State of the Backcountry 2015: IX| Sponsored by Alpenglow Sports

Marcus Caston has one of the most unique powder turns in the ski world. The way he wiggles and floats through snow is like nothing else.

Greetings from the land of the midnight sun! The Points North Heli-Adventures ski season has been off and running for a solid month now, and at Tour Camp we have been firing for the past two weeks. Earlier this March, Jeff, We-Slay and I kicked off our 5^th season of heli assisted ski touring in the Chugach and we couldn’t be more fired up! It’s been a crazy run of sub zero temps, solid storms, and some incredible skiing in Alaska. If you’ve read reports of AK having a sub-par winter just tap into the PNH Facebook page and judge for yourself.

Former Olympian Kaylin Richardson tore Tour Camp up for the past two weeks. Her grace and fluidity on snow was well paired with her fun attitude and hard-charging mentality in the Alaskan backcountry.

Our first group of clients this season stuck around for a full two weeks to capture a segment for next years Warren Miller Ent. ski movie. It was a joy to share camp with athletes Kaylin Richardson, Marcus Caston, and Oystein Aasheim, along with photographer Sverre Hjornevik, and cinematographer Tom Day. With Niel Kasper lending an extra hand for Tom, with his Noboard in tow, I’m certain next years piece will inspire.

From massive backflips to big powder turns, Team Praxis rider Oystein Aasheim went big on just about every run he took at PNH.

After a brief delay in setting up camp this year due to a heavy storm, we finally made it out to our zone and got right to work. You don’t need me to tell you that Tom Day is the man. His eye for filming great lines in brilliant light is second to none. The photos that accompany this State of the Backcountry report were all taken during our first week of working together with Tom and the crew, where big lines and long tours remained on hold as there was just too much cold smoke to ski.

What can I say about the radness of Tom Day? "Nothing left to do, but smile, smile, smile..." — What can I say about the radness of Tom Day? “Nothing left to do, but smile, smile, smile…”

As storms started to vacate the area high pressure paid us a visit and allowed for deeper exploration of our zone, including time spent in some of the more seldom visited areas of the non-motorized portion of the Chugach adjacent to Cordova. Stability, visibility and quality snow conditions make up the main ingredients to most any memorable ski adventure in Alaska. Thankfully, the Warren Miller crew was treated to all three during their stay, and they took full advantage.

The powder skiing has been incredible over the past two weeks in Alaska. We-Slay Stomp-Son made sure to get his fair share of face shots while the getting was good.

After week one we had three guests join us from California and Sweden for our second week of operations. Dave, Pete and Andreas jumped right in, from skiing overhead blower in a white out on their first day, to leaving tracks on the coveted spines of Danno’s before they left. All in all, it was one of those sessions where the magic of skiing in Alaska truly came full circle. People pushed themselves, stayed safe, and left Cordova as fired up as they have ever been.

No matter where I go or who I hang with, it's always an honor to work alongside Jeff Dostie. This guy crushes everything he touches, from sun up to sun down, including getting barreled in powder as well as anyone. — No matter where I go or who I hang with, it’s always an honor to work alongside Jeff Dostie. This guy crushes everything he touches, from sun up to sun down, including getting barreled in powder as well as anyone.

Between the film crew, athletes and PNH, there is a ton of stoke to share covering what went down at Tour Camp over the past two weeks. I look forward to sorting through all the photos and video in good time, but for now it’s time to get back to camp and welcome another group of clients for what’s shaping up to be a worthy run of clear days in the alpine. I hope you enjoyed the last few days of winter, and you’re ready to welcome springtime in the mountains. Arguably, it’s the best time of the year for skiers and riders as ski season is still far from over, but the opportunities for good weather and longer days in the field increase ten-fold. No matter your location, enjoy your next day of turns, and stay fired up!

There are so many fun shots from working with the Warren Miller Ent. crew over the past two weeks, but I really love this one. The whole crew is out and about after a few feet of snow snow fell on Tour Camp, and even though we were just hiking Home Knoll for a few soul turns, everyone was so fired up, the energy built and carried through the next several days of charging through the Chugach. — There are so many fun shots from working with the Warren Miller Ent. crew over the past two weeks, but I really love this one. The whole crew is out and about after a few feet of snow snow fell on Tour Camp, and even though we were just hiking Home Knoll for a few soul turns, everyone was so fired up that the energy just kept building, carrying us through the next several days of charging through the Chugach.

“State of the Backcountry” is sponsored by Alpenglow Sports. Established in 1979, Alpenglow Sports is Tahoe City’s original mountain shop. Specializing in Backcountry and Nordic skiing, snowshoeing, trail running, backpacking, hiking, camping, and the mountain lifestyle apparel, Alpenglow is always psyched to offer premier user-based customer service.