If you’re reading this, you’ve probably heard of ski mountaineering. But have you heard of ski canyoneering? The Central Chugach provides some of the finest opportunities on Earth for ski canyoneering. Whether by snowshoe, nordic skis, or alpine touring setup; there are many aesthetic, wild canyons in this region that are seldom (if ever) traveled by humans. These canyons are fine destinations in and of themselves for just a snowshoe hike or ski, but also afford endless opportunities for alpine touring and ice climbing…as discussed here.

One of the unique experiences of the frozen season that I find especially magical is hiking canyon waterways otherwise impassable during the non-frozen season. I first realized how special this sort of experience was many years ago hiking Eklutna Canyon (in the Western Chugach outside of Anchorage) to ice climb. Since then, there are many frozen canyon waterways in Southcentral Alaska that I’ve known and loved.

While living in Anchorage I frequented Eklutna, Hunter Creek, and Caribou Creek canyons. Each has its own magically unique vibe. There were times when I traveled Hunter and Caribou to ice climb that I used nordic skis, but usually there wasn’t enough snow to warrant skis and hiking with micro-spikes sufficed. In dozens of trips over the course of many winters, there was never enough snow in Eklutna Canyon to warrant skis.

Now that I’m living on the other (wild) side of Chugach, as with many things, the canyons are next level. Lack of snow is not the case here. While I’ve never used flotation devices to access the world-class, multi-pitch ice climbs just a stone’s throw from the Richardson Highway in Keystone Canyon, getting to them often involves knee deep booting through the deep snow the Valdez area Central Chugach is known for. Traveling through any canyon around here efficiently definitely requires skis or suffer moccasins…I mean snowshoes.

I explored a few new canyons in the Central Chugach this frozen season. The canyons here are “next level” because they are numerous and generally deep, tight, unknown, and filled with a thick snowpack. Most don’t have names (especially on the USGS map) unlike their named, well-known, and oft-traveled counterparts closer to Anchorage.

Almost all the canyons near Valdez hold ice. Most of this ice has likely never been climbed before, being overshadowed by bigger and easier to access ice in canyons like Keystone and the few others near the road that are described online and in guidebooks.

Despite having explored several lesser known and new to me canyons in the Valdez area Central Chugach the past couple seasons, I didn’t go for the ice climbing (except with recon in the back of my mind). I went for skiing. A couple canyons were just adventure nordic trips to get exercise, explore a new area, and do recon for alpine ski access and ice climbing.

One canyon I visited this spring, in mid April on a whim, was with the ski mountaineering kit. That’s the canyon pictured, and discussed, here. I say on a whim because I often drive for a ski without a specific objective. I’ve found that having an open mind, and not being set on a specific objective, generally yields fantastic results.

Even when I head out with an objective in mind, I always try to maintain an open mind. Perhaps visibility in the area of the objective isn’t great. Maybe the snow doesn’t look that good. The open mind approach prevents tunnel vision and has allowed me to forego objectives when something else is better. I’ve lost track of the times I’ve changed plans, or had no set plan, and have had excellent days skiing the backcountry.

This was true when I was an Anchorage-based primarily Western Chugach (Chugach State Park) skier, but the dynamic was different there as access to backcountry areas is more specific. Access points and trailheads in the Western Chugach require very different drives and lead to specific valleys.

Contrast this to driving to Turnagain Pass where the road cuts through a major valley with many trailheads along the same road that each access different sub valleys. While Hatcher Pass is of a much different nature, it’s still basically one road with concentrated access to many different zones. My open mind approach was more often than not applied at Hatcher and Turnagain given the concentrated access: drive through and see what looks good from the road.

The big difference between Hatcher and Turnagain versus the Valdez area Central Chugach is the concentration of skiing along the stretch of that one road. Most Hatcher and Turnagain skiers are traveling from Anchorage and have to drive 50+ miles before there’s easily road-accessed skiing. In the Hatcher Pass area Talkeetnas and Turnagain Pass area Kenai Mountains, the stretch of road with easily accessed skiing is short with only a handful of valleys and different zones available.

Here in the Valdez area Central Chugach, there’s easily accessed skiing from many peoples’ homes via foot (if you’re up for a longer approach) or a very short drive. Beyond the coastal snow climate near town and most residents homes, the Richardson Highway travels through easily accessed mountains for over 60 miles! As one travels these 60+ miles from town the roadside skiing that’s available transitions from the coastal-maritime snowpack, to the intermountain-transitional, and finally to the interior-continental.

That’s all three primary snow climates, and there’s a bewildering amount of micro-climates within each given the big, dynamic nature of the terrain here! Both from the Port of Valdez to the west and the Copper River delta area to the east, there’s two directions of coastal influence that brings heavy snowfall and a deep snowpack. To the north, Thompson Pass serves as a terrain gap and tap for cold air from interior Alaska.

This keeps even coastal Valdez cold enough for snow to fall at sea level when it’s raining above 1000′ on the Kenai at Turnagain Pass and Summit Lake. Unlike the Valdez area Central Chugach, the Kenai Peninsula and Mountains lack a reliable source of cold interior air. Without that interior cold air source, much less snow falls at sea level.

But, there’s another just as amazing bonus to the Valdez area Central Chugach’s cold air source. Not only does cold air funneling through Thompson Pass from the interior often keep precipitation near coastal Valdez falling as snow instead of rain, it often makes that snowfall (especially mid-winter) low density, champagne powder! I’ve skied some of the lightest, lowest density powder I’ve skied anywhere in Alaska (in over 1000 days experience) down to sea level mid winter a stone’s throw from the Valdez coast.

I’ve gone on quite the tangent about what makes skiing the Central Chugach so special, so back to this ski canyoneering thing.

During an amazing several day stretch of good weather and snow in mid-April 2023, I drove to Thompson Pass for a day of skiing. As mentioned above, I had the ski mountaineering kit (pons, axe, helmet). I, kind of, had an objective in mind: a couple peaks I’d been wanting to ski for two seasons now. They were in the clouds. I quickly and easily let go of that objective, and found myself parked near the access to this canyon glassing the terrain.

After some hemming and hawing about what to do, I decided I might as well check out this canyon. If it didn’t go, it wouldn’t take long to find out and I could go make some turns elsewhere. If it did go, I’d unlock access and gain knowledge about a new zone with tons of skiing potential that nobody seems to know about it (let alone actually ski). Surely enough, the canyon went. I even managed to time it right getting in before the objective hazards of rockfall and wet loose avalanches became significant and out after they’d run their course during the heat of the day

Note that traveling through these sort of terrain features involves significant objective hazards and doing so “safely” requires astute mindfulness of them.

Skiing the canyon itself was an amazing experience and I plan to return next season with the nordic setup for more exploration, to just cruise up the major glacier valley it accesses, and get inspired for more ski mountaineering in this zone. The terrain this canyon accesses is diverse and seemingly endless.

On this trip, I traveled up to the first obvious cirque west of the open valley beyond the canyon to its semi-prominent peak that is very visible from the highway corridor. It was an amazing skin up the lower slopes from the valley to a long, wide chute and through the glaciated cirque. Reaching the summit required booting the peak’s spectacular north ridge: a very high quality alpine climb along a very aesthetic ridge with loads of eye candy for views.

From the summit, I skied the NE face onto a spine that splits into two prominent chutes. The line and snow was blissful. With the skintrack and booter in, a lot of daylight left, and being in such an incredible new zone; I had to go back up for another run.

From my second time standing on the summit, I began the 3000′ descent back to the canyon. The upper 2000′ was just perfect. While I’d missed the window of ripest corn for the lower 1000′ of turns, those turns weren’t bad (and timing it for the best corn would have meant more objective hazard for my canyon exit).

Given the canyon’s objective hazards, I knew I wanted to get through it quickly. I wasn’t sure how it would go skiing out. It ended up having just enough pitch that it was a quick and easy ski out in downhill mode (minus one short section of booting up a slope at the choke – pictured). A short skate beyond the canyon, and I was back at the truck.