Alaska Stoke

[Thadsboner]

Just gota brag about how good things are up there. This peak was literaly a 4 mile bike ride from my house . there is stuff like this that has never seen ascents that would be 4stars here. The rock is chossy as hell but in the winter it is all frozen and takes pins great. The red lines are two routes i have done on it on that side and there is some M6 on the black vertical looking section between them called hookers. This is also the site of a college outdoor class fall in like 97ish, 12 or so people fell and 2 died. it was in the main chute where that happend, which is also a year round ski run. Anyways, couldnt hold back. props to micahmcguire from rc.com, he took the photo.

 

 

[hopalong]

What area?

[nightfly]

Sorry to drowned your stoke but the line on the right is the "Right Ski Track" I think it was a Sassara mid 1990's Hard to tell but it looks like the "desprate and Dateless" variation Which was Sunkist/Stover/Fay 1999. But could have ben the Fay/Sunkist variation on the other side of the diedhedral which was 1999 as well. Ptarmign peak has been been looked at for thirty years and who knows what kind of hard asses lurked there. Andy Payton god rest his soul, grew up a two minute walk from the glen alps trail head. He was a psycho mother with jim beyer desert repeats -- solo; and who knows what kind of shit he laid on up there. But party on wayne it is probably a fourth or fifth ascent. Looks like hookers was a bit thin this year NOW That is A climb. Contact Carl Tobin for the real scoop. The old guard had been out there poking around for a while now -- Teal, Garvey, Sweeny, Hunt. If you really want the shiznit keep on biking and head around to the North West face. Some sport climbs exsist but the real meat and potatos will have to wait till next winter.

 

empty spaces produce mindless faces

J1

 

P.S.And if you find a rusty Dana designs bag of gear up there it is mine. That's what smoking too much of the AK Crypto weed does to you -- you jsut plain loose you mind (and other things).

[Thadsboner]

I never said it I got the F.A. just two lines on it that I have done.

 

Did Andy live in the red cabin up there. I was up at the red one, the higest house in anchorage for a while. it was such a shord bike ride in early season when the trail was still dirt.

 

I know most of those guys you listed, and have climbed and skied with them for a while.

[nightfly]

Sorry bro I guess i jsut got ahead of myself. Growing up so close I have known that face for years, and just thought I would spray a little; as being a faceless unknown name on you computer screen tends to make people do.

Are you talking about the cabin up at the top of upper Dearmon Rd, The one that if my foggy memory serves me is pretty run down or are you up around powerline pass parking lot,

Andy P grew up at the end of the street first right just past the turn off to the parking lot. He was a cranking mother fucker; the son of indian chef, adopted to white old school mountain folks. My friend for years; sadly some demons you jsut can't escape.

You can get pretty rad up there when the mountains have snow and the winter chill hits town. The Chugach choss is the stuff. if you can climb comfortably weaving together a web of frozen turf and iced together flakes you will be comforatble anywhere. Pretty rad, that 4000 foot alpine north face jsut a quick jaunt away from a town of 300,000. And there is so much more if you can get your hads on a snowmoble. Sadly enough after twenty plus years I had had it, and now it is the desert all the way for me. Tan girls are much better to look at anyway.

[Herb]

Did you mean keep biking around to the northeast face? There's nothing much on the NW side that I've seen. Around the corner past where the trial jogs left is early season ice. Only about 40 feet but if you're desperate to swing a tool . . . Is that the area where you're talking about?

[bDubyaH]

i believe he meant the NE face. The N/NW face is shown in the photo at the top. The NE face has some rockclimbs on it in the summer and becomes really interesting in "full" conditions.

[Herb]

Thanks. I've seen the rock but haven't tried it yet. The NE side of Homicide also has some interesting, mostly moderate climbs in full conditions.

 

Ski Tracks has seen a number of ascents. At least three on Left Ski Track that I know of in the past two years. There's been many more I'm sure. Last winter was a little dry though with a lot of scraping and scrapping around. Hookers - many more attempts than completions. What's the climb to the left of Hookers called? The 2-3 pitch one paralleling the couloir.

 

Given the Alaskan tradition of not recording anything you climb or even telling anyone about it, it seems best never to claim a first ascent of anything. Especially in the Front Range. It's humbling to consider the unheralded climbing talent that's climbed there over the past few decades.

[bDubyaH]

don't know the names of any routes on ptarmigan, go over to akclimber.com and ask chad, he climbs out there quite a bit. oh, and there are still tons of fa's to be had (if that's your gig) just usually have to work a bit harder to get to the base.

[nightfly]

All I can say after growing up there is look for the cairns they should still be there even after six years hike up about a thosand feet and poke areound there are sme good to be had keep going for another fifteen minutes (on a dry trail) up and around when the trail starts to jog right park it and head straight up you are aiming for a large yosemite style corner that acesses a rather large chossy wall. winter only as things migth need to be frozen. there are a few shitty sport climbs in and around as well. Rock on

[Cpt.Caveman]

That pic of thadsboner looks like you nightfly

 

[nightfly]

Hey i may be dopey; but at least i get up shit. and that guy looks like a hardman to me.