Alaska Archives Item 4: Alyeska Bound

Alaska Archives will chronicle a spring spent ski touring out of an RV around south central Alaska.

Item 1: Arrival and Thompson Pass     Item 2: Gone Skiing     Item 3: A Full RV

Words and photos courtesy of Zach Paley. See more on his blog.

"Why do we keep doing this?"

It had been almost a month since arriving at Thompson Pass. Lee and I had spent more time hiking in this time than all the rest of winter. We were ready for some chairlifts. Friends insisted we eat at the Thai food truck in Glennallen, on our way to Alyeska.

So delicious

You want spicy or no spicy?

The road past Anchorage onto the Turnagain arm treated us to an amazing sunset. In true Alaska fashion, we stopped at a roadside pull off next to the water around 9 PM and watched the sun slowly descend sideways below the horizon until almost 10:30.

Roadside peaks

Sunset waterfall

Meditation

Balance

The next morning we awoke to sunny skies and one of the greatest spring skiing resorts in existence. Terrain at Alyeska doesn’t get sun until the afternoon, their spring skiing hours reflect this: the resort is open 11-6. Perfect for going out all night, sleeping in, and still getting a full day of good corn and slush skiing. Dropping in above the Turnagain Arm was really cool too. It was a successful migration from Thompson Pass.

Strapping in with a view

Turns above the water

Chairs, airs, and sun