Tin Can - Backcountry Skiing and Boarding

Ron and Callie were kind enough to invite me to come along with them on a backcountry skiing expedition this past Saturday. We headed down to the Tin Can area on the Kenai Peninsula along Turnagain Pass. We parked Ron's truck at the side of the road and geared up. Callie was using her backcountry alpine skis. Ron was on his telemark skis. Both of them skinned up (skinning is putting an adhesive strip of fabric are attached to the bottom of the skis and that provides traction when going uphill). I strapped my snowboard to my back and followed behind on snowshoes. Ron and Callie were kind enough to wait for me, as snowshoeing (or me snowshoeing at least) is a bit slower.

We started off in dense fog and low lying clouds. The skin track made its way across a low valley and then started up the mountains along the side of the pass. Continually moving uphill, we threaded our way through snow covered trees and around drifts. It was, in the words used the forecast for that day, "bitterly cold." However, snowshoeing and skinning was more than enough to keep us warm.

Eventually we burst out of the clouds into intense sunshine. The whole of the pass opened up and we could see snowcapped peaks shining in the brilliant sun. In the dark north, a day of blue skies and sunshine is much appreciated.

Other skiers and backcountry boarders were out. Many had brought along their dogs to play in the snow. We watched one bounce around making a nest of packed snow while its people took a food break.

We continued along several ridges until we reached the top of the bowl. The view was gorgeous. You could look northeast along the cornice up to Tin Can mountain. South was the bowl we skied down. North you could see Turnagain Arm through an opening in the clouds.


The ride down was fantastic. The powder was well over knee deep in places and I had to really fight to keep the tip of my board up so that I didn't submarine under. I need to get a powder board or backcountry skis. (My snowshoes were fantastic though. I'd recommend the MSR Lightning Ascents to anyone.) I had to make a traverses of flat areas by popping out of my bindings. I also had one spectacularly good fall in deep powder. Callie, Ron and I were a little worried about the angle on one slope posing a slight avalanche danger, so we went down one at a time. I went last and needed to get some real speed to get past an upcoming flat ridge. I started straightlining down and then hit an irregular patch of powder and started somersaulting ass over elbows. A giant spray of powder went up. The powder was so deep that it was like tumbling through down pillows. I ended up back on my feet, covered in powder and my heart was warmed by the sounds of my friends laughing and cheering my acrobatic skills.

Once we were back in the clouds we headed down the skin track and back to the truck. The snowshoeing up the mountain and the boarding down began to take its toll on me and I began to get seriously tired. I was relieved to make it back to the truck.

We drove back to Anchorage with a brief stop for hot coffee and fresh pastries in Girdwood. Dinner never tasted so good and our couches never felt so comfy. All in all, this was a fantastic day.

VIDEO taken from the top of the ridge:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CgiYadktH5E

PICTURES:
http://picasaweb.google.com/jack.r.mckenna/BackcountryBoardingAtTinCan