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Zone Report

April 9th, 2006

What a crazy week we just had. I think emotions were at an all time new level. Grey skies and snow was pattern for most of the week until the last two days. Return of the smiles and deep snow. A good ol' fashioned ski burning party worked! The next morning we woke to blue bird conditions (contrary to all forecasts) and put down 250 runs in the zone over the past 2 days. My crew yesterday could of had one of the best days in the Chugach ever. I had Olympic Golden boy, Seth Wescott, Ueli Kestonholtz, 5-0 and Conway. How about 10 runs on Pontoon!!! That was our day! Ten big runs on the holy grail riding in a different direction/aspect each time. What a good day! Everyone returned with smiles and jumped on a plane home. Today is the start of a new week and everyone is filled with anticipation. Current weather is unstable and could go any direction. Stay tuned for more updates and photos....Quinner


April 5th, 2006

Snow is falling in the zone. Current snow totals are around 16 inches above 3000'. Temps have been staying cold on the glaciers so when the weather clears, conditions should be superb! We have a low pressure system on us now, but it is looking to start a clearing trend by Thursday afternoon. I have my fingers crossed for that. Current text forecast needs to be burned in the next bonfire. The satellite is showing promise, so I am going with that. Stay tuned. Here are some photos from the past few days. The Dolly Varden fishing has been excellent and the ice in the backyard has been good climbing. Check out the pics.....Quinner


April 4, 2006

Good morning everyone. Down day #2 this week and snow is falling here at base.

I write this to you this AM with some very somber news. One of our very close and inspirational friends has passed away. Doug Coombs was killed in La Grave France yesterday. More details are coming in as each hour passes. My thoughts and prayers go out to Emily and his young son David. For more information on this tragic loss log onto:
http://pistehors.com/comments/600_0_1_0_C/
www.valdezheliskiguides.com

Doug was one person who personally took me under his wing and gave me the green light and motivation to create PNH. Without his sincere support and the support of his own heli-ski operation at the time, I would not be sitting here today writing this. It makes all of us realize how precious life is and that something like this can happen to anyone.

Thanks for everything Doug! You will live in our prayers forever.....Quinner

Friends are setting up a Web site to collect donations for Coombs’ family. Please visit the site:
http://www.dougcoombsmemorialfund.com/


April 1, 2006 7:00am

This is not an April fools joke. The zone is blue after a small reset button and 1 rest day...here we go again......satellite is looking good.  We Will have some photos for you tonight... Quinner
 


March 31st, 2006

The streak ends, and so does Miracle March.

What a month we just had. From high winds to glory DEEP pow and a huge sunny streak. Today is a big change over day and I can only hope that this next crew coming in gets it as good as the last two weeks of guests have.

Current weather is light snow and temps in the low 30's here at base. Looking like we are getting a small reset button for now in the zone. I am thinking that we are not going to get a lot of snow out of this, but the reset button has been pressed and the forecast is showing light winds.....so long story short here....it is going to be really good when it clears again.

Conditions in the Chugach as I write this could not get any better! Here are some photos from the week and yesterday. Check back in for an updated weather and snow report. Today is a down day due to a low clouds and light precipitation......Quinner


March 30, 2006

3:00pm

The blue streak could be looming close to the end as the low to the SW has started to move in. We have just been chased out of the Mts. due to low clouds and snow. I am really anxious to see what materializes with it. Personally, if it didn't snow another day this season and continued to stay the way it is now, you could call it perfect!

Conway and his crew have just come back from Dano's Valley and the Cordova Glacier area where most of the groups were riding today. Most everyone got 3-5 runs and found excellent conditions again. The half day feels good. Everyone has been going really hard. Check out the photos from today....more to come.....

6:30am

Ummmm....here we go again and again and again.....

Yesterday we sent 1 aircraft around the Pontoon district and 2 aircraft toward the Massif zone across the Scott Glacier. All I can say is wow.....another huge day of Chugach goodness!

Skian Ian Lamartine left today and the A team was reassembled. I think I saw his plane fly over as we were on the shoulder of Pontoon! Kelly Gray put in another 10 laps with his CMH boys and the Rob Klaskin crew said this morning they are officially done! They have no legs left....Ed McHugh, Grizz, Jubal and Chad (AKA, Real-estate) with guide Dean Conway had another banner day as well. Their tracks on Gamblers from the day before are beautiful. 

Blue skies prevail this morning, but looks as though the reset button is coming. We have a pretty good low coming in from the SW with colder temps. Looks as though we are going to get a new coat of paint in the zone for all the new guests arriving this weekend. My fingers are crossed...Here are some photos from the day. Enjoy.......Quinner


 


March 29th, 2006 9:30am

Here we go again.....Forecast is looking good for a few more days.....Low to the South West looks as though it is going under us.

Here are some photos from the Don Johnson crew yesterday. They have been going to CMH and Wiggles for 20 years. This is there first time to Alaska and all of them have mentioned that this could be one of their top 5 ski trips of all time! I will let the JKellys photos speak for themselves. Stay tuned....Quinner


March 28, 2006

Good morning folks!!!
How about 643 ski runs in 7 days. That's the number over the past week. 643 ski runs made by all in house. Each group is currently averaging over 8 runs a day with the 11 groups that are in house. Current conditions today are blue skies and deep pow! The Chugach is on like never before! We have currently skied 9 of the last 12 days. What a run! The cowboys are getting tired but this is what its all about. I do hope for a reset button to come soon as the Chugach now looks like Squaw Valley USA at 10:30am on a big pow day. Ski tracks are everywhere! From Sphinx to Pontoon, the zone is going off! I like to say that it is like Disney Land out there. I think Chad Hester summed it up best yesterday when he said: "This place is better than Disney Land, there ain't no Mickey Mouse stuff out there!" Check back tonight as we will have a lot off new photos.....Quinner


March 27, 2006

Good morning folks!

It is another beautiful day in AK! We have had 5 of the last 6 days of unreal conditions.

Yesterday my team (Chops, Ian, SR, 5-0 & Quinner) put lines down everywhere. Sphinx, Sigalishous, the Massif, Bubbies, the North side of Humble pie and more. Needless to say the adrenalin factor or maybe we should call it "the pucker factor" was as high as it gets. All of the 11 groups in house went crazy in the mountains and smiles were huge! The current forecast for the week is still looking good and the snow is holding. We are getting really warm temps and the lower elevations are starting to have some sun effected snow, but the shade and shadows are holding deep pow.  Oz and the Full Support valley is all time!

Here are some photos....enjoy.....Check out the guide ship photos from Sphinx......Quinner


March 25, 2006


March 23, 2006 7:45pm

Hello everyone...

What a few days we have had!! The Chugach has been deeper this week than we can really remember! We received anywhere from 60-90 plus cms of snow and the last 3 days have been huge! The stability factor with the cold clear nights allowed us to get after it. Deep is an understatement! Today PNH camp was in full effect. Skiing, skydives and GO FAST, you name it... camp is fun!  Here are some photos of the past few days... trying to get more from everyone as I write this...stay tuned....Quinner


March 22, 2006

Stay tuned.......were flying.......2 days in a row of unbelievable deepness!!!

More photos tonight...


March 20th, 2006

Hello everyone. The massive wind event is over! My apologies for the lack of reports the past few days.  The winds that came through this past week blew us out of the office!

We are back now and so is the Chugach! Over 2 feet of snow has fallen here at base in the past 48 hours along with allot of rain mixing into that. We are guessing the mountains have received over 4 feet plus of snow and even much more than that at higher elevations. Current weather is looking really good for the afternoon tomorrow and into the weekend. Snow is expected to continue until Tuesday AM. We all know how that can change. Everyone ventured to Mt. Eyak yesterday and found really deep conditions off the chair lift in the trees. Most everyone went back again today for more of the same. Stay tuned as big things are coming. I can hear the Indians warming up there drums out there.....Here are a couple photos to remind all of us what we are waiting for....Quinner


March 14, 2006

Good morning everyone.  The Indians circled the wagon last night and over ran the cowboys. Only a few cowboys were left standing in the wee hours of the morning.  Today is a beautiful day in Alaska. Winds are blowing steady with gusts to 90 plus. We do have a good forecast for the coming weekend with a bit of snow in store for us. Today everyone is going ice climbing and doing the town thing. Alaska time is still ticking away...Quinner.


March 13, 2006

Good morning everyone. There she blows!!!!!  The wind has come back up to near 50mph with gusts to 75mph. Needless to say, the wind event is getting old! It feels like February. Conditions are not normal and we look to have snow back in the forecast by weeks end. Currently all of our Indians here are getting restless. Many are jumping back on there horse and riding home. Skiing is good and hard. We do need snow, but any day in the Chugach is a good day. Currently on "Alaska Time" for now....the 1st timers are learning what Alaska time is while waiting for snow and the wind to go....Quinner


March 12, 2006

Hello skiers and riders. Here is the report for Sunday the 12th of March. All groups rode hard yesterday. I guess I should re-word that. All groups rode good hard pack yesterday. We did find good skiing in the Worm Glacier and Strudel area. Most of our runs were very hard, but consistent. We are hoping for a reset button to come in and freshen the zone up. Reports from Valdez are the same. Wind packed conditions are prevailing.  Quinner's crew circled the entire zone looking for snow deposits. Looks as though the reset will come mid week. Check back later for some photos of the day. The picture below of our "token" mono boarder, Bill Silliman says it all.


March 11, 2006

Good morning folks!! The wind event is almost over. We do have an extreme wind chill however this AM. We are firing groups into the field this morning with multiple layers. Current wind chill -25 F. COLD!! We are anxious to see how much snow we have left out there. Initial reports are good wind buff. Check back this afternoon for the full update....Quinner


March 10, 2006

Hello everyone!! Hang on and batten down the hatches!  We are under a huge wind event currently! 100mph plus winds are hitting the entire Chugach as we speak. The banners from base look as though they are 1000' or better. Today all the heli ski operations in the Chugach are down do to high wind conditions. If you are arriving this weekend, think about bringing your carving ski's. Wind buff conditions will prevail when this blows itself out. Check back with us....


March 9, 2006

10:45 am
Currently 10:45 am and the winds are howling! We just launched 2 groups aggressively and both have returned. Lets hope that the wind calms down as both groups made 1 run and found really good skiing. The winds however have now put us on stand by. All groups are now hiking in the back yard and headed to the sauna and town. Lets see what the afternoon brings. Our fingers are crossed!


March 8, 2006

Today the forecasters were close on there predictions,  however the winds did not develop as they intended. We did see winds gusting to 35 plus today however the snow was not blowing off the peaks creating huge banners like we anticipated upon waking up this morning. It was a down day for us as the skies finally cleared in the late afternoon and we are looking for a big day tomorrow. The forecast for Thursday-Tuesday at the moment is clear skies, but we know that the weather in Alaska can change in 5 minutes.  We are expecting a pretty good wind event for Thursday, however forecasts are starting to go against each other again. I am going with the windier side of things given the current satellite and the placement of the high and low pressure systems surrounding us. I do feel good about the possibilities for a big day ski in the mountains but will see what the AM brings to us. Everyone today spent there time in the sauna, at the local ski hill (Mt. Eyak) and in town enjoying the local spirits!  See you tomorrow!


March 7, 2006

Hello Skiers and Riders!!!!

This is long over due however, here it is. Reports will be updated at the end of each day from now until the end of the season. Here is a recap of the past couple weeks.

PNH 2
PNH 2 is on and open for 2007. I can only encourage you to get your time in now as space will be limited to first come first serve. The trip we just had there was one that can only be defined as a dream! We put down lines in places that no one in the history of man has skied. First descents were around every corner and the wow factor never let up. Average runs were around 3500' - 4500' of vertical. The snow pack was much different than that of the maritime pack we have here in Cordova. We did find really good stability, however the line choices had to be extremely smart given we were skiing in a continental snowpack. Average snow depths were around 90-150cm. Cordova has snow pack depths in the 500-700cm range. I have attached some photos to show the events of epic journey and can only hope that you will be one of the lucky ones to join us there next year. It was truly an amazing trip.

 

VALDEZ
After leaving PNH 2 we ventured on to Valdez for a few days to ski and found really good conditions. Needless to say it was knee deep and made all of us realize how much we like the maritime snowpack! The continental pack was good on the north side of the Chugach but I can say confidently, there is nothing in the world like the maritime snowpack that the southern side of the Chugach holds close to the ocean.

CORDOVA

After the land and slay session in Valdez, we completed the first ever crossing of the Chugach and found ourselves back home in Cordova. I love this place! This is were it all began for us. So its March 7th now and we have around 50 + runs in Chugach, most of them first descents. All that I can say is WOW! Again, I will let the pictures speak for themselves.




Today is the 3rd down day of our season and we are getting hit with a really good reset button now. Snow is falling at base. The temperature is 26 degrees. We have currently received around 3-5 inches of snow here at base and we are expecting to find a foot or better when things clear in the AM. The current forecast looks good for mid week however, I am afraid that the wind could come in with this next high pressure. We will keep our fingers crossed that it does not. Overall stability here in our zone is rated at moderate to considerable with the new snow. Prior the the storm that started 3 days ago the stability was incredible. We were able to get on a lot of our lines in the Worm Glacier, Butter Bowl, and points further. The only real concern was the heavy sluff. Prior to the storm we were skiing boot top - knee deep powder. It did have a 2mm sun crust, but did not affect the skiing in the slightest bit. It was really good. Now we are expecting snorkel deep conditions, given the wind does not come up. Please spend some time looking at the photos here and enjoy! I look forward to seeing all of you that are on your way! Please stay tuned into us each day and follow our progress through out the season.


December 15, 2005

We will be updating our Zone Report as soon as we arrive in Cordova.  Until then check out the most recent Newsletter for exciting early season PNH Events.  Or take some time to relive the past two years here at Points North Heli in the Report Archives.