HatchYourTrax

That right folks, HatchYourTrax is getting legit!  For the first time in Palmer, a ski movie primier right in downtown.  HatchYourTrax and AK Backcountry Bike and Ski will be hosting the premier of Matchstick Production’s newest film “THE WAY I SEE IT.”

Skiing has arrived.  MSP Films takes you inside the action with “THE WAY I SEE IT,” featuring several unique perspectives on the progression that took place during the winter of 2010.  The winner of Powder Magazine’s 2009 “Movie of the Year” brings you the best athletes on the planet sharing their points of view on what it means to be a skier and backing up their positions with hard-charging action.  The MSP team traveled the globe in search of what makes this sport so special… the adventure, the passion, the camaraderie, and the fun.  “THE WAY I SEE IT” showcases the greatest deep powder, steep lines, and massive park features from British Columbia, Japan, Alaska, Colorado, Switzerland, Idaho, Washington, and many other locations worldwide.

Location: Palmer Train Depot

Show Date: 11/07/2010

Show Time: TBD

More details on ticket locations and show times, and raffles to come!

Come on out, support your local riding community and have a killer time at Palmer’s first decent ski movie premier.

For more info on the film and Matchstick Productions visit www.skimovie.com

This past weekend the American Alpine Club (AAC) hosted a fundraiser for the Snowbird Hut. The event took place at the Alaska Rock Gym in Anchorage.  The AAC has been constructing a new structure over the beautiful sunny summer!  They could always use more help.  The new hut will be slightly larger, make better use of space and will be in a more protected location.  Did I mention it has south facing windows.  Ok, let’s face it…it’s nicer than my previous residence.

It’s always a fine line on these projects.  We don’t want to blast these locations to everyone, but at the same time as a community we need to protect them and care for their existence.

The club needs all the help they can get to finish the structure before the snow flies this fall.  If you can donate some time, lift a few stones, or even give some money for chopper time, then give them a shout.  Seriously, anything helps!

The Wall of Rock

The event was a lot of fun, with local Palmer band “Back Acres” playing a few tunes, a pig roast out back, Kegs of Mooses Tooth brew and some fun bouldering!

Erin doing her best Wonka Impression…Good suds.

Ski the Jewel…check. Eat some pig…check…Drink some beer…check…boulder till the place closes…done.

“Back Acres”

In other news, I was reading our local climatological predictions for the coming season. I.e: What the heck is happening with our weather???  NOAA is predicting a La Nina winter, which means colder temps and above average precip for Northern Lattitudes on the west coast.  The Southern US will be warmer, and New England will be cooler. Honestly, I don’t care about those places.  All I care is this:

PROBABILITIES OF BELOW NORMAL TEMPERATURES ARE ENHANCED IN
MOST OF ALASKA, THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST, THE NORTHERN ROCKIES, AND INTO THE
NORTHERN PLAINS
LA NINA CONDITIONS ENHANCE THE PROBABILITIES OF ABOVE MEDIAN PRECIPITATION IN THE
PACIFIC NORTHWEST AND NORTHERN ROCKIES IN THE FALL AND WINTER SEASONS AND IN
THE CENTRAL INTERIOR REGIONS OF THE EASTERN U.S. IN WINTER.

BRING IT! (Knock on wood) If you are interested, here’s a link to a report called “What is La Nina?” by NOAA services.  Good stuff in there.  Take all these climate predictions with a grain of salt, as the jet stream and major weather makers can always move.

YO SOY EL NINO!

I’ve placed a permanent link on the right sidebar to the AAC’s snowbird hut page.  Check it out! Pray for snow!

Being that’s it’s summer time, I should be thinking about harvesting some blueberries, biking a bunch, and enjoying all types of music and potlucks…but for some reason I can’t stop thinking about skiing.  Skiing…it’s on the brain, on the tip of the tongue, and no matter how hard I try to think about warmer weather, I can imagine nothing better than ripping my skins off, tightening my buckles, looking over the edge and dropping 1500 ft through cold, dry, powdery bliss.

That being said, the recent “summer” weather hasn’t been helping, and neither has our recent trip up to Hatcher.  Those tundra and moss covered peaks don’t look oh so different in short green vegetation.  I just skied lines with my mind all day.  I’m screwed.  Should I say it?  Summer is almost over and I couldn’t be happier.  Here’s a few shots from throughout the summer, from various locations and events.

Shred the Pit!

Wasilla DJ Sesh

Just another day at the office…

This place was beautimus

Some friends and I went hiking up at Hatcher today, and had an amazing experience, topped off with a quadruple quake centered pretty much right under our feet.  Just as we were getting ready to ascend a very large boulder field, we felt a rumble like an avalanche, that rolled from up valley across the whole area.  After retreating to safer high ground, 3 more tremors rolled through in about 20 minutes.  Check out the info here at Alaska Earthquake Info Center.  The first and largest tremor was a 4.1.  Not too big, but bigger than I felt comfortable with stuck at the bottom of a huge granite boulder field!

Epicenter Locale

Tres amigas

Ptarmi Dog = Happy Mountain Canine

Walls and Rocks

One word: Rad