u/mesaghoul

Spent 7 days solo in the Talkeetna range. Didn’t see any sheep but hard to beat those views.

Since moving into my home just off of Buffalo-Mine road in Palmer I have been dreaming of setting a direct route to the main rock spires on Arkose Ridge via Murphy Road. 

With the Moose Range in my backyard I've become intimately familiar with the trails accessed via Murphy road. 

I’ve made several attempts to gain the ridge directly at the spires, each time being stopped by a drainage, choking alder, or inclement weather. It's taken me two years of trudging through the mud, getting choked out by the alder, & getting cut-off by the multiple drainages, but this past summer solstice I finally bushwhacked my way to the top of the ridge & sat on top one of the main rock formations. 

I had spent countless mornings drinking my coffee & glassing the ridge from my driveway. 
Each time I thought that I had discovered the route I would get cut off by a new drainage I hadn’t found before. On one of my trips out I found gaining the ridge relatively easy via Skyline trail, however the push directly to the main rock formations was my true goal. 

My route began by following a series of four wheeler trails towards the inevitable bushwhack up to the tundra. Following Grizzly traverse past the Bench loop trail you’ll find a fork in the trail leading to Trail 006. From 006 you follow the ridge up towards two large granite columns on a steep knoll I’ve nicknamed the gateway. The approach to the gateway consists of navigating thick alder & other smaller shrub patches, as well as two boulder fields. The route up the gateway is the steepest ascent of the whole climb but heading directly up through the granite columns eliminates a significant amount of blazing trail. As I reached the top of the gateway the main rock spires started to peak out from the clouds. Temperatures were averaging 60-70F on Sunday & the cloud cover was a blessing in disguise. From the top of the gateway to the top of Arkose Ridge took me roughly 1 hour. From the top of the ridge towards the main rock spires, there were two significant talus fields to navigate, as I could not walk the majority of the main ridge-line due to the sheer drop in some places, & remaining snow drifts in others. After navigating the last boulder field a small patch of tundra was my last push towards the main rock formation. As I climbed up to sit on top of one of the main formations more clouds rolled in & obstructed my southern view of the Chugach Range. Looking behind me to the south the clouds dissipated & I was left with a gorgeous view of Delia Creek in Hatcher Pass. The route back down was rough going in places but all in all the total trip took me 11.5hrs. As I got back to the truck at the turnout on Murphy road I reflected on a successful summit

two years in the making. I thought to myself before the short drive home that I was sure that I am not the first person to climb up to the main rock spires from Murphy road, but that I might be the first to document it. 

Since moving into my home just off of Buffalo-Mine road in Palmer I have been dreaming of setting a direct route to the main rock spires on Arkose Ridge via Murphy Road. 

With the Moose Range in my back yard I've become intimately familiar with the trails accessed via Murphy road. 

I’ve made several attempts to gain the ridge directly at the spires, each time being stopped by a drainage, choking alder, or inclement weather. It's taken me two years of trudging through the mud, getting choked out by the alder, & getting cut-off by the multiple drainages, but this past summer solstice I finally bushwhacked my way to the top of the ridge & sat on top one of the main rock formations. 

I had spent countless mornings drinking my coffee & glassing the ridge from my driveway. 
Each time I thought that I had discovered the route I would get cutoff by a new drainage I hadn’t found before. On one of my trips out I found gaining the ridge relatively easy via Skyline trail, however the push directly to the main rock formations was my true goal. 

My route began by following a series of four wheeler trails towards the inevitable bushwhack up to the tundra. Following Grizzly traverse past the Bench loop trail you’ll find a fork in the trail leading to Trail 006. From 006 you follow the ridge up towards two large granite columns on a steep knoll I’ve nicknamed the gateway. The approach to the gateway consists of navigating thick alder & other smaller shrub patches, as well as two boulder fields. The route up the gateway is the steepest ascent of the whole climb but heading directly up through the granite columns eliminates a significant amount of blazing trail. As I reached the top of the gateway the main rock spires started to peak out from the clouds. Temperatures were averaging 60-70F on Sunday & the cloud cover was a blessing in disguise. From the top of the gateway to the top of Arkose Ridge took me roughly 1 hour. From the top of the ridge towards the main rock spires, there were two significant talus fields to navigate, as I could not walk the majority of the main ridge-line due to the sheer drop in some places, & remaining snow drifts in others. After navigating the last boulder field a small patch of tundra was my last push towards the main rock formation. As I climbed up to sit on top of one of the main formations more clouds rolled in & obstructed my southern view of the Chugach Range. Looking behind me to the south the clouds dissipated & I was left with a gorgeous view of Delia Creek in Hatcher Pass. The route back down was rough going in places but all in all the total trip took me 11.5hrs. As I got back to the truck at the turnout on Murphy road I reflected on a successful summit

two years in the making. I thought to myself before the short drive home that I was sure that I am not the first person to climb up to the main rock spires from Murphy road, but that I might be the first to document it. 

After many attempts I finally sat on top of the main spires on Arkose Ridge. Used the Moose Range Trails via Murphy Road, & it only took me 12hrs…

Woke up to this notification in my email… Good thing my house is on heating oil but still!

I broke two ribs last Sunday on Gail’s Gully at Alyeska (Girdwood, AK).

It was one of the most unremarkable falls I’ve ever had. I caught an edge, did a roll, & landed rib cage first onto a hidden mogul. Didn’t help that my wallet was in that chest pocket either. I knew I broke them & skied down back to the truck & drove myself home.

X-ray on Monday confirmed ribs #5 & #6 were fractured. Been weighing all week on whether or not I would return to play this weekend.

Long story short, my first line of the day was a redemption run on Gail’s. My confidence is still pretty shaky but after 30 seasons of skiing I’m just happy to be able to finish this season out strong.