Neacola Traverse

From downtown Anchorage on a sunny evening, you can look across Cook Inlet and see a high, glaciated volcano called Mount Spurr. Left of Spurr is Chakachamna Lake, visible as a large break in the mountains. Further left, the Neacolas mountains stretch southwest for 81 miles to the Tlikakila River and Lake Clark.

On April 6, 2006, Doug Brewer of Alaska Air West in Nikiski flew me, Andrew Wexler and Dylan Taylor to 5,000 feet on the Glacier Fork where we cached 150 lbs of booze and food. Doug then shuttled us to the east end of Chakachamna Lake. With six days of food, and a single 1:250,000 scale map, we headed back to our cache, across the high neves of the McArthur, Blockade and Tanaina Glaciers. Once at our cache, we base camped for 10 days on the Glacier Fork, Neacola and North Fork glaciers. We fought constant storms, skied deep powder and the likely first descents of The Gorilla Finger couloir (2,600 vertical feet) off the west side of the North Fork Glacier at 4,150 feet. On the final five days of the traverse we toured onto the Tlikakila River via the Kijik River, Portage Lake, and Otter Lake making another likely first descent of a couloir we dubbed Immortal Technique (3,000 vertical feet). The final 15 miles were alder shwacking on grizzly trails to Lake Clark. On April 27, Doug fetched us in his DeHavilland Beaver on a Tlikakila gravel bar. We found the Neacola Mountains to be a heavily glaciated version of the North Cascades with granite peaks rising to 9,000 feet. Along our tour, we compared ten WAAS GPS elevations to 1958 1:63,360 USGS maps and found and average elevation drop of 70 feet. Our Neacola traverse was about 100 miles and 20,000 vertical feet. We skied 57,000 total vertical feet.

Made Possible By

Beta

• Partners: Andrew Wexler and Dylan Taylor
• 100 miles
• 20,000 vertical feet on the traverse
• 57,000 vertical total feet of skiing
• April 6 - 17, 2006 (22 days)
• Pilot: Doug Brewer of Alaska West Air

Articles & Reports

• Alaska Magazine
• Backcountry
• Off Piste
• Climbing.com
• Canadian Alpine Journal
• American Alpine Club Journal

Presentations 

• Fall Mountain Fiesta, Mazama, WA. Oct 2006.
• American Alpine Club, Anchorage, AK. Nov 2006.
• Alaska Alpine Club, Fairbanks, AK. March 2007.

Wex says "You guys, let's stop and ski!" Below the huge Chakachamna coolers (Peak 7,530') above the east end of Chakachamna Lake. The left gully was climbed by some young bucks with Fred Becky.

Dylan belaying Andrew into the 3,000-foot Gorilla Finger couloir. Base camping on the North Fork Glacier.

 

North Fork Glacier.

Dylan Taylor skiing the 3,000-foot Immortal Technique Couloir. 

Finishing up a 10,000 vertical foot day at 10 PM.
 
 
Dylan and Andrew walking the final miles to Little Lake Clark.