Fin

A clear day near the end of the trip was our last chance to make the most of things. A hike in the morning near Seward, then up to Summit Lake for a ski. I decided to keep things simple and leave the camera in the rv.

Boating and mountains near Seward

We had a short 'Teton style' approach through tall grass and bushes to get to the snow, more bushwhacking through tight trees, then a quick skin to a ridge. The turns weren't as manky as we expected, and once the snow ran out, we decided to keep our skis on. Our last turns in Alaska were on grass down to the rv, and as always, they were amazingly fun.

Things looking bare

After grilling in Hope, we decided to go for a sunset hike. We reminisced on memorable ski days the whole way out. We worked backwards starting with this day, since it was our last, mentioning powder and corn skiing at Summit Lake and Turnagain Pass, long runs and good turns on Thompson Pass, blower and cool places visited in Hokkaido, skiing Yarigatake, countless good ski days in Hakuba, and the start of the season in the Tetons.

A fitting sunset to end the trip

A few days later after two planes, three trains, and a bus, I found myself at a Connecticut train station waiting to get picked up. Deliriously tired, bags strewn across the country with reckless abandon thanks to late and canceled flights, I couldn't help but smile. Going into the trip we had no clue how things with the rv would work out or if it was possible to ski in Alaska without going hungry because you spent all your money on helicopters and snowmobiles. It was a great feeling to know that a budget rv trip in Alaska can be done. Now it's time to start planning the next one.

Saying goodbye to Turnagain Pass

Mid May, Spines and Powder

Skipping over a few days of heavy drinking in Seward and Anchorage, and a week of getting shut down at Hatcher Pass, the skies finally cleared when we moved back to the Kenai Peninsula. Finally knowing what it's really like in Alaska, we pushed through fatigue, wet feet, and sun burns to to ski hard on these clear days. We were rewarded with some late season powder skiing and the biggest spine line of the trip. Little did we know these would be the last good turns of the trip. In retrospect, I'm glad we made the most of it.

No corn here

Nice to see contrails again

More good turns

Tracks down the last line. Spines are really fun.

Early May, Orange Sherbet

As May flowers sprouted, the sun stayed out longer and longer. It had taken all winter to get used to the sun setting early behind the mountains in Hakuba, now the sun was setting at 10 PM. Late day sun meant we could take our time getting to north and west aspects, ski fantastically long corn runs until late, and still have hours of daylight to dry gear, grill, and relax.

Will hiking near Summit Lake

Good turns despite clouds

It was around this time we ran into a gentleman from Montana we had met at Thompson Pass. David Johnson, a.k.a. Gomez, is the owner and operator of Casa Tours. He celebrated his 40th birthday recently, and is showing no signs of slowing down. It didn't matter if he was slogging up a bootpack or making perfect turns, Gomez always had a smile on his face.

A smiling Señor Gomez on the boot pack

You wouldn't believe it, but he's from Connecticut

It was also around this time the amazing weather we'd had during April eased up and forced us to make the most of the ski days we got. Skiing hard all day is the easy part in in Alaska.

Lee hard at work in the fields

Enjoying the grains of spring

One of the best harvest days we had on the trip started out inauspiciously. In standard Alaska fashion we were too early to our line at 3 PM, and had to wait around for over an hour for things to soften up. When they did, it was well worth the wait. We went for seconds, then up a new route. Morale fell with false summits but persistence paid off and we topped out at 830 PM. The "orange sherbet" color and texture of the snow, and skiing a long run so late in the day makes it one that won't be forgotten.

Waiting for the main course

Corn for dinner

In search of dessert

Unlike sorbet, sherbet has a creamy texture because it contains dairy

Lactose intolerance will not be tolerated by Gomez