiler Beach! Slept on the beach that night! Had a massive fire! Cooked thirty something hot dogs!! It was a very moist night sleeping in a thick fog! That morning we woke up and smashed some ravioli, pop tarts, and instant coffee! Our fire was still raging from the night! Then we suited up and walked about a mile down the beach to the point break! It was perfect!! Amazing waves! Like three to five foot waves! Very consistent! Beautiful sunny day, surfing perfect waves, with Mt St Elias and all the other massive peaks for our view across the ocean!! One of the better experiences I have ever had! And to finish it off we fly back to Haines over all the mountains with different light!! Mad dreams of ski trips out in those mountains! Alaska Heliskiing always having the best possible time you could imagine!! Heli ski life!! And when the skiing is no good, we still will be having a blast on some sort of adventure!!! So yea, like I said, I am on the way back to Colorado right now!! Cruising in the Pow Bus with Jack and Lee. Marshell went to Oregon. Jack is currently driving the bus!! We are in the Yukon Territory just outside of Watson Lake! So far we have seen buffalo, coyote, caribou, and lynx! Going to stop at Liard Hot Springs tonight!! After four years of coming to Alaska I finally bailed mid season! Feels good!! Excited to go back to skiing!!! Not just stuck in Alaska waiting for something that is not going to happen… Sucked to leave Sean Dog and the crew, but we all just want to make sure all the friends are having fun and living to the fullest. This is why I surround myself with the people I do!! Overall, the AK season was great! I was here for a month and it was amazing. Went heli skiing a few times, snowboarded POW at a resort, saw the Northern Lights, partied, boated, surfed, One Wheeled, made a hot tub, ate tons of seafood, and always had fun!!! Walked away from 35 mile a happy ski bum!!!! Cannot wait for next year!! For now, big lines and POW in Silverton awaits!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!