Alaska Fly-in Ski Basecamp!


Skiing Alaska's Mount Fafnir, with Prince William Sound in sight below, as the culmination of a Chugach base camp trip. May 2016. 

April 19-28, 2018

I won't hedge... There is no better ski endeavor on the planet than a fly-in, base-camped trip to Alaska's Coastal Chugach range. It is the best of Valdez-style skiing, with the untracked quiet of deep wilderness, and the focused, meditative life of glacier "glamping". We will assemble a strong team, lead with cutting edge high-mountain acumen, and feed you gourmet meals literally miles from the nearest sign of mankind.

Sample Agenda:

  • Day 1: Thursday, April 19. Fly to Anchorage. Arrive before 4pm in order to meet with the group for orientation dinner. 
  • Day 2: Fly onto glacier. This is adventure skiing; right off the bat, we don't know our exact base-camp destination. We will work with conditions, timing, terrain, and our pilot to choose a destination, sometimes in that "11th hour". We've done this trip in the past to entirely unscouted locations. No one on the trip will tell you this was any sort of disadvantage!
  • Days 3-8: Ski. Locations like Mount Goode, the Scandinavian Peaks, the Upper Nelchina Glacier, the Harvard Glacier, and Mount Fafnir, among many others, are in the realm of possibility. 
  • Day 9: Likely our first opportunity to fly off the glacier. We have to negotiate our exit based on weather and conditions. 
  • Day 10: Saturday, April 28. Hopefully our glacier exit day. Book your flight home from Anchorage no sooner than the evening of April 28. 


You don't get the tens of meters of snow that Alaska skiing is famous for without some poor weather. Late April is generally pretty reliable, in terms of backcountry flying conditions. That being said, we have to be a little flexible. To accommodate this, if we are delayed flying into the basecamp, or have to exit the mountains earlier than intended, we will arrange day ski tours of Alaska's world-class roadside skiing, all accessible from a hotel in Anchorage.

Included:
  • Travel, lodging, and guiding within Alaska
  • Pre-trip training plans, gear lists, and personalized advice
  • Professionally curated menu of truly gourmet backcountry food. 
  • Post-trip, professionally captured and printed photo
  • Group gear, including ropes, tents, emergency supplies, etc. 
Excluded:
  • Personal equipment. Your normal "Lower 48" ski mountaineering kit, plus thicker rental down jackets and sleeping bags from our partners at Feathered Friends, is all you need. 
  • Travel to and from Anchorage
  • Food and drink in town. 
Cost: $6000

Apply with an email to jediahmporter at gmail dot com describing your backcountry skiing and ski mountaineering background. 

Invited skiers make your non-refundable $1000 deposit here.  
Basecamp life. Beefy tents make Alaska's harsh, but oh-so-pow-friendly, weather not only tolerable, but comfortable. 

For some, the flight in is an instant highlight. If only they knew how wild the skiing will be!


Surf and turf, at 7000 feet in the Alaska wild. Food is no joke on this trip. 


Jediah PorterComment