Crust skiing is hard to predict. That is part of the attraction, and it adds to the thrill when you nail a perfect crust day.
2011 was a relatively low snow year in southcentral Alaska, and it seemed that the general consensus was that the lack of snow would result in a poor crust season. But snow is only one factor that goes into baking good crust. Clear, sunny weather is just as important, and April this year had a lot of clear, sunny weather. As a result, there was a lot of good crust to be found this spring. It just goes to show that we should never try to predict crust conditions more than 12 hours in advance.
But the predictions were right about one thing – my crust season wasn’t very good. The sunny weather just didn’t seem to mesh with my schedule. This is why I am continuing my campaign to make every sunny day in April a state holiday.
But I did get out a few times to the usual spots: Portage, Center Creek, Glen Alps. And last weekend, Tim’s photos tempted Bill, Chris and I into a great day at Dogsled Pass.
Here is a “quick hits” photo gallery of my crust season 2011:
