Guided Bomber Ski Traverse, Talkeetna Mountains

Snow, Glaciers & Granite

Named after a B-29 wreck on the Bomber Glacier in 1957, the Bomber Traverse is a 25-mile, 7,000-vertical foot tour through the jagged Talkeetna Mountains. This trip is ideal for those who want a steeper multi-day tour than the Eklutna Traverse.Along the way we'll camp on dramatic moraine benches away from the huts.

See posts from the area:

Return to Skiing Overview. 

Skill Level

  • Intermediate to advanced alpine skiing skills.
  • Endurance for consecutive full days in the mountains
  • Previous camping experience.

Dates

March - April, 1-5 days

Includes

  • Guide services
  • Cook gear (stoves, fuel, pots)
  • Repair, first aid and navigation kits
  • Emergency communication

Does Not Include

  • Travel to Anchorage and trailhead
  • Food and drink
  • Personal ski camping and ski mountaineering gear (see Ski Mountaineering Gear List)
  • Available for rent: beacon, shovel, probe, ice axe, harness, crampons, backpack, tent

Cost

  • 1 customer: $400 per person per day
  • 2 customers: $275 per person per day
  • 3+ customers: $200 per person per day

Itinerary

Note: Below is a typical three-day itinerary. The Bomber is good as a one-day tour or a multi-day tour that focuses on glacier skiing. 

Day 1: We'll leave from Anchorage at 8 am to get an early start from the trailhead near the Motherlode Lodge. After touring eight miles up the Little Suisitna River, we'll make a steep climb to the toe of the Mint Glacier where we’ll camp on bench surrounded by granite mountains.

Day 2: From our campsite, we'll make a steep climb to the Tenemint Gap and get a long powder run down the Penny Royal Glacier to the secluded Bomber Valley. If time and energy allow, we can tour up the Bomber Glacier and ski around the B-29 bomber wreckage from 1957.

Day 3: From the Bomber camp, we’ll drop another 700 vertical feet before climbing back up to the Snowbird Glacier. We’ll ski up the full length of the Snowbird--and up higher to the ridge if time allows--for a long descent back to our car at the Motherlode. 

 

Elisabeth Depuis topping out on the Backdoor Gap, a steep couloir that emerges at the top of the Mint Glacier, during a nine-hour sprint across the Bomber Traverse. See more photos from our week of touring together here.

 

Skiing untracked powder on The Mint Glacier several weeks after the last snowfall.


Long powder runs on the Bomber Glacier.

 

Peaks above the Snowbird Glacier.