Little Alaska…
December 21, 2008
Yesterday Adam Rucido and I skinned out to Little Alaska in Ward Canyon. For background, Little Alaska is an area of spines, gullies and cliffs at the head of Ward Canyon, south of Alpine Meadows ski area. The terrain is visually inspiring and great fun to ski.
Upon reaching the top it was clear that the previous day’s wind event had created deep slabs on the most asthetic features. Given that all of this terrain funnels into to deep gullies, we opted for some less hazardous options characterized by open slopes leading to spines in trees. The snow was smooth cold wind buffed powder and the run was excellent. At the bottom, Adam immediately claimed “best of the year.” The season is now only a week old, but I wouldn’t be surprised if that run stays high on the list for quite a while.
