On March 20th, Christian Beckwith, Miles Raney and I drove 3 snowmachines 50 miles up the Nelchina Glacier to Mt. Valhalla. The next day we went to the top and skiied down some very icy, nasty terrain. Some of the worst skiing I've ever done, with a few decent turns thrown in. It was -30 F per thermometer on the top, and blowing a good 40-60mph. Difficult to even stand up on the top. We made it down just fine, except for a little frost nip, and also a little incident I had...my first ever fall in no-fall terrain. Miles and I were descending from the summit with haste in declining light and conditions, and I was trying to keep up with him. That was a huge mistake, as he's a much better skier. If I'd have just skied at my own pace I'd have had no problem. Both skis came off and followed me down as I slid and tumbled around 200'. I managed to self arrest, then a second later my ski hit me in the face as it was sliding fast down the fall line. Too bad I didn't have ski brakes. I'm proud that I was able to hang on to it despite nearly being KO'd. The other ski went in to a filled in crevasse and was easily retrieved with a belay, just downslope.
The machines had difficulty starting 2 days later when the storm was over and we wanted to leave. Mine ran so poorly that we had to abandon it on the glacier. I've since gone back and retrieved it. An amazing place with a lot of skiing potential.
My face got smashed with a ski but I'm OK now.
