Throw on skins and start breaking trail below Tincan. Photo: Alex Lee
Turnagain Pass is the beating heart of ski touring in Southcentral Alaska. Turnagain sits on the southern edge of Chugach National Forest and the northern edge of the Kenai Mountains. And it offers a fine canvas to conjure up big-vert link ups with plenty of good turns to satiate the seekers.
The pass is named after the Turnagain Arm, an offshoot of the Cook Inlet. Captain James Cook sailed to the mouth of the arm in 1778 and tossed a British flag ashore. Cook left never to return, but not before he sent a lieutenant up the arm looking for passage to Prince William Sound. The world’s second largest tides, coupled with an endless supply of glacial silt-made shallow banks, bars, and ever-changing channels, turned the crew around again and again—the name stuck. With such maritime nomenclature, one shouldn’t be surprised that most access points to the pass are under 1000 ft from sea level, and the ‘high’ peaks top out for the most part at around 4500 ft. But don’t let that fool you; Turnagain has a magical combination of cold northern air and a wet maritime climate in big mountain terrain. The Seward Highway cuts through the pass, dividing the non-motorized east side from the snowmo west side. Short approaches, steep peaks, and plenty of space make it among the best roadside touring destinations on the planet. Roger’s, of course, has better tree skiing, and Teton Pass has better sheep viewing, but Turnagain provides real-deal, full-on AK skiing just an hour south of Anchorage.
The Plan
Planning a trip to the pass, but don’t know where to go? Already skied the pass and not sure what zone to check out next? Just wondering what the ultimate Turnagin tour might be? Plenty has been written about Turnagain, and if I divulge too many secret stashes, I might have a hard time finding ski partners this winter. The Alaska Factor by Joe Stock has most of the goods already well laid out. Most first-timers to the pass will probably head to Tincan and work their way out from there – well worth the trip. So rather than repeat the nitty-gritty on low-hanging fruit, or get in trouble with the local ski mafia for telling you about the Kickstep Glacier (oops, I’ve said too much), I instead offer an obvious, albeit slightly masochistic option: the Turnagain Traverse.
The pass has six well known main access points on the non-motorized side. North to South, they are Eddie’s, Tincan, Center Ridge, Sunburst, Cornbiscuit, and Pete’s (Yes, locals, I know I am lumping a bit…). So why pick just one zone? The basic idea of the Turnagain traverse is to ski from one end of the pass to the other, catching a run at each zone as you pass. The basic Turnagain Traverse covers about 12,000 vertical feet over 20-ish miles while taking you to a bulk of the classic milk runs. There are endless possibilities, but here is how I have done it:
Don’t the concept of a traverse lull you onto thinking slog— there are Turnagain turns to be had. Photo: Alex Lee
A quick skin rip amidst some soft Alaskan light—Hippy Bowl. Photo: Alex Lee
Step One: Stash a car at Cornbiscuit and drive to Eddies. Yeah, I cut Pete’s out of my traverse because it’s accessed from the Johnson Pass trailhead, and thus, not a true zone in the meat of Turnagain…plus, I’m lazy.
Step Two: Eddies
Put on skis at the Eddies’ parking lot. This popular access point has a good trail up to Eddies Ridge. The treeline shoulder offers one of the few tree runs in Turnagain, but that’s for another day. Keep heading up to the first high point on the true ridge—this requires a few steep kick turns up a south facing avalanche slope. The payoff is a killer run into Ingram Creek. There are quite a number of lines down, but for the sake of the traverse, the short West Face off Eddie’s is a great run that drops you down the ridge to where a turn to the south sends you toward the next objective. Another 1200 feet of skiing and you’re at Ingram Creek. Eddie’s is big and steep and starts the day off with all the stoke of a top-notch pow run.
Step Three: Tincan
From the bottom of the Eddies run, point downhill. Some years, you can still see the Iditarod National Historic Trail running through here. The trail crosses the creek around treeline, which makes for a good crossing. Beware of crossing too early, as it puts you in a terrain trap below the north side of Tincan. Throw on skins and start breaking trail. Once across Ingram Creek, you will make a long ascending traverse towards northwest facing trees. Your goal should be to stay low longer than you want to. Once you’ve made it around the bottom of the Tincan Ridge, there is a good chance of picking up a skintrack. Head uphill.
The first highpoint in the alpine you’ll get to is known as Tincan Common; a short bump up the ridge gets you to the top of “Hippy Bowl.” Hippy Bowl down to Tincan Creek is a 1600 ft Turnagain classic. Don’t let the name fool you; this is a repeat offender with oodles of terrain traps. In unstable conditions, a variation could head down the treed ridge.
Step Four: Center Ridge
The shortest up of the day follows Tincan Creek uphill until you can cross and head up Center Ridge back towards the highway. Turnagain aficionados might scoff at my inclusion of this one since Center Ridge is a relatively low and mellow feature between classic runs. It is used to access big mountain lines further up the valley or as a low-angle option many skip over. However, Center Ridge is also where skiing in Turnagain started. It was the original Tele Hill, and for this reason alone, it can not be skipped in my book. Killer views of Kickstep and Library will make you want to come back with big skis and big ambitions. 1000ft of skiing and a bit of shuffling will take you west to the Parking Lot. Use the outhouse, and eat a sandwich.
The serpentine GPS track of the Turnagain Traverse.
Step Five: Sunburst
The link-up get’s a bit clumsy here. You head south across Lyon’s creek toward Sunburst and have to punch through a bit of thick woods. It’s annoying, but stick with it, and you eventually pop out a short way from a good skin track heading into a high alpine valley with oodles of great south facing ski terrain. Like all the others, Sunburst has many high points, but unlike the others, the highest high point on Sunburst Ridge has a weather station. Follow the ridge all the way there, then drop in on another Turnagain classic and try not to smile too wide.
The top of Sunburst is my favorite view along the traverse.
Step Six: Magnum
From here, there are two options. A high route could take you up to “Super Bowl”, but you want the classics, so instead, descend the valley looking for a place to cross the creek and make a low traverse towards ‘Magnum’.
Too high and you are side hilling an avy slope, too low and you are closed out by brush. The sweet spot requires a bit of gumption if you’re breaking trail, but if you’re lucky, you might come across a skinner from the Sunburst Parking lot heading right there. Magnum sits without its own trailhead, but it is as classic as its neighbors. Head to the top of PMS Bowl and ride down with increasingly tired legs—only one more to go.
Step Seven: Cornbiscuit
A skin track often cuts the corner south from Magnum to Cornbiscuit. This skin track gets steep but puts you up on the Cornbiscuit Ridge. Eat those last gummy bears and switchback up the ridge. There is an obvious highpoint that most folks transition at just below the true summit. The classic line drops south to Bertha Creek. With nearly 2,000ft of good steep skiing, this is my favorite descent on the route—though at least my turns look pretty sloppy 12,000 ft into the day.
Step Eight: Pizza
The Cornbiscuit parking lot only works with good snow; otherwise, it’s a tangled mess of willow and alder. From Bertha Creek, follow the tracks. Your car is waiting, and Coast Pizza in Girdwood is just off the highway, a half an hour’s drive back towards Anchorage.
