Sign Up for Free | Sign In

Backcountry Skiing blogs, videos, photos, and a whole lotta stoke.

Pilgrimage to Alaska Part II | Haines Backcountry, AK United States | 02/27/09, by Dark Star

If you're a backcountry skier and make it to Haines just be prepared to answer the same question over and over; "so you're not here to heli-ski"? Trust me, it was the most common discussion I had up there. People thought I was nuts. But after I made the interior AK trip work, I figured Haines couldn't wait any longer, no matter how I made my turns. So last March I made a second pilgrimage to the great white north to ride what's become the Chamonix for present day freeriders. I'd venture to say Haines has had an affect on any rider that's witnessed film from there, but guess what? Just like Interior AK, there's a way to experience the velvet fresh of Haines without blowing a fortune -just remember the aforementioned about the funny looks and conversation you'll have.

Haines is a bit harder to reach than Interior spots accessible from Anchorage International, but you do have several options for travel depending on how much time and money you have. Because the ferry from Juneau wasn't running when I arrived, I opted for a quick afternoon tour at the closed Eaglecrest ski area. I climbed and skied a few grand of cream cheese fluff with surface hoar icing before catching a bush flight to Haines-not a bad way to start the trip and a good option if you get stuck in Juneau for a while. The flight was beautiful to say the least.

I met up with my crew that night as buzz around town was growing about high pressure moving in after numerous days of dumpage. There's definitely a reason riders have described Haines as "the Chugach on Steroids". I don't think anyone could visit here and not be humbled.�

When my buddy Rollie, who's guided and ridden in Haines for the past five years, took me by the heli pad the next day there was one line just beaming towards us. My brain began spewing, "Is there anyway we can ski something like that...If I got to ski one line like that the whole trip....Is there anyway we can just ski that?" And there's faces, spines, bowls, flutes and beyond all along the highway that'll make you think you've just seen the most beautiful mountain feature of your life every mile.

Ok, so here's where I confess I did fly in the bird, but for the day we got it was worth every penny and only amounted to about 100 dollars a run. It made sense that first day as conditions were truly ideal, the AK trifecta of clear, bottomless, and stable came together.

The spine I had been looking at and was now standing over never exceeded 40 degrees. It was exposed and as deep as you could imagine. By definition, it was the run of a lifetime. It was after that day and I was still around for several more when the questions kept coming in, "so are you stoked to fly tomorrow"?

I had my experience in the heli, and now had to mitigate my decision that so blatantly contradicts my so called eco-conscious as a skier. But to be fair, I didn't exactly miss out! For the next few days Rollie, Tyson and I were able to ski heli-quality runs against a glorious backdrop of surreal mountains buried beneath ungodly amounts of snow.
A tip for ski travel to Haines- you need to bring a passport as Canada is only a few miles away and that's where the best backcountry lies. Basically, we had a rental car, cruised through the boarder, stopped off the side of the highway, and climbed mountains that were just as inspiring to ride as the ones we got from the heli.

Right over the border are two amazing ski objectives in Three Fingered Jack and Nadahini. The snow skied exactly like what we'd been on in the high alpine a few days before. Breathtaking, and while you can get into crevasse territory on some off these peaks, you can also avoid it and ski with a similar setup you tour with in the lower 48.� Just like a free meal will always taste better than fancy night on the town, I enjoyed earning my free and (mostly) human-powered turns more than my day in the bird.

A super important point to make when discussing Alaskan ski travel is that your plans will likely be curtailed by bad weather. It really does matter if you get a window or the "blue hole" as locals call it because inclimate ski weather often blocks a lot of riding and can ruin a trip. A friend of mine arrived in Haines the day after I left. She was there with a bunch of other Tahoe locals and a film crew. They said one day out of three weeks produced quality film. If you're not opposed to hiking though, you always have the option to hike in the trees or go kite-skiing.�

It's also nice to know that the mountains on the Canadian side of the Haines Highway can't be landed by a heli. If you're into snowmobile access, it's as far as the eye can see, but you can also just go walking and ski pretty much what you want.� Regardless of your preferred mode of transport, visiting Haines pretty much guarantees some of the greatest turns you'll ever make. Choosing to hike has obvious downsides, but for me the satisfaction of topping out on something that took all day to hike is well worth the effort.�

And the people who give you crap about not flying?� They'll be jealous when you boast about powder turns on a day that they were stuck playing board games in the lodge because the helicopter couldn't handle the fog.� That's because it really doesn't matter if the heli flies or not so long as you believe, "you gotta get up to get down".