I'm like a Ligthening Bug that Won't Turn off: All a Glow from the Eklutna Traverse

Sherrie and I have talked about an Eklutna Traverse trip for almost a year now. And with this amazing weather window we have been having it seemed like the perfect time. We started the trip out with a helicopter bump up to the Nordic center.

The weather in G-wood was not quite perfect, so we didn’t leave until about 5 PM (thank you RC for the ride!). For me an odd feeling as we land with no one in site, unloading gear under the spinning propellers, looking around into land completely covered in white mountain madness, and thinking alright, here we go!

A bit chilly and cloudy at the top – what happened to summer? – so Sherrie and I roped up quickly and took off heading for the blue sky in front of us....

We reached the pass, and started our way up one of the most deceiving hills on earth, looking out for open crevasses, and listening to the voices created by the combined sound of wind and skins.

Soon enough, with the sun beginning to set, we found our way to the Hans’ Hut….yummy soup, enchiladas, and chocolates for dinner…..We awoke the next morning at what we thought was 1 PM…wow, we must have been tired….but after realizing the watch had stopped and it was only 8 AM we relaxed and enjoyed a nice leisurely morning, enjoying coffee.

Sherrie and I switched the rope teams throughout the day, Sherrie in front then me in front…both have their advantages and irritations…..Of course the skiing made me nervous as I never did get all those days of practice in as I had wanted to…

But I hung on tight, tried not to wipe out, tried to keep the rope between us not to tight, and not to loose, and mostly just felt like an out of control kite tethered to a body! Nonetheless, we reached the end of the glacier mid-day which was a huge learning lesson all of its own....….crevasses everywhere!

Day three with about 30 miles behind us and 10 more to go. An "easy" hike out on a four-wheeler trail with skies, boots and “stuff” loaded in our packs that I’m sure was reaching close to 1000 pounds, ok, maybe it was more like 50 or 60….

I tried to sell Sherrie on these extra delicious energy bars called “Cliff” that I was lugging around and assured her that it would be the tastiest thing she has ever eaten in her life….but I think she was on to my scram of trying to lighten my load and she said she wasn’t interested!


It was interesting to resurface in the land of people and have them ask us if we found snow…..You do know there is a glacier back there….?? Then we started thinking of how we can make ourselves look cute and score a ride out…..Sherrie won the outfit of the day award by pulling out the skirt….my long johns and sports bra, yeah, not so hot! At about the ½ way mark some folks offered to give our packs a ride, which made the rest of the journey super easy.