A skier hits a kicker on a clear day in the Northern Chugach.
CHUGACH MOUNTAINS
RECOMMENDED BY Tag Kleiner
Many off-piste enthusiasts dream of one day skiing Alaska—specifically the Chugach Mountains. Tag Kleiner was no different.
“I grew up watching ski films that profiled Alaska,” he said. “The big, fast lines made an impression. It seemed like the promised land. I’d always wanted to go, but have to admit that I was scared. Over the time I’ve spent in the ski industry, I got to know Theo Meiners, who, along with Doug Coombs, pioneered heli-skiing in Alaska. I’d turned down invitations to ski the Chugach before, but when Theo invited me to come up, I decided to go. At the top of each run, I found my bottom cheeks puckering a bit with fear; at the bottom, I was ready to do it again.”
The Chugach Range rests near the top of southeast Alaska and extends roughly three hundred miles, running west to east. Because of its proximity to the Pacific, the Chugach gets from thirty to eighty feet of snow a year—more snowfall than anywhere else in the world. Thanks to cold air that pours in from the Copper River Delta, the quality of the snow is exceptional. “There are several factors that make the Chugach—and more specifically, Alaska Rendezvous—a dream destination,” Tag continued. “First, it’s the Alaska terrain: big, long, steep ramps, steep couloirs and chutes, big open bowls, with lots and lots of snow. The amount of terrain is so vast, you lose all perspective. Think of it this way: Sun Valley, from top down, is 3,400 vertical feet. Some of the runs in the Chugach have five thousand vertical feet, almost twice as much … and they begin at a fifty-fi ve- or sixty-degree pitch. It’s frightening. Second, the lodge has an amazing group of guides. These folks live for this stuff. The love they have for Alaska skiing is contagious. They work hard to make you feel safe and keep you out of harm’s way. Finally, the lodge is very close to the best skiing, and where it’s situated [about forty-five miles up Thompson Pass from Valdez] the weather is better than in Valdez. As a result, few ski days are lost because the helicopters can’t fly. You’re self-contained, with accommodations, restaurant, and bar. Many days, you can see the wall of clouds and fog that comes off the ocean and sits on Valdez. If you’re flying out of there, you’re sitting in your hotel. Where we are, it’s blue skies. On my last visit, I had six potential ski days, and we flew all six days.”
A few more statistics tell the rest of the story: Visitors to Alaska Rendezvous have access to more than 3,500 square miles of terrain; over the years, guests have skied more than 260 of the Chugach’s almost infinite peaks. The terrain has the largest vertical relief of any accessible helicopter terrain in Alaska (while many mountains are not much taller than six thousand feet, much of each mountain is skiable vertically). Lastly, skiers will cover between twenty thousand and thirty thousand vertical feet on an average day!
Tag described the experience of off-piste skiing, Chugach-style. “The helicopter rides aren’t very long because you’re already so close to the mountains. Some of the ridges you land on don’t seem big enough to support a helicopter. Once you get out of the copter and look at what it is you’re going to ski, you want off. You’re alone on the peak with your group and have to figure out how to get your gear on. Then the wait begins. Your guide goes first. You see him for about ten feet and then he’s gone, disappearing because of the pitch of the slope and reappearing in the run-out five thousand feet later. When he reaches bottom, he’ll radio up for the next person to come down. Your first turns are generally very steep—I remember a run called Happiness being especially steep. As soon as you make that first turn, you start working with the mountain. It gets very relaxing. You’re making left turns, right turns, with a big smile on your face. As you get into it, your only concern is whether or not your legs will hold out. I learned a lot on my first trip to the Chugach. One of the best lessons I came away with is that you ski in the mountain, not on the mountain. You’re in so much snow, and the pitch is so steep, it’s better to think of it this way. If you keep your wits about you and make strong turns, it can be the most incredible skiing experience you’ll ever have.”
A few of the other runs you may have a chance to experience while visiting Alaska Rendezvous include Billy Mitchell (which rises in front of the lodge), Clue Land, and Candy Land. “When you ski Clue Land, you can see the Copper River way down in the valley below,” Tag added. “You ski all the way down.”
Tag Kleiner has many fond memories of skiing the Chugach. One involves a little inspirational chat. “I’ll never forget one run I took with Theo Meiners as my guide. It was a little later in the week, and we’d been skiing progressively steeper and steeper terrain. We landed on a ridge, and after getting our gear on, Theo launched into what he must have considered to be a pep talk. ‘What percent of Alaska ski terrain is avalanche terrain?’ he asked. He answered his own question, ‘A hundred percent. Everything you see is avalanche terrain. If it happens, it’s a thirty-second event. You have to fight with all your heart for those thirty seconds if you’re to have any chance to survive.’ Then Theo turns around and is off down the mountain. I’m taking his talk in, looking at the other skiers, and thinking there’s no way I’m going first. Then the radio crackles, and Theo calls up.
“ ‘Send Tag.’ And I went.”
TAG KLEINER is the global director of marketing at Smith Optics. Originally from Colorado, his skiing adventures have taken him all over the world to experience not only great skiing, but the amazing people that make the mountain lifestyle their passion. Tag currently lives in Ketchum, Idaho, with his nine-year-old son, Holden, and six-year-old daughter, Hazel, both of whom have been bitten by the ski bug.
If You Go
Getting There: Greater Valdez is home base for skiing the Chugach Range; it’s served by Alaska Airlines (800-252-7522; www.alaskaair.com). You can also fly into Anchorage and take a commuter flight with Era Alaska (www.flyera.com).
Season: Alaska Rendezvous Lodge operates from the first week of March through the first week of May.
Lift Tickets: A week at Alaska Rendezvous (888-634-0721; www.arlinc.com) begins at $6,500 and includes lodging and twenty-five thousand to thirty thousand vertical feet of skiing a day; shorter packages are available.
Level of Difficulty: High. The sixty-degree inclines will intimidate most seasoned skiers.
