Into the Wild

We awoke on Friday morning to clearing skies and the call from our guide Will that we’d be entering the mountain zones today…finally! After a week’s worth of travel, waiting, training and going through our gear a dozen times, it was time to peep the alpine.

By no means was it bluebird, but the cloud layers were slowly moving up valley, opening up the lower range where we’re stationed. We loaded up the rental, drove up to the airport, weighed in and waited for Steve to land. After a quick refuel, it was off into the wild mountains of AK.

About 20cms (8 inches) of new snow had fallen over the past couple of days…not as much as we hoped, but still plenty to make it work. We took the first run on a north-east facing slope and it was all time! The quality turns in the fresh snow felt like way more than eight inches, so we slashed it up top to bottom, big smiles all around. After a few more runs on some different aspects and areas, we had a good handle on stability and the best places to be at certain times of the day.

For the most part, the new snow is bonding well with the previous layer, so we’re feeling aight in the avy department. This doesn’t mean it’s all good, we’re still on high alert and have all safety measures on point all the time.

After a good day of scouting, we’re prepped and ready to go for the filming days starting tomorrow. Thanks for checking in, Blotto.

All photos © Dean Blotto Gray / Blotto Photto 2010