Sunset turns above Anchorage.
For a mental reset, often nothing compares to a solo ski tour. Embarking on a solo mission requires self-awareness, a set of rules, and a willingness to follow those rules that at once may be personal but are in place to ensure safe travel. Alex Lee has some thoughts.
It snowed 42 inches at my house last week. On Friday afternoon, I skinned up Peak Two in the Front Range of the Chugach Mountains, just above Anchorage. This local high point is one of my favorite places.
On the mountain’s south side, a short low angle run at tree line sees the most traffic, though an interesting high south face often goes overlooked by those seeking smooth bases or fearing p-tex repairs in the garage. And a run off the peak to the southwest has some of the front range’s finest windboard most of the winter. No matter which run is on the docket, a quick 1800ft with nearly no approach is the only cost. Weekends might be for bigger peaks or longer tours, but the backyard mountains are a respite for the work day.
I rarely plan to go to Peak Two, but I seem to find myself there every week. That itchiness that shows up on Mondays boils over at unknown intervals, with me sneaking away from my desk to dart uphill trying to catch a 3pm sunset, or grabbing a headlamp and mittens when the zoomies need a post-work outlet. I am usually by myself.
On the popular south line, however, I am rarely alone, as Peak Two and neighboring Peak Three offer a common exercise zone for Anchorage skiers. However, in the darkest of winter, low tides of bad snow, or any run that veers from the standard, I usually find myself alone.
Touring up Peak Two…with friends. A day this windy called for company.
Rules of Engagement
Touring alone can elicit strong responses. I love skiing alone, but personally only venture solo under the following conditions:
1. I am in my home range.
2. Either the run obviously avoids any avalanche terrain or other terrain hazards, or the run is one I know well enough to be confident that the risk of avalanche is exceedingly low – It’s impossible to avoid risks in the mountains, but I want the risk of a car accident on the way to the trailhead to be higher than any risks while skiing.
3. Someone knows where I am.
sometimes solo days mean just going for a tour in the woods – pretty great if you ask me.
The Community Weighs In
I checked in with a few friends who I trust to get some other takes on skiing alone, here’s what folks said:
Eric D., aging local crusher: “Solo skiing with low exposure (avalanche, steepness, temps, remoteness) seems acceptable to me. But anything that could be potentially harmful or result in disrupting others’ day is at best a dick move, and at worst life threatening.”
Dave B., Anchorage mountain goat: “I prefer skiing with friends and family, but skiing alone is better than doing anything else alone…The margin for error has to be lower. I got caught and carried while skiing solo last year for the second time (11 years later) and was grateful to ski away with only my mind rattled. Now I’m back to being the conservative guy in the group…”
Roman D., legend: “All the adventure sports have some bit of added reward when solo, but as I’ve aged—and especially since losing my own son on his own solo journey—I’m not so sure that the reward is worth the risk to loved ones who might be left behind should something go awry.”
Eeva L., snow science guru: “Backcountry skiing solo is a daring choice I make only on a rare occasion. There is no safety net if you blow the snowpack assessment or let the desire lead the way into inappropriate terrain. I also weigh the burden of being an avalanche professional. Even if there is a wide understanding that pros and recreationists are both vulnerable to mistakes, and that accidents happen to all types of users, I try very hard to walk the talk of good habits. Skiing solo is far from a good habit. I did ski solo last season when the snow storm produced amazing ski quality in the Chugach front range. I snuck out of the office on a Wednesday morning for a quick lap at the local milk run. I smiled to myself the whole time, getting the pleasant workout on the skin track and face shots on the way down. None of us are immune to temptations.
Taylor B., avalanche instructor, Denali guide, cold weather enthusiast: “I don’t really do it. But I know some people feel they can manage the risks and enjoy it.”
Najeeby Q., coach: “I do ski alone but only in places where I’m really familiar (know snow load zones, terrain traps etc..) and in cell service. Never when it’s super cold. I bike alone all the time, and it seems more risky to me when I think about injury/bears. But where I would personally ski solo is a much smaller set of options…”
Jeff C., OG: “[Skiing alone] can be fun because I set my own agenda and pace. But it can also be boring because I go to popular places and keep it conservative.”
Solo tours are obviously a great opportunity for the selfie – the author on a solo lap at Hatcher Pass.
There are days I won’t go up to Peak Two, days I won’t go to certain aspects or elevations, and days I’ll just tour up the short approach and scoot around in the alders. While I often say that I avoid avalanche terrain when skiing alone, the truth is I have seen slides on all of the common Peak Two lines. Some will say never do this, while others push solo skiing far further than I do.
I am risk averse in general, but even more so when alone. I love skiing with friends, but I also love the quiet and space that comes with being alone in the mountains, plus sometimes that itch just needs scratchin’. The common thread I found in talking with others about touring alone boils down to knowing your limits and knowing the terrain.
Anything else you would add?
More WildSnow related to solo skiing.
The No-Beacon-Day — Using Terrain to Minimize Avalanche Exposure.
Dr. Alex Lee lives in Anchorage, Alaska. Alex is a professor at Alaska Pacific University, teaching philosophy and environmental studies. He also works as a sometimes guide, naturalist, writer, and photographer.
13 comments
The resort can provide some safe terrain for a solo tour. I rarely see more than a handful of people during the week. My one recco is to double down on redundancy; two headlamps, extra batteries for anything relevant etc. and a boat load of voile ski straps for that inevitable broken buckle or skin failure.
Understand risk homeostasis. When I tour solo (which I often do) I pay more attention and take fewer risks than when I’m in a large group, with all the associated social dynamics.
Just so, Stewart. More attention, no showing off, no derring do. I mostly think I’m safer solo than with a group, and the larger the group, the less safe. However, despite the risk, skiing with friends can be worthwhile.
I share this perspective Stewart and Jim. Skiing alone often feels safer and more precise. It’s nice to not have to verbalize decision making processes or consider other’s expectations/limits. I felt more justified skiing alone on PNW volcanos than I do now in winter Alaska. Indeed the very best ski style is with 1 other person you trust.
On this subject, I often think of Drew Tabke’s Freeskier interview on the merits of skiing without a beacon or or this quote by Trevor Hunt-“getting psyched on soloing is about as cool as getting psyched on heroin. I would never suggest it, and I certainly wouldn’t solo the big stuff if I had kids.”
Thanks for the thought provoking article Alex!
I ski solo relatively often. I never go somewhere I am not already familiar, never in avalanche terrain (except on homogeneous spring snow) and I always have a lower limit for turning around, be it due to bad weather or other things.
I think it’s absolutely acceptable given the above, and as mentioned by someone already, always bring emergency gear, comms and tell someone where you are going.
I ski alone and with groups. IMO there seems to be a false sense of security when traveling in groups. The majority of avalanche deaths involve groups of skiers, not solo skiers.
My biggest fear when skiing alone is a fluke orthopedic injury or equipment failure.
I spend a fair amount of time solo in backcountry settings, exponentially more than most, by choice and dint of profession and duties. Like everyone else is saying, it gets dialled back… known exposure, challenge, and decisions about hard turn arounds. I’ve been ‘caught’ once or twice with spooks, but no damage, serving to enforce double checking the pack, modifying what I carry.
The pack this year has me putting these forays to the back burner… the unknowns I know I don’t know are keeping me to a short leash.
I’ve ski toured alone a lot over the last 20 years. When I first started i was I more cautious, I put a “governor” on by using a scaled XCD setup giving me a constant reminder what the goal of the tour was – exploring low angle terrain and looking for slopes to ski in the future with friends. I personally find a ton of joy in “meadow skipping” and just being out in the woods alone. Like another said, if you stay out of avalanche terrain, are within cell range or have an inReach, it’s probably just as safe as mountain biking alone and people do that all the time. But it’s very easy to get lured into steeper slopes especially when the snow is good.
I broke my tibia last season while touring alone. I had been skiing a west aspect but the way back to the trailhead is a SE aspect which had significantly warmed. I buried a tip in the cement, the binding didn’t release, and long story short I got a helicopter ride out after using the SOS on my inReach. I could attribute it to bad luck but really it was my fault for not skiing more cautiously on that last run. I should have been making survival turns in the sludge rather than trying to link turns. Would a friend have been able to get me off the slope and to the ER? Highly unlikely based on the location even though I was only 2 miles from the trailhead.
I’ve had a long time to think about that day. I never want that to happen again and need first responders to rescue me. I’ll still tour alone but I have reinstalled the governor and will be hyper vigilant on changing how and what I ski when alone. It’s better to be overly cautious and ski another day than get a fun last run.
I ski alone frequently and have done so for a couple of decades. Finding compatible partners with coinciding schedules is difficult, especially over the long term as several of my besties have moved away over the years. Based in Jackson Hole, I have go-to routes in various zones, most of which are in avalanche terrain. I ski much less aggressively, speed, airs, rollovers, straightlines, etc, when alone. Zone selection is all about not crossing tracks and choosing routes appropriate to local stability, snowpack history, visibility, and solitude. Yes, when I ski alone, I’m not out there to encounter a slew of folks. Over three and half decades of B.C. skiing I’ve torn a rotator cuff and blown and ACL, both incidents were in group settings-both times I could have made it out alone but was glad to have assistance. I’ve been caught in an avalanche once, airbag deployed, 1000 foot ride, partial burial, when skiing with a group (the avalanche forecast was low and we’d skiied and dug pits in the zone for two days).
The big difference here seems to be separating avalanche terrain from a ski tour: can a solo ski tour be enjoyed below 30 degrees?
@DK. Absolutely. There are two areas near me that I feel comfortable touring solo. Both have aspects that are below 30 degrees and, as long as the snow isn’t warm and gloppy, the skiing (snowboarding in my case) can be awesome.
Both areas were shown to me by “old timers” who ripped them on 3 pin (no cables, IIRC) tele setups. I think that’s ideally how they would be skied but I would be endangering myself on that kind of gear. So the splittie it is.
I would also add that I spent my birthday on Monday riding green circle groomers and the chopped up old pow on their flanks with my wife who rarely skis at all. I’m sure those slopes never got close to 30 deg and I had an absolute ball riding fakie and laying the deepest smoothest (albiet slow) carves that I could muster. Fun doesn’t require steep – let go of that mindset and live a happy long life in the mountains.
There’s almost two conversations happening here, touring alone in avalanche terrain and touring alone in non-avalanche terrain. Personally, a majority of my time in the backcountry is spent effectively alone (though here in the Wasatch, there are always skiers around). I choose not to ski avalanche terrain solo, unless the snowpack has homogenized in the spring (as mentioned by others). However, I feel very comfortable skiing slopes less than 30° alone, and do so often. If you’re skiing alone in non-avalanche terrain and you’re a competent skier, you’re probably doing one of the safer things imaginable, akin to running or biking solo (which is almost never questioned). The heuristic traps of touring with friends and family are immense, and those who swear off solo touring are probably discounting the social pressures they encounter when touring with others. Additionally, it’s very difficult to find partners who have a similar risk tolerance and fitness as yourself, and often I find it easier/safer to ski by myself rather than convince an adventuresome friend to meadow-skip with me.