11/13/24
In the midst of a period of active weather south of Anchorage, I began studying the forecasts to find out when our first blue day would be. Stories of fresh and stable snow accumulating in Turnagain Pass had been circulating, but a lack of good visibility made skiing certain lines challenging. After diving into different weather models, it became clear that Wednesday, November 13 offered an opening in the skies. A large group from Girdwood and Anchorage was assembled, and we headed into the pass before first light; we hoped to beat anyone else to the snow.
Seattle Ridge is the ridge that runs above Turnagain Pass west of the road, and it tends to be accessed exclusively by snow machine. Before December 1 however there are no motors allowed in the pass, meaning us skiers had free reign of snow that exists in a near perpetually tracked out state come mid-winter. With this knowledge and the curiosity of what could lie behind the ridge, we arrived in the Seattle Ridge parking lot as the sun began to light the sky.
A quick tour that follows natural ramps up the face had us standing atop the ridge and looking into Zero Bowl in no time. Jordan and Jarod took a lap down the main bowl to test the snow; they found no instabilities and perfect deep powder. Knowing we could push it into more complex terrain given the safe snow, Raven, Brian, and I headed to the nearby spine wall. Raven flew his drone to get perspective on the lines we were standing atop of, and after careful deliberation we all chose our lines. Raven rode first making slow and elongated slashes into the deep snow to control his speed. I followed second and elected to ski the line carefully as a way to test the snow for the day. I was pleased to find consistent high quality snow that opened the door for the opportunities of the day.
After a successful first lap, we all transitioned and began back up to ski more. I returned back to the spine wall with Jordan and Jarod while Raven and Brian went to ski couloirs across the bowl. As I watched Jarod and Jordan ski the spines we stoop atop of, I began to watch Raven and Brian ski their couloirs. We had taken over the whole bowl and were sure to leave our mark in every corner. After watching incredible riding take place in every direction I looked, I dropped off the large cornice guarding my spine from above. Upon landing I pointed my skis downhill, using the spine as a way to dump my sluff away from myself. I skied this spine much quicker and aggressively, making short work of the steep line. As I reached the bottom I escaped my sluff and regrouped with the team below.
Our next lap took us out of Zero Bowl and into Warm Up Bowl. I was not done with the spine skiing just yet, so when the group headed to the spine wall I was happy to follow. We each took our turns etching our visions into the steep and deep faces. While we were skiing spines successfully, it is important to know that the tops of the spines remained shallow due to sluffing and wind transport. My confidence after the last two runs however had me thinking there wasn’t any way there would be exposed ground, so I skied the top of the spine. Throughout most of the spine I had the pleasure of skiing great powder, but as I neared the nose of the spine that I intended to air off of, I found a rock with my right ski. This killed all my momentum and I was forced to try to ride off the rocky side of the spine. I made it down off the spine out of control and was sent head over heels a few times as I tried to recover. Bottomless soft snow made this quite the enjoyable wipeout, not something you can always count on.
With the sunlight receding and winds increasing, we decided to make our way back to the parking lot. We were pleased to find stellar conditions down the frontside until near the bottom. A consistent good slope and amazing snow made for some of the best skiing of the day; it was a great reminder that it isn’t all about the steeps. Once we reached the cars we all congratulated each other on such a successful day, one of those days you don’t get more than a few times a winter.
11/9/25
With a three foot jumpstart to the snowpack delivered overnight, Turnagain Pass turned on in the blink of an eye. In normal eearly-season fashion, we skied the low-hanging fruit on the skiers side for a couple of days. While on Tincan enjoying deep, stable snow, we watched a group put a skinner up the Seattle Ridge uptrack. That morning, we had looked at the parking lot, but the 4 feet of plowed snow guarding it funneled us to Alaska’s most popular backcountry run. That evening, I identified that it was Tony who had been skiing over at Seattle Ridge, and I interegated him on the parking situation. He warned that the road was in bad condition and was begging to take any car hostage. With this knowledge, I recruited Brian and his powerful Silverado to be our chariot into the glorious back bowls of Seattle Ridge.
Aaron, Jake, and I carpooled from Anchorage before meeting Brian at the Girdwood mall where we loaded up into Brian’s hopefully-capable truck. As we reached the parking lot, a new snow bank was present, but we saw tire marks behind, so we went for it. Tires spun as we slowly crawled towards the end of the parking lot. There was plenty of debate on it we would make it; however, with careful maneuvering Brian was able to not only sneak his way into the lot but also to pack down his tracks to ensure an easier exit.
We were the first people in the lot, and started up the skinner laid down the day before. As we made our way towards the ridge, we began to see more people joining us in the lot and on the skintrack. The secret was out, Seattle Ridge was open for the skiers. At the top of the ridge, we were surprised to see that Tony and his group did not ski Zero Bowl, so we found a nice mellow warmup lap into the bowl as a way to test the snow and lay down the skinner out of the bowl. The four of us each enjoyed near-perfect snow on the 35 to 45 degree bowl. Quickly, we were back on top of the bowl scouting our second lines.
Seeing as I am writing this months after our adventure, the details of what we skied has escaped me. We took many laps in the bowl that day, skiing spines, chutes, and everything in-between. By midday the skinner that we put in became a highway for all the other parties now arriving at the bowl; little did they know how much better it was skiing before all the tracks marred the snow. With tired legs, we exited the bowl one last time and excitement built for the sunny front-side lap in front of us. Seeing that everyone was skiing one panel of the front-side, we ventured off the beaten path and skied an untouched panel. The November sun had no effect on the snow, making the south-east facing slope ski identically to the shaded bowl we had spent all day in.
By the time we got back to the parking lot, it became apparent why the flood of people had joined us on the ridge. Andrew with CNFAIC had brought a plow and cleaned out most of the parking lot, inviting the crowds to escape from Tincan and Sunburst for the annual pilgrimmage to Seattle Ridge before the snowmachiners took back their lands. It felt good to beat the crowds, but also to see eso many people enjoying terrain that remains off-limits for the wise human powered skier.
Kip Sprout 
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