A three day solo trip into the Delta’s (Eastern Alaska Range) to recon the approach to the north side of Icefall Peak. Turns out it would have been more like a 5 or 6 day trip to get all the way to the base of Icefall and back. It was more than I had planned, and being solo, there were features on the glacier below that disturbed me. Regardless, I was quite pleased to be out there on a good 18 mile ski round trip. The last night I was met with a severe winter storm including dumping snow and 60 mph gusts. It must have snowed close to a foot, but you wouldn’t know it due to the ferocious wind. I spent the entire night fully dressed with boots on and the pack packed minus tent and sleeping bag. The hours were spent bracing the single ski pole support and bracing the Hyperlight ‘Mid to prevent it from collapsing. It was a dicey situation to say the least. About 3 am the wind calmed quite a bit, and I bolted out into a whiteout, threw my shit in the pack, and skied out to the truck in severely limited visibility. After getting lost a couple times, I finally found myself skiing through Red Rock Canyon near Rainbow Mountain and followed a set of fresh Wolf tracks for over a mile before they dissappeared into what appeared to be a den. Another hour and I was at the truck overwhelmed with exhaustion.
Just Rolling By 