By Sean Zumwalt Photos courtesy of Vince Stewart and Suzanne Weist
February 10th was a weekend where plans seemed to have tumbled. But the resiliency of the VRS Skimo team somehow finds ways to prevail and overcome obstacles. The first obstacle occurred earlier in the week when we figured out we would not have enough people committed to renting an Airbnb in Girdwood for Saturday night. So, that meant we had to settle for a long day trip. Then the trickle effect happened. Friday night, we were invited to our favorite meeting spot, Cynosure Brewery, and we were stood up by one of our team members who we won’t mention. Our team member Marty was leaving that weekend to Central America so he would not make this trip. Also, we’ve been without Ryan and Charity for ages. Who knows where Ryan is really living these days, we’ve tracked IP addresses locating him in Colorado; And Charity, she’s on a plane either working or going to visit Ryan. Oh well, like I stated earlier, this team has the ability to bounce back and be creative when we are tested, and in the end we still love each other.
The original plan was to ski Sunnyside Mountain starting in Girdwood. Weather was to be decent with high cloud coverage and mild temperatures in the twenties. Vince, Suz, and I ended up driving out of Anchorage at about 9:30 A.M. We stopped by Froth & Forage for a breakfast sandwich and donuts. The next stop was to pick up a beacon and ski poles from a friend, Pautzke, who Vince and Suz know. Pautzke was also going to be joining us on the trip but would get a later start. After grabbing the beacon and ski poles, we passed the Aleyeska Resort and found the parking lot where the CPG Snow Cat trail starts. We got everything situated, and were on our way to find the snow cat trail. The snow cat has not been able to travel the trail yet due to the lack of snow. Vince, who has done this trip before, informed us the trail is much easier to travel on when it is nicely groomed.
The trail started out nice and flat until approaching Winner Creek. We had a very interesting discussion on the voice of Sam Smith, the English singer-songwriter. Vince isn’t quite a fan of his voice, so I continued to whistle or sing any Sam Smith song I could remember to hopefully get them stuck in his head. Suz had her ear buds in as she led the way, which was smart because what Vince and I were discussing would give her a headache. I was trailing Vince most of the way and at one point he turned around and did a fake wave as if he saw Pautzke and I fell for it. I knew something was up when he waved because the look on his face had to be some of the worst acting I’ve ever seen. We laughed, and I said, “you’re an idiot.”
Shortly after crossing the Snow Cat Bridge near Winner Creek, Vince received a text from Pautzke asking where we were at because he reached fresh snow and didn’t see our tracks. We started to think, “Maybe we were on the wrong trail? How could he of passed us without seeing him?” Maybe he could have taken the Winner Creek trail instead, but Vince assured us we were on the right trail.
After continuing our climb, we started to hear a dog’s bark up ahead of us, but the dog was not in sight. Vince told us the bark was from Bentley, Pautzke’s dog. Apparently Bentley gets excited for the ski portion. We ran into Pautzke and Bentley making their way down the trail. We found out there is another way to get to the snow cat trail and that is how we missed seeing each other. Pautzke wanted to make another run with us but his split board ended up with a small fracture and could not be used to climb. We discussed the best skiing options on the hill and Pautzke’s opinion stirred us towards going up Notch Mountain instead of Sunnyside, due to better snow conditions. From there, we said our farewell and continued up the cat track towards the Chugach Powder Guide’s Hut. On our arrival to the CPG Hut, we decided to make ourselves at home for a bit and have lunch.
After wrapping up with lunch, Suz decided she would stay in the cabin and get cozy while Vince and I would venture off to get higher on the mountain and put in some good lines. We climbed for about a good half hour and found ourselves a good spot to changeover to downhill mode. The view was incredible. There are plenty of mountains in the Girdwood area that are in need of skiing. The snow was deep with a crusted over surface. Not the best skiing at top but it was worth the extra effort to reach our final elevation.
We finally made our way back to the CPG Hut where we would meet up with Suz. We noticed another set of skis and as we approached the front door, we heard the sound of a crying baby. As we walked in, there was a father with his little one and a half year old boy sitting on a bench and Suz was sitting at the table drinking hot tea. The father and son made a day trip up to the cabin and stopped for a rest. After enjoying another breather, Vince, Suz, and I decided it was our time to make it down. The lower half of the mountain had better snow and wasn’t affected so much by the wind. I practiced on my tree skiing while Vince offered skiing advice to Suz. At one point, I hid in the trees and waited for them, particularly Vince, as I had a snow ball in my hand waiting to tag him. He made his way down and when he was about ten feet away I released the snow ball and barely missed. Vince said he knew I was up to something because he saw me smiling in the trees.
The cat track finally narrowed and it was time for tight, narrow, fast skiing. I was ahead of Vince and Suz, occasionally turning around to see if I could hear them or see them. One time, I saw two people in the distance and assumed it was them. They were a lot closer to me than I thought, so I let loose and didn’t bother to stop again until I was unbearably overheating and needed to take off a few layers. As I was putting my stuff away, a man and woman were skiing down the same trail, they were the ones I saw behind me, not Vince and Suz. I felt a little guilty for assuming that was them and taking off on my own because it would be dark soon. I was already close to where we parked so I continued on my way. Once at the truck, I got comfortable, ate a piece of Vince’s donut, had some candy, and got warm while I waited. After a while, Suz and Vince were able to do the same as they approached the truck.
We had to stop by Pautzke’s house to drop off the beacon and poles we borrowed and talked about our day over a few libations. We didn’t want to extend our stay so we left and decided to eat at Chair 5, where we shared photos and videos with each other of our excursion. Vince forgot his wallet at home, and Suz offered to cover my meal since I drove. Thank you Suz! We made it a fun and memorable day despite how plans fell through earlier in the week.
VRS SkiMo Team 