The Bomber Traverse

Hi Everyone,

Before my expedition on Denali, fellow guide Mark Cionek and I actually got a little skiing in. I'm grateful that Mark was willing to come up early and ski with me. Colleague Matt Emht was generous enough to lend us his truck, and we picked the Bomber Traverse, in the Hatcher Pass area. 22 miles, 7500 feet of gain, 3 huts. It was exactly what we were looking for, a little fun in Alaska before the work begins.

The guide cabin and Matt's truck.

Gold Mint trailhead.

We started skiing on Sunday at 3pm, with 5 hours or so to the first hut. Not to worry, since sunset is really late now! 

Mark on the approach.

Mint Hut, elevation 4200'.

Monday dawned clear, and we were excited to get going over Backdoor Pass. This was our steepest climb. Thankfully snowpack was very stable. Beyond lay a 1500' descent to the Bomber hut. Snow was spring corn, with pockets of shallow powder on northern aspects.

Mark, stoked to go.

The final boot-pack to the pass.

Coming down the Penny Royal Glacier.

The Bomber Hut, elevation 4200'.

It seemed like a huge tour, but the distances were actually not that big. So after we got to the Bomber Hut, we unpacked and went on the namesake tour. Back in the 40's a B-17 bomber crashed here. In the summer one can see the whole plane, but right now all that was out of the snow was a part of the wing. It was a super-fun ski back to the hut.

The hut thing makes ski touring really nice. It's possible to dry out stuff and get out of the weather. The Mountaineering Club of Alaska does a great job keeping the huts maintained.

B-17 wreckage.

Relaxing after skiing the Bomber Glacier. See the tracks by Mark's hat brim?

Howdy Ack & Diane!

Tuesday was cloudy and poor visibility, so instead of touring around the Bomber Hut we lengthened the trip to include another hut and spent the day getting there. The Snowbird Hut is owned by the American Alpine Club and was recently rebuilt. Pretty plush. And right on time, since a wind event came through and brought some cold air in.

Up the final ridge to the Snowbird Hut.

Home Sweet Home. Elevation 4800'.

Mark, happy to be inside!

Lots to do here...

On day 4 we traversed the Snowbird glacier, and then descended to the car. Sadly, someone had broken into Matt's truck. It seemed like the only thing that was stolen was some quarters and my corn chips. They must have had the munchies. So we had to get one at a junkyard and put it in, which went fine.

Traversing the Snowbird Glacier on a Bluebird day.

One kilometer of walking back to the truck.

Boo.

The tour was so good that it was tough to let a break-in bring us down. This was exactly why I brought skis up with me. Now I'm ready to get to work. I'm excited to get on Denali, and a little nervous. I'm not sure what it's going to feel like emotionally but I'm willing to find out.

Thanks for watching, and for all the love and support!

Dave