Chugach Mountain Festival Clinging to the coattails of winter
The Chugach Mountain Festival went off with a bang
this year. It's a festival that celebrates not just the Chugach peaks, not just
the mountains, but also a way of living that is
romantic yet spartan. A lifestyle enjoyed by all who have ever raised
their heads to the morning sun and given thanks for the wildness that
surrounds us. A lifestyle perfected by hardy types who call
Alaska home. This year's festival, which took place in the final week
of April 2003, included the Alaska Freeskiing Championships, the Alaska
Pipeline Raid, the Sloppy Cup Mountain Bike Race and the Chugach
Mountain Film Festival.
Based just over Thompson pass, some twenty-eight miles from Valdez, the Chugach Mountain Festival popped tents
at the legendary airstrip that introduced Valdez to the world of
skiing. Gurus of helicopter skiing, Doug Coombs and Dean Cummings were
among the first skiers to camp out in the parking lot, waiting for a ride in the ski
plane up to the ice fields, where access to fifty degree, 2,000 foot descents are only a boot-pack away. And this parking lot spawned
multiple heli-skiing companies.
"Held on the northern side of a run called Odyssey, competitors
skied a fifty-degree slope of frozen death cookies"
Under clear skies and a heat wave that brought out the flip-flops and
Safari hats, the Chugach Mountain Festival was winter's last hurrah for
the majority of participants and spectators. Organizers Scott Mathews
of XO Net Inc. and Jonathan Stanton of Starseed Media rolled out the
red carpet, making sure that the hamburgers were always on and the keg
was always tapped, not to mention the more technical duties. Alpine
veterans from the Alyeska Ski Patrol kept everyone safe, on and off the
hill. Canadian mountain legend Eric Pehota ensured the competitions
conformed to strict, uh, Canadian mountain legend standards. It felt
like a giant picnic.
The Alaska Pipeline Raid was the first competition. Raids, also known
as a randonee rallies, have gained popularity only recently in the
States, but have been taking place in Europe for quite some time. For
this particular rally, participants chose the fastest way to ascend
roughly 1800 vertical feet with the aid of climbing skins,
touring bindings, sweat and tears. Four different checkpoints had to
be located; at each stop participants had to answer a question (i.e. If one
camped overnight and noticed his altimeter showed a gain in elevation
the following morning, would a high or low pressure system be
approaching?) or perform a task (Take this rope and build me a Prussick
knot). For each correctly answered score, five minutes was deducted
from the competitors' overall time. After all the checkpoints were visited,
participants descended to a field where two avalanche beacons had to be
located before crossing the finish line.
At the Alaska Pipeline competition,
Andrew MacLean, a veteran alpinist from the Wasatch Mountains of Utah, prevailed. He correctly completed all the tasks and questions, which more than made
up for the younger legs of some of the faster competitors.
The Alaska Freeskiing Championships was the next competition to take
place. In this event skiers were given a mountain to ski. Where and how
they skiied the mountain were up to the competitors. The
judges scored competitors on five different criteria. The most heavily
weighted criteria was the difficulty of line skied. After the line score was
determined, the other four criteria, aggression, technique, fluidity
and control were judged.
On the first day of competition, there was not an easy line to be
found. Held on the northern side of a run called Odyssey, competitors
skied a fifty-degree slope of frozen "death cookies." The exposure to
rock and cliffs had all the spectators gripped with a
sphincter-tightening, breath-catching fear of falling, not to mention
the competitors! As one of the three judges for the competition (Those
being: Head judge-Jeff Holden, secondary judges Mikey Kraynick and
myself, Elijah Lee) I can attest to the pucker factor of the venue. I
have been a part of better than twenty competitions and this was the most
exposed, burly venue yet witnessed. To ski this run required not only
huge amounts of self-confidence, but confidence in the ski edges
beneath your feet, and bomb-proof bindings.
"Daisuke started things out with a
blistering, super-aggressive run, which floored everyone and brought up
questions relating to sanity..."
Much to the relief of all
involved, the competitors skied relatively safe lines and escaped the
day without any physical injuries. Although scores were not released
that evening, after two runs on the first day it was general consensus
that IFSA World Tour veteran Daisuke Sasaki and Girdwood local Jacob
Young were neck to neck in the lead for the men. In the women's field
it was a toss-up between Kelsey Vrem and Melanee Raney.
Day two was held at the top of Nick's Chute on a ridge known as the
Berlin Wall. The Berlin Wall is short, north facing, steep, and held
some great snow. Less fearsome than Odyssey, Berlin Wall allowed
everyone to relax and enjoy the day. Daisuke started things out with a
blistering, super-aggressive run, which floored everyone and brought up
questions relating to sanity, or the lack thereof. Jacob skied a
technical line, navigating the rock piles and maintaining his fluidity
down the most difficult area. A telemark skier impressed everyone with
his ability to ski without poles (I offered to lend him mine, but
apparently he skis this way on purpose). Kelsey made the nicest turns of the whole competition. Arcing fast and
strong, she clocked the quickest run of all the competitors. Melanee's
run rivaled the best of either sex. Fearlessly, she skied the most
difficult line on the hill and proved that she is a force to be
reckoned with.
After four runs held over two days, it was too close to call. Results
were kept sealed until the final party that evening at the Tsaina
Lodge. The bar was packed, the crowd was beautiful, the band was great
and the atmosphere was electric. Head judge Jeff Holden took the mic,
said a few words and announced the winners. Tele-Dave Scanlan, fourth,
Abraham Gioffre, third, Jacob Young, second, and Daisuke Sasaki took
first. Melanee Raney won for the women (and would have tied for
third in the men's field), and Kelsey Vrem came second.
Salutations and
congratulations were administered, prizes awarded, and the party
continued. The northern lights outside kept time with the dancing
feet, the dancing feet kept time with the band, and the band kept playing
until the wee hours of the morning. Time stood by. Some time from now, flashing eyes will grin
and wink knowingly, "Remember that night?"
Elijah Lee, MountainZone.com Contributor
Lee is a self-proclaimed yogurt junkie,
competitive freeskier, and is happily sponsored by Leedom, Volkl, Leki,
Granite Gear, Vortex and Swany. He looks forward to the 2004 Chugach
Mountain Festival and the return of the World Freeskiing Championships
(WFSC) tentatively scheduled for March 27th through April 4th.