ChillyChugach

Goat Rock Redux - East Ridge Freesolo     A fter summiting via the west ridge of Goat Rock this spring, I wanted to check out the east ridge. Brought my rock shoes cause I've never donned rock shoes in the Chugach before, and this seemed like a good place to start!     I t was mellow, if exposed going until the crux near the top. 5.6ish with big, yet suspect holds, OR 5.7/.8 with much smaller holds and a crack on climbers left. Rock seemed fairly stable throughout, but I was extremely cautious all the same without rope! It was all very Zen and I never felt afraid. Walked off west ridge.  Photos Goat Rock and West Twin (left) in the morning sun.  Eklutna on the right. Grassy ridge goodness to Goat! East Ridge Cheat sheet.   Me @ summit.  Trying out the wide angle selfie! Summit! Summit! West ridge walkoff route Beautiful day Beautiful day Fiery tundra colors Fiery tundra col...

Sunny FRange  love!  10 Miles/6500ft/8.5 hours on foot    Yesterday's sun created a dilemma for me - stay close to Anchorage and link up some peaks, or head further afield and bag a single, large peak.  Well, I've done my share of big peak bushwacking this summer, and I'm getting a bit sick of being soaking wet before even being ON the mountain.  Easy choice.  Front range, here I come!    I parked at Glen Alps, and was on my bike heading toward the Powerline pass by 8AM.  It seems that nature has a cruel sense of humor, 'cause I only made it a few miles before I ran into several bull moose sleeping on the edge of the trail.  Bushwack time!  Goodbye, dry feet!  (they remained moist for the rest of the day).    After passing Ptarmigan Peak and crossing the creek west of Green Lake, I ditched the bike and began hiking up the north ridge/side of Hope Mountain.  This ridge was fairly easygoing, with a...

   It all started with my support bid for the Fireweed 400 (which is a long, LONG race by the way).  My neck was literally on a swivel, looking from one mountain, to the next mountain, and wondering, sometimes aloud, which mountain was which.  The obvious first one I laid name on - Gunsight Mt. near Sheep Lodge.  It turned out to be a very straightforward walk up, although I did manage some unnecessary bushwacking for good measure...    Parking at the Nelchina/Knik/Chickaloon Trail System parking lot, I immediately saw the summit and some 4-wheeler trails to get started.  That looked too easy, so instead, I decided to make my own loop and walk on an abandoned road for a while...  This turned out to be bushwack time!    It became obvious that the abandoned road didn't have any trails coming off it, so nearing the end, I just said "screw it!" and into the bushes I went.  Luckily, this 'shwacking was nowhere near that of E...