Cordova welcomed me with an incredibly beautiful week of bluebird skies and stable snow. This was promptly followed by a week of precipitation that in Colorado would have been considered a 50 year storm. For reference, last September here brought 87 inches of rain!
Watching the last of the clear weather from our back deck:
It started with 60 cm of snow in 24 hours, followed by 6 days of rain with the freezing level alternating between sea level and almost 1000 meters. After digging out the Subaru, I realized that it works just fine as SubaPlow...
During the breaks in the weather Rachel showed me around. At sunset Rachel, Megan and I walked out to Sheridan Glacier. Apparently there is often amazing ice skating through the calving ice on the frozen terminal lake. Standing on glacier terminus, we could hear the crackling ice moving under us.
As the next front arrived, the snow turned to rain; Rob and I got out for some steep tree skiing on Wolverine Ridge:
After a beautiful walk around town on a calm gray day,
We joined the heli skiers at the ski hill:
From the top of the lift we headed into the Eyak Ridge sidecountry; looking south towards Wolverine Ridge:
This is how the heli skiing guides spend down days:
Sidecountry with a view!
On the lowest tide of the month we walked a mile out on the tide flats of Hartney Bay:
On Monday high pressure returned, Rachel skiing the Eyak Ridge sidecountry:
The eagles watched us skin back up for another lap:
On Tuesday at 4 AM I was at the ferry terminal headed to Anchorage, planning to meet up with friends and look for gainful employment. After falling asleep on the gently rocking boat, I awoke to glassy water and the incredible views of the Prince William Sound:
Its funny here, the memories of a week of bad weather are instantly erased by the incredible beauty of Alaska.
Its funny here, the memories of a week of bad weather are instantly erased by the incredible beauty of Alaska.
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