Zone Report

March 9, 2005

We had all three helicopters in the air today.  We had two groups out at the glacier for some exploration.  Some of them even tried their hands at ice climbing, a first time experience for most of them.  The other heli was used for a skydive by Chris Schaefer.

March 8, 2005

Last night as a local fisherman, Brian, came in with a large catch of halibut and donated the fish to dinner.  You can see Quinner below filleting the catch.  One of the ventures today was a tour Brian's boat that brought dinner in for us.

We're taking on the brunt of this storm today and hoping that it clears out the clutter sitting in the Gulf of Alaska.  The day started off with one of our British guests, David Freud, going for a swim out in the Sound in front of the Lodge.  He swims everyday in the English Channel and wants to be sure that he doesn't lose his tolerance of cold water.  Unfortunately, I was a little late getting to the shore to have an image of him actually swimming.

March 6, 2005

Due to the current strong low pressure system pushing through the region, we kept all but one of the helicopters on the ground today.  This is a blessing in disguise and we are hoping that with the size/scale of this storm, it will clean out the Gulf of Alaska. Pilot Theo and Guide Tom Waclo took Ian, Justin, Greg, and Brian out to the glacier to do some exploring and try their hands at some ice climbing.  We also had people venture out to the Copper River Delta to hike the McKinley Lakes Pipeline Trail.  People are always surprised to see that a rain forest exists up here in Alaska!  Other than that, we had people hiking up on the ridge behind the lodge and people over at our local ski hill, Mt. Eyak.  Guide Dave Marchi just passed by the office with a big grin on his face and said that the snow was great out there.  As I look out the window now, there is a group just heading in on the low tide in the sea kayaks.  Needless to say, there is a lot going on today.  Gold Passer Rod Adams, aka "Choppers", even had some time to provide the artwork below on the Etch-A-Sketch.

Looking at the satellite for the next few days, we are hopeful, as we know there is a lot of snow out there. Many people are calling wondering if we have snow in Alaska, given that the Pacific Northwest has had a very dry winter. I can say in confidence, Alaska has a lot of snow. Our study plots around the Chugach indicate over 650" above 4000'. Most peaks look as though they have huge mushroom caps!

Last Minute :: Justin and Greg just checked in on the radio as they are out in the Bay fishing for Halibut.  No fish yet, but, they have two more hours until dinner is served. Hopefully, they get to bring theirs back with them.

March 2, 2005

We had one group out in the zone for most of the day today.  They found some blue skies out in the Funky Town area.  Another group went over the Mt. Eyak and skinned up the ridgeline for some earned turns.  Dinner was once again outstanding with Seared Red Snapper for everyone.  Many went back for seconds!

March 1, 2005

We had two groups head out into the zone today.  The clouds lifted earlier this morning to let us venture out to see what we could find.  Needless to say, we found what the storm left behind in the Chugach...tons of fresh snow.  Each group had its own helicopter to explore the open weather areas.  Guides Tom Waclo and Kip Garre worked together with the pilots to find the first client runs of the season out on Funky Town!

Images Provided by Gold Passer Scott Gordon of Dub
www.dubbrandweathergear.com
www.sidewayspeople.com

February 28, 2005

Today is the second day in a row that a group has flown over to the Glacier.  They got to try their hand at some ice climbing today on the blue ice.  Some great photos were taken, but the camera was lost into the depths of ice.  Next time your buddy tells you to toss him the camera and you know you shouldn't...don't do it!

February 25, 2005

All of the employees have arrived and we just had our first dinner together.  We have an incredible team this season with a few fresh faces and characters that you will all get to meet shortly.  You can view all of the new guides over on our Guides Page.  However, we can also let you know about our other additions here:

New Kitchen Staff: Tres Holloway
Tres joins Jay and Nate in the kitchen this year.  Tres has had the lifelong dream of working at a heli ski operation.  There were numerous applications for this position, but Tres made the drive out from Steamboat to Tahoe this Fall to meet the crew.  Tres pretty much rocks...you'll definitely meet him when you come up this year.

New Massage Therapist: Jen Ware
Jen comes from Victor, Idaho and her husband CJ is one of our new guides.  I can personally attest that she will be healing some of your sore muscles this season.

New Gear / Heli / Guide Apprentice: Raif Anderson
Raif is another character out of Tahoe.  We've all known him as a friend for years.  Another guest last year, Raif expressed interest in spending the season up here and is working towards becoming a guide.  He will be in charge of Gear, Heli Ops and trying to win a game of ping pong all season long.

New Gear / Heli / Guide Apprentice: Walker Milhoan
Walker, from Gypsum, Colorado was a guest last year and is working towards becoming a full time guide with PNH.  He will be helping with the Gear Room, the Helis and working with the guides all season long.

New Office & Alternate Activities: Lisa Ridenour
Lisa is from Jackson Hole, Wyoming.  She was a guest last year and joins us this year to assist Jessica and Tal in the office.  She will also be leading many of the non-skiing adventures in the Cordova area.  Check out our Activities Page for more information on our alternate activities.

Web Guy: BJ Hansen
That's me, the guy that updates these for you as often as possible.  I've met most of you over the year's as I've come up for a few weeks each season.  I'll be here all season long feeding you updates with Quinner about the happenings in 2005.

February 23, 2005

Today was the first day out in the zone to inspect what the Chugach has prepared for our 7th season.  We knew it had been snowing incredible amounts over the last few months, but it is always a treat to see how much snow has dropped in that first flight out to the zone each season.  There is more snow up high in the mountains than we have seen in the past few years.  Pilot Nik took Kevin, Kelly and Jimbo out to OZ for the first run of the year.  Check out the amounts of snow up there by viewing he images below.