Ballpark Ski

4/12/25

After a warm winter in Anchorage full of rainy days, we were treated to a late season blip of snow in town. Anyone who has experience skiing coastal mountains knows that just a few inches at sea level can mean feet in the mountains, and that’s what I was hoping for when I set on towards O’Malley Peak on the first day that provided decent visibility after the storm blew through. I parked at the Glen Alps trailhead and began on skis towards Little O’Malley Peak where I would gain the pass into the Ballpark, a gentle-sloping valley that at one point housed a large glacier. While there is no longer any ice in the Ballpark, the signs of glaciation are seen all around you within the steep walls guarding the valley and the periodic small hills that paint the growth and recession that happens between the seasons on any glacier. 

Upon reaching the top of the pass, I quickly ran over and stood on top of Little O’Malley Peak to add it to my slowly growing list of Chugach peaks I have summited. From there, I began walking towards False Peak. As I crossed over the main col between the two mountains, I saw another skier racing up from the Ballpark. I kept my pace and eventually caught up with the skier at the top of a delightful looking slope. As I neared the individual, I shouted hello and was shocked to hear a friend’s voice yell back “Is that Kip!?” It was Lang, who I had met on the Bomber Traverse a few weeks prior. Since we were both skiing alone, we decided to enjoy each other’s company for a lap; After he laced turns through the oh-so-familiar Chugach cream, I followed. We found over a foot of high quality powder on a slope that was engaging without being demanding. At the bottom, Lang skied down towards his camp just beneath the Ballpark while I got ready to climb again. 

Initially I had set out to summit and ski O’Malley Peak, but after seeing the lack of snow within the line I intended to ski, I began to rethink my day. As I was gaining the ridge above the Ballpark again, I noticed all of the untracked minigolf lines that skied into the valley. It was here I decided to bail on O’Malley and focus on fun turns for the rest of the day.

I slowly worked down the ridge towards False peak, skiing nearly every continuous line of snow that presented itself. I ended up skiing six or seven short downhill laps, but as I was reaching the later part of the day, the snow began to deteriorate as winds only increased. At a certain point, I found that I was skiing more firm wind slabby snow than powder, and I elected to call my day there. One last climb up over the col that separates False and Little O’Malley peaks left me with a final decent down Nintendo Hill. While the snow was great for most of the day on the north facing slopes of the Ballpark, as soon as I began skiing south facing snow, I found grabby, unpredictable snow. I slowly picked my way down the junky snow and soon enough was walking the last bit of the way to the car. 

Nothing I skied within the day was notable in its own right, but to find quality snow in the Front Range before it has all blown off always feels like a delight. To be out there as the snow is forming wind slabs is another treat; to be able to not only see, but also feel the snow metamorphize is something so fascinating as such a fanatic of snow.