DENALI … runner up for my best ski tour ever

Well, all of my three trips to Alaska involved ski touring, but you really can't classify those skiing experiences as sublime or TYPE 1 fun. Often, you were carrying too much weight; on my first trip, you were often tied on to someone using snowshoes; of course, snow conditions were occasionally (mostly) crappy. However at some point, on a rest day, acclimatization foray, or killing time waiting for another partner to fly in, you just might have an orgasmic experience on skis … in one of the most enchanting mountain ranges on earth.

But, the ski experience that rises to the top, was when Mark and I climbed Denali in 1982, in fast and light style. All the approach skiing was done on nordic racing gear (boots that looked like sneakers and skis with a 43mm waist).  We left rope and technical gear at our 14,000 camp, down jackets and double boots were left in Squaw Valley, we were either moving fast and staying warm or in our sleeping bags trying to stay warm.  We carried a stuff sack around our neck tucked into our anoraks with breakfast and lunch, munching all day while on the move. Mark was round trip, to and from San Francisco, in eight days. Sometime, with a whiskey in hand, ask Mark about my ski descent!