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We take a slight rest on the glacier, and our guide decides to take us to a steep range comprised of skinny chutes known as the books. Our pilot accomplishes another amazing drop-off that leaves us with a slight hike up to an impressive, fully shaded section of fresh chutes. It is around four in the afternoon and the sun has started to take its toll on the snow. Jacob dig the pit for the usual safety check, revealing an nice plate of ice two feet down, creating a fat slab, if it were to peel on us. In any location, this slope is a hazard, but many well schooled Alaskan backcountry pro’s tend to agree on the amazing stability of the Alaskan snow-pack. Our guide, feeling solid, lets Eric Wilhelm carve virgin tracks down the chute. We hear hollering all the way down that sounded like someone having an insane experience. We all get the same juice, as, one by one we drop into the chute and make fast long carves all the way to the glacier. We sprawl on the fresh pow for a while. The heli is removing a group that just broke an enormous cornice across the glacier from us, apparently a very close call. We study the chutes across from us and clearly see the scars of an avalanche that tore down the chute and spewed out onto the floor of the glacier. Eventually the heli returns and escorts us to one final chute down the books. We conclude our long day around ten PM. Legs are swollen, body is tired, but my mind is awake with the rejuvenating feeling of an experience so perfect. We retire to Valdez for an eventful evening of food and drink, we share conversation with many that are alive with the fire and happiness a quality heli -day can impart. |