Chugach Crusher

In 2004 Dylan Taylor and I attempted to ski from Valdez to Anchorage, but Thor smashed our psyche and we bailed halfway, at the Matanuska Glacier. The next spring I recruited Andrew Wexler for another shot.

In April 2005 Andrew Wexler and I skied from Anchorage to Valdez. Over 18 days we covered 185 miles and about 31,000 vertical feet. We had three caches located at Crow Pass hut (skied in), Grasshopper Valley (dropped ten days earlier), and at the Scandinavian Peaks hut (flown into us) on the Matanuska Glacier. Eight days of clear, calm and cold weather got us to the Matanuska Glacier from Anchorage. One hundred plus mile per hour winds and snow pinned us down for six days and then five more days took us to Valdez.

On the first day my wife Cathy dropped us off at the Glenn Alps trailhead in Anchorage and we skied over Ship Lake Pass, down Ship Creek, up the North Fork of Ship Creek to Moraine Pass and Paradise Pass, down to Raven Creek and up to the Crow Pass Hut in 13 hours. From Crow Pass we covered part of the well-traveled Eklutna Traverse route including the Raven Glacier, Eagle Glacier and Whiteout Glacier. We then descended the Whiteout to Lake George (15 miles of skating), across the Knik Glacier to Grasshopper Valley and up the Marcus Baker Glacier to a 9,000 foot pass and the Matanuska Glacier. We took an easy glacial bench (~8,500’) from the west to east fork of the Matanuska Glacier to gain Turtle Flats and the Powell Glaciers. We crossed a series of easy passes between the Powell and Sylvester Glaciers (7,200’), Sylvester and Tarr Glaciers (6,300’), and Tarr and Nelchina Glaciers (6,700’). Once on the Nelchina Glacier, straightforward slogging took us across the Tazlina Glacier, up Cashman Col (6,300’) and down the Valdez Glacier to the Valdez Pipeline Bar.

Beta

• Glenn Alps parking lot in Anchorage to the Valdez airport
• Joe Stock & Andrew Wexler
• 185 miles; 31,000 vertical feet
• 18 days total, 5 storm days, 1 rest day
• April 10-28, 2005
• Air Taxi: Meekins Air Service

A portion of day one. Andrew looking down from Paradise Pass to Ship Creek. We skied 27 miles and 7,000 vertical feet, from Glenn Alps in Anchorage to Crow Pass near Girdwood.

On day three we skied from Hans' Hut on the Eklutna Traverse down the Whiteout Glacier to Lake George. Our route down the Whiteout Glacier is above Andrew.

Andrew halfway up the Marcus Baker Glacier.

Shoveling out during day three of the storm. The storm blew over 100 mph and knocked down trees in Anchorage.

Skinning up the east branch of the Matanuska Glacier from the Scandinavian Peaks hut after the storm. Matanuska Glacier to Valdez took us five crushing days.