AKP to BTT Part 1 First Trip Through the Brooks

It has been a while since i have written, Life has been busy with work, SAR calls, house projects... It seems there isn't enough time to do all of the climbing or skiing that i want to do, let along rehash some of these experiences in written form, but, if nothing else i want to document this trip for myself. This is a place i have long wanted to visit, even before i knew it existed. Trip of a lifetime some might say, but i would consider my life unsuccessful if this is the last of these trips i do. I eagerly await a return to the Brooks.

It started with a line on a map, well... a few lines... on the map of rivers still needing sampling for the Adventure Scientists Wild and Scenic River project. In 2021 when we began planning for a trip to the FortyMile region for sampling and packrafting, the prospect of going to the brooks caught my eye. At the time, all of us decided that the perceived risk was too large- after all that is where people go so they can write books and film movies of their experiences, explore and find themselves in americas last-greatest wild space, surely we were just not cool enough. Also, arent the Grizzley Bears up there ruthless killers? Well, as with many things in life, misconceptions abound and the more research i did, the more attainable the trip seemed. Sure we would be entering an area the size of Maryland that had no roads or trails, but this area has a long history of inhabitation despite being percieved as the "Ultimate Wilderness" by those of us who were not in the know, a perception of a frozen wasteland with bears and wolves that will kill you for sport.

The reality was, of course, quite different. 

After months of planning, extensive food prep, evaluating and re-evaluating packing lists, and several expensive upgrades to the gear list after last year's alaska trip (including two alpacka expedition boats- because the deck would keep us drier and warmer, and would allow for better handling in the expected sustained CL3 whitewater, a new backpack for myself- one that wouldnt get wet and start to stick and could also fit inside the boat, and a new pyramid tent for its easy up ability and large yet lightweight footprint, and a re-visiting of our food protection strategy that would be more walking focused) we were finally in the home stretch. Countless group meetings to go over plans, route options, alternatives, gear, etc had finally led to us gettting on a plane and meeting up with andrew in seattle before making the final jump up to fairbanks. 

After landing (greated with nice weather, unlike last year when we landed in a constant dounpour) we began the task of gathering our last-minute gear requirements, our bear spray, fuel, and maybe a few snacks (and a hurried quest to find somewhere to store some gear while we would be out in the field for two weeks, seems like there should be something for this?? instead we ended up going with a U-Haul storage room and QUITE the charismatic uhaul customer service rep to show it to us). The only item that remained on the list as 10pm approached (with the sun outside still feeling like about 4 in the afternoon for Utah) was eye masks- we were not expecting the sun to set during the entirity of our trip, so, in a first for me, we all left behind our headlamps (something i consider a vital piece of gear for any trip) in favor of black out eye masks to aid in sleep, which we managed to find, plush and all, at Sephora of all places. 

The morning of our departure, we all awoke with a fair bit of cautious anticipation. After dropping off the gear that we would leave behind (a signle duffle bacg, in an entire U-haul storage room) we set off for the airport and weighed in, with pack weights ranging from 66 to 85 pounds, carefully tagged as "Heavy"... as if we needed someone else to tell us that our backpacks were heavy. For me, this was the first time i was flying in a plane this small (only 8 seats) and the "airport" more like a bus station, was filled with people going back to their homes, taking with them spoils from the big city: pizza, donuts, fast food, etc. 

For most of the flight, everything was shrouded in clouds (i was expecting rainy weather for our first few days) but as we crested over the central brooks, the clouds began to clear and we had what is possibly one of the most memorable landings i have ever had, Flying close through the mountains in deep mountain valleys, grazing ridgetops as we approached Anaktuvuk Pass and the landing strip right next to the river we were hoping to float. 

After landing, and grabbing out backpacks, we set off to complete our last "Chore" before starting off on our trip- checking in at the national park building in Anaktuvuk, which, unfortnately, had been closed for a few weeks, apparently the one ranger who worked there was at his home elsewhere in alaska fighting off a fire. We had a quick lunch and walked on the only road south out of town until it ended. So our adventure would begin.

After transforming from walking mode into rafting mode, and completing a short walk of the boats past an Aufeis section, the river came together enough to float! although slow and flat, the first few miles had amazing views, with the mountains passing in and out of the clouds, stunning scenery, and a somehow fitting utter lack of trees (we were north of treeline). Our first stop of the trip, a small completely circular lake with a small opening to the river that we chose as our dinner spot (i had noticed it in the sattelite imagery and lindsay said it was a must do stop). Our fist camp came in shortly thereafter, on some beautifully smoth and bouncy tundra (the last such tundra we would see unfortunately).

Day 2 began with rain, a cold rain that was seemingly coming from the north (i thought we would be too far away, but you can really tell when the weather is coming from the north off the summer sea ice). In the rain, i had the opportunity to test our new tent's featured capability for this trip, the ability to pack everything up dry under the canopy, then collapse the main tent at the very end, and it worked exactly as planned. Admittedly i was a bit nervous about the coming day, in theory we would have about 10 miles of mandatory continuous CL3 whitewater, the most challenging we antiucipated seeing on the entire trip. Before long, our smooth, winding, and beautifully clear river (with some amazing looking arctic char gliding about below us) came to an abrupt end. The river broadened, becoming 2-3 times wider than it had been, and became much steeper and rocky, as expected. The problem? there was not enough water. What we had anticipated to be a somewhat slow and difficult hard strech of whitewater was in reality an even slower strech of walking in the river basin, we often did not have enough water to float. This was all to familiar to lindsay and i, as we had spent days walking through upper champion creek in similar conditions last year. It is almost mind numbing how slow and convoluted the walking can be, and to go with our moods, we had nothing but grey skies.

Our saving grace came in the form of a saphire blue stream coming in from the right just as the skies started to clear (kollutarak creek), doubling the volume of the river and enabling us with the ability to start flying though the miles and soak in the stunning scenery with glowing smiles on our faces. Unfortunately, with the delay due to the slow miles and the tenor of the group, we did not end up stopping for a side hike to explore the mountains as i had hoped. This decision was likely a good thing in the end as we still had many miles to go, including many miles to navigate going up and over the mountains on foot. 

To finish out the day, we re-entered the forest, once again far south enough for trees to grow, and pulled over to camp on a nice river bench (maybe my favorite of the trip). One interesting surprise was the presence of many familiar faces- sage pine and birch/aspen, just like back at home, although distinctly different and uniquely adapted to the climate this far north. 

"Super tours"

This year, a friend psyched on racing brought up the prospect of skiing the Grand Traverse race, a 40 mile 7k vert gain race from Crested Butte to Aspen through the Colorado backcountry. Combine this with a goal of sking Mt Rainier in a day that i have had kicking around in the back of my mind for a while, and i had at least one solid goal to train for this winter! Unfortunately, winter has not come as it usually does for utah. January into February was solid blocking high pressure with almost no snow. Luckily, we had a bit of a base from early season snow and with little avalanche hazard, i decided some good training days would include some "super tours" throughout the wasatch and elsewhere to train for the race.

Little Cottonwood "Super Tour" White pine to Bells Canyon

The term super tour came about in the Kellner and Hanscom Wasatch Tours guidebook series when they describe the idea of going from the whitepine lot to an exit out bells canyon. This is a tour that i have wanted to do for a while but things never quite lined up. In this case thiugh, with cool temps and sunny skies, Lindsay dropped me off at white pine and i set off at 9am, not exactly an alpine start but seeing as i was training for a long race, i was hoping to move relatively quickly. 

Skiing rarely traveled terrain around Lake Hardy

My final summit for the day looking north over the Wasatch

The way down, Thunderbowl looking towards the valley, my eventual destination

Having traveled the area through redpine many times, this section went quickly. My route took me up and over the top of red pine onto a ridge commonly used to ascend the Pfeif in winter... Needless to say on this beautiful sunny day there were quite a few people out doing some questionable things. Rather than go up and over the pfeif i opted to ski down a ways into dry canyon (alpine) and ascend back up to navigate around the pfeif. The skiing here was marginal, mostly a breakable crust, but went quickly with stellar views of Box Elder and Timp. The real gem of this oute came next, the ascent of Chipman peak and descent to lake hardy. I cant really think of a less traveled region in the Central wasatch. it goes without saying that i was the only one around, but the terrain was a really fun and interesting set of chutes and small blocky cliffs which made for great and interesting skiing. From here, i ascended on to South Thunder, admiring all of the skiing potential in upper Bells canyon. From south thunder, i traversed the ridge a short ways towards North thunder and dropped into thunder bowl. This was admittedly a bit spicier than i had hoped with some ridge scrambling and a fair bit of down climbing. The views into upper Hogum were breathtaking and a bit nerve inducing with the large cliffs i was bypassing. Thunderbowl went quickly but the whole thing was really overshadowed by the hateful ski out Bells. It was a strange mix of powder, hot pow (that instantly froze to ski bases) and crust, much steeper than expected and much more bushy. Finally, at 7500 with several thousand feet still to drop i gave up on trying to ski and made my way to the trail to walk out. All told i was done before sundown and, happy with my performance, was hopeful for what the grand traverse would bring. 

Alta to Sundance (almost)

A second major cross-wasatch tour i was dreaming up is a trip from alta to provo (in the end, i called it and went to AF just to cut down on the driving). I have had an idea of trying to follow the crest of the Wasatch some day as far as i can, connecting Nebo down south to the Bear River Range up north. I guess this is a bit of a ski version of that. This route started with me taking te first bus up from our house to alta. Unfortunately, the first thing that happened was my toe lock lever snapped, but i had just enough left to retain function. 

I set off up the ridge of Patsy Marley, a tour i have done maybe a hndered times already over the years. In short order i was on Rocky Point, crossing the divide into the far upper reaches of American Fork Canyon. The region from Rocky Point back to Mill Canyon peak is a section i have not yet skied, and depsite its proximity to resorts seemed to be fairly untraveled, but beautiful land with excellent skiing interspersed with moments of utter rage, as i couldn't lock my toes out due to my broken lever and my ski would pop off every other step while cutting an uptrack. It is clear that this section sees much less precipitation than other parts of the range. Even on the 10,000+ft Mill canyon peak, the southern aspect snowpack was thin with plants poking through. The north ridge of Mill Canyon peak ended up being a bit more technical than the easy walk up i expected, but the views were amazing and the ski opportunities were enticing dropping off to the east into lonely country. 

After descending mill canyon peak, i patched together a network of roads to grind out the miles remaining for me to get to my end point, in this case the AF winter trail head, and managed to finish just as the sun was setting.

The end goal, off somewhere in that direction

Timp from Mill Canyon Peak

I had a few other potential traverses planned but the weather, snowpack, and other priorities did not allow for them. I look forward to traversing the La Sals and other ranges at some point in the future. 

The "Grand Traverse"

"The Big Event". After hours of driving from Salt Lake, i met up with Andy in Crested Butte, admiring the epic looking mountains around us that we would move through in a few days. After checking in and going through our gear, we drove another 6 hours over to Aspen for the evening to stage our cars for when we would finish the race. Hard to believe that it takes 6 hours to do the drive, and it might take us only double that time to cover the distance on foot (the winner would beat the drive time, getting to aspen before you reasonably could by car!).

After spending the night in a park and ride lot, we met up with Andy's dad for the drive back. He was kind enough to shuttle us back to Crested Butte where he had booked a hotel room for us to hang out in until the start. Being at Crested Butte on closing day but not skiing was a bit of a weird experience, but finally at about 6 we retired to try and get some rest before our 11:30 walk out to the starting line. 

Everyone "lined up" at the starting line at midnight, eager to go to aspen

A few hours later, we were geared up and ready to go with ~400 other racers, all headed to aspen! The start was unbelievably chaotic, i have never tried to ski uphill around so many others, but we were both feeling strong and managed to skate ski past a good portion of people. Before we knew it we had left the ski area and were on the long (14 mile) trek across the valley, then up to Star Pass. Some time around 4:30 we saw a snow fox, white and fluffy, eyeing us before quickly darting off. Around 5:00, just as we began the climb up and over Star Pass, weather moved in and it began to blow sideways. Once atop the pass, at our high point over 12000 feet, just as the sun began to rise, there was a bit of a break in the weather, enough for us to see around at our location. The ski off star pass was mediocre at best, with heavily chopped up powder and tired legs. After a short break taking in some food and fluids at one of the rest stations, we set off for what would become a long torturous slog along the Richmond Ridge, where we were in and out of treeline in full white out conditions where you could hardly see the track to stay in, let alone anything else. After what seemed like forever grinding along the lightly rolling ridge, not quite steep enough or long enough drops to want to rip skins, we made it to the final aid station and ploped down with some soup in the warming tent. We were both pretty gassed, having maybe pushed a bit too hard passing people early in the race, but here we were, a few miles to aspen! 

Andy making the final push to aspen looking forward to "free miles" on the descent!

Coats - Tropsa at the bottom of the leader board, but hey we made it on the board!

The final miles of the ridge roll quite a bit, our beta was to use thin cut skins to glide a bit more, i guess the front runners skated the whole ridge, including skate skiing up hundreds of vertical feet of hills. Hats off to them for that effort. The proximity of Aspen brighened our spirits and we spent the final few hours in conversation, like i would any other day out on the uptrack, slowly bouncing between other groups who were variously handling the situation like we were, with higher spirits, or deep in the pain cave merely grinding it out till the end. Once atop Aspen mountain, morale reached an all time high, we had made it! Not only that, but we had done so on heavy touring gear that is more downhill oriented, while most of our peers were on ultralight set ups- to our benefit, aspen was having a powder day! We crushed the downhill, easily hitting 45+ mph with our newfound energy, passing maybe 5 or 6 other teams in the process, and sped through the finish line! All said and done, we had done the traverse in a bit over 13 hours, a few hours longer than i had hoped, but we had taken 99th place! We had beaten just over half the other teams out that day! Not bad for our first try with heavy gear, at least i am happy with the performance! Now whether or not we go back to try and beat our time... that remains to be seen, it wont happen this year though, we have other goals in mind. 

Re-earthing

 What happens when a space that has been submerged under up to 50 feet of water for the better part of the last century re-emerges? With a rapidly declining water level lake powell, I decided it was time to make the best of this "mega-draught" and see if the river had returned.

It has.

The quick overnight wasnt necessarily the most scenic but it was cetainly unique, floating through rapids created by the degrading silt of the former lake. With a few months having gone by, i would bet this stretch of river has already changed significantly since we saw it. I look forward to making more lemonade out of the lemons that are this mega-drought and exploring further downstream as the lake level continues to drop.

We put in at the North Wash take-out- what once was a lake with floating bathrooms has now had a boat ramp rebuilt a few times as the water level recedes, it was mid febuary and the place was a ghost town. 

From here, 9 miles of new river would take us to the confluence with Trachyte creek, where we would take out and walk back to the road. The river portion was interesting, springs abound everywhere, the rock having had 50 years to absorb water that was now pouring out of every hole and crevice. Several rapids were present, forming as the river cut through lake-silt, something that was a bit new for me to see bt led to fun water. At our take out, we found thick layers of silt, in some places at least 15+ feet deep with 5 foot deep contraction cracks creating strange clay columns. We even found an old boat anchor! Unfortunately Cattle have definitely found the area as well for grazing, we had a bit of a debacle trying to get around a small herd of them in the narrow confines of the canyon, luckily before it got really narrow i was able to run around ahead of them and herd them back behind the rest of the group. 

Cracked clay where Trachyte meets the newly flowing Colorado River, these cracks are 2-5 feet deep and are actually clay columns rather than the usual flakes expected. 

This Anchor is a long way from the lake these days.

Cut banks way overhead and trachyte is still working its way down to where it used to be. 

The walk up Trachyte to Swett creek was scenic till the end, great and varied rock formations, for a short overnight, packraft loop this was one of the better we have done in the area!

Fun Rock formations in Swett Creek.