Seattle Ridge Zero Bowl and Warm Up Bowl

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.