Most insane ski line ever. That's how this descent by Cody Townsend is being credited. Staring down a chute in Alaska's Tordrillo Mountains in South Central AK, you can hear Townsend  beforehand with a quick "Ooh I'm getting nervous". 

I think we would be too skiing a crack in the rock face at 30+ mph. If claustrophobia seems to get to you, Townsend's GoPro footage provides just the experience you were looking for. Townsend's "Line of the Year" makes the perfect entry for this week's Thrill Thursday.

Father Nature Outdoors
Because Mother Nature can be a pain

Got a tip for us? Go to our Contact Father Nature Page to send it in. We’ll be sure to give it a look, and of course give credit where it’s due!

Thrill Thursday is when Father Nature Outdoors takes a look at some of the more insane stunts/videos we’ve been sent on the web recently.

For some reason I have the bad habit of placing myself in the shoes (in this case ski boots) of the athletes in the videos I watch. This tends to leave me sitting in my comfortable, ergonomic office chair staring at a 15” monitor with my adrenaline pumping like I just ran the streets of Pamplona. Then it just gets weird when a coworker walks by and I’m out of breath. This video was no exception.

So today’s insane video for you- Speedriding, conquering Alaska’s unrideable mountains. I like this video for two reasons. One, I watch and get sent a ton of AK videos after spending my childhood up there. This is one of the better ones. Two, one of these Red Bull athletes in named Jon DeVore, just like the father of founder Christopher DeVore. So watching Papa DeVore’s alter ego fly through the mountains of Alaska never ceases to entertain.

Watch for yourself, and try to keep your jaw from dropping.

Father Nature Outdoors

Because Mother Nature can be a pain

FNO Takes you to the state of: Alaska

Where are you (park, forest, etc.)- Chugach National Park

Nearest town (s)-  Anchorage, Indian (if that counts). It’s about a 20 minute drive from downtown

How long is this hike- Out and Back

Miles- About 9-10 miles

On your toughness scale (1 easiest, 10 toughest): 3. The challenge is in the distance, not the terrain. A little elevation gain to start, but mostly an easy walk. 1200 ft over the 4 miles going in.

Tell us about it 

One of my good friends in Anchorage used to do this hike regularly and send me pictures of a blue alpine lake bordered by two huge peaks that dropped into the sunny background. All the while I was at work sweating my butt off in the humidity of the east coast. About two years ago I finally got my first glimpse of Rabbit Lake, so I knew I had to go back again this past summer when I visited Anchorage.

The first time I came upon Rabbit Lake it had been by accident. We had climbed Flattop, the most frequented peak in the Chugach Range, and continued down the ridgeline. We had intended to go as far back as we could, but weather made the last peak in the range, Wolverine Peak, out of the question. Given our circumstances we decided to make our descent among loose shale down into the Rabbit Lake Valley.

Rather than descending down the valley back to the Flattop trailhead we walked an additional mile deeper into the mountains until they surrounded us on all sides. At the end of the valley sits Rabbit Lake with the Suicide Peaks standing tall in the background.

This was one of the cooler hikes I had done in the range so this past June I decided to do it again, but this time properly- From the intended trailhead and back out with my girlfriend Katie. All week we planned to head up there on Wednesday. Rain or shine we went for Wednesday and this Wednesday it was spitting rain at the trailhead. 

From what I remembered there was about half a mile in the brush before it opened up for about 3-4 miles in the alpine valley. At least this is what I told Katie, and I heard about my mistake about every 100 feet for the first 2 miles we trekked in the brush. To her credit this area was prime bear territory, tack on some low fog and spitting rain, and the beginning was ominous. We worked our way through the first two miles making noise and looking in the low trees for any sign of movement. We were relieved to get out of the confined trail that ranged from three feet wide to ten feet wide into an alpine valley that offered hundreds of feet to hike around.

We continued on a rocky path beside a large stream up the valley for about two miles until we came upon the lake. It was different seeing it this time with low clouds. The lake seemed darker and colder, but not any less impressive. As we sat eating some snacks I heard my phone go off. (This is the one point in the hike closest to Mchugh Creek on the other side of the mountain range near roads/phone service). It was a text from my sister, the person picking us up that day, so I started to read it out loud.

“Just a heads up, don’t tell Katie but… Oh man does Erynne have a surprise waiting for you”. That was the best I could do after beginning to recite the text out loud. Well luckily it seemed to work for the rest of the hike. What the text really said was “Just a heads up, don’t tell Katie but my friend just told me there’s been a grizzly and two cubs hanging out right near that trailhead for the last week”.

With that fun fact in mind, I decided to make a good deal more noise on the way out. We descended the valley just as the fog began to lift. It was an awesome view below as the mountains served as walls on two sides of a scope that looked straight down to the city of Anchorage. A total of about ten relatively easy miles makes for one of the best hikes in Anchorage’s backyard.

See any wildlife?: Marmots and no bears.

Would you recommend? (Yes or no) Definitely. I would suggest this for any person who knows they can knock out 10 miles in a few hours. Not too tough and very rewarding. 

Trail Tuesdays is a new weekly segment of Father Nature Outdoors. We realized that we have friends and colleagues all across the country so why not take advantage of their knowledge, and hear some fun stories in the process. If you would like to contribute to Trail Tuesdays yourself just go to the “Contact Us” page and let us know. In return we will reward you with a free FNO microfiber headband. We get to hear some awesome stories and in return we’re rewarding you just to go get some fresh air! That’s a win-win in our book.

FNO Takes you to the state of: Alaska
 
Where are you (park, forest, etc.)- Chugach State Park

Nearest town (s)-  About a twenty minute drive to the trailhead from downtown Anchorage, AK

How long is this hike- Mid- full day hike with the possibility of camping in a few very unique and special spots, but overnight would not be needed

Miles-  From Rabbit Lake round trip is probably about 14-15 miles  
             From Falls Creek 9 miles roundtrip

On your personal toughness scale: From both trail heads I would give this about an 8 with the route from Falls Creek being a tad bit easier.

Ok so for South Suicide peak,  I can not stress this enough you need to have a good idea what you are doing on this peak, because things can go south very quick.

Sitting at 5,005ft the peak is nestled back at Rabbit and Mchugh lake. From some spots in the city you can spot it and it may look a lot bigger than it sounds but most people tend to forget that Anchorage sits 100ft above sea level so there is still a lot of elevation gain on this peak.  Depending on which route you take it has its ups and downs.  If you decide to drive down the Seward highway to Falls Creek trail head things go up quick.  You will gain a lot of elevation within the first couple miles but it will even out back into the valley before the approach to the peak. I have done this route and it is nice getting a lot of the elevation out of the way first. 

 Now on this last climb I started at the Rabbit Lake trailhead.  From the gate to the lake is 5 miles and from there you will see the massive twin peaks ahead of you.  From here is where it will get interesting and you will test your ability.  There is not a trail from here up like on the falls creek approach, so you have to find what is easiest and where you have the least chance of falling to your death.  From the lake I hiked about another mile down to upper Mchugh lake and found and area where I could shoot up to the ridge.  Now this is no easy task because you're looking at about close to a thousand feet of elevation in probably about a half mile so it gets very steep.  One loose foot hold and it will be a long fall down.  From here you will follow the ridge all the way up to the peak, but with that said- watch your foot steps.  On the ridge there are big drops on either side.  The climb up to the peak is not to bad, quite a bit of scrambling but nothing technical.  Once you are standing on top it makes everything worth it and you can really soak it in.  

Now for the route down-
This part is interesting, if you took the Falls Creek route you are set, just follow the trail you came up.  Probably the best route back to Rabbit Lake is to hike down the north side of the peak into windy gap and try to find an area of scree that makes it easy, but moving along the rocks down to this area can be interesting.  Once you make the trek down its an easy 5-6 miles back to the parking lot to live and see another day.

Wildlife-  At one point on the ridge I was able to look down on a group of dall sheep, so that reassures you that you are pretty high up.

How cool was it? On a scale of how awesome it is I would say anywhere from 8-10. It definitely is a trek back but once again please know what youre doing, dont be that guy that needs to get lifted off the mountain.

So who is the author? Zach Miley. Mr. Miley is a good friend to FNO. Father Nature Outdoors has a number of athletic and ambitious supporters, but its fair to say Zach is one to set the bar in these qualities. So if Zach tells you something is sketchy I think its fair to heed his advice. With that said we look forward to more hikes from Zach. Living in Anchorage he has access to some of the coolest hikes in the country.

Trail Tuesdays is a new weekly segment of Father Nature Outdoors. We realized that we have friends and colleagues all across the country so why not take advantage of their knowledge, and hear some fun stories in the process. If you would like to contribute to Trail Tuesdays yourself just go to the “Contact Us” page and let us know. In return we will reward you with a free FNO microfiber headband. We get to hear some awesome stories and in return we’re rewarding you just to go get some fresh air! That’s a win-win in our book...

"I wasn't really considering feeding the bears... until you told me not to"

This week Trail Tuesdays is taking you to: 
Winner Creek Trail outside of Girdwood, Alaska

Including the State/National Parks of:
 Within the Chugach State Park and a short drive from Anchorage is the Winner
Creek Trail. 

Nearby Metro Areas:
Anchorage and, that's it

Drive about a half-hour south of Anchorage and you will find, nestled in the mountains that hug Turnagain Arm, the quaint town of Girdwood. A town that can play host to a who’s who in the state, to young adventurers looking to take advantage of once in a lifetime views and a quick escape into the forests that surround the town. At the end of the one main road that brings you through the sleepy ski town of Girdwood is a world-class resort, Alyeska. During the winter Alyeska is home to some of the greatest skiing, snowboarding and backcountry adventures in the world. During the summer, at the base of the mountain, the snow recedes enough to allow the opportunity to take in some beautiful scenery that is normally covered in snow the majority of the year. At the base of the tram, which I highly recommend for a post-hike reward, is a trail head that you might be able to pass by if you didn’t know it was there. This is where the Winner Creek Trail starts. 
 
The hike is about 3 miles one-way. You can take a hand tram across the creek (also very highly recommended) to Crow Creek Mine. This turns the half-day hike into more of a full day hike, but again, it’s probably worth it. For the half-dayers,
try out the hand-tram to say that you did and turn around to trek back to the resort and enjoy the manual tram to the top of the mountain. If you choose the half day or the full day, the difficulty doesn’t change much. This is a pretty average hike. There are no real steep climbs or rock climbing stretches. The most difficult passages are so because they are perhaps narrow or, because of some pretty steady rain, they are muddy. This is a good hike for everyone. For some more experienced hikers you can test your pace and try to work up a sweat, but the key to this hike is relaxing. Take in the scenery and the tranquility of the Chugach Forest. That goes for young adults, families with kids, retired couples and everything in between. The only thing I would be hesitant to bring on the trail is a stroller – some areas just won’t accommodate for it. 
 
If you do choose to come out to the Winner Creek trail you won’t be disappointed. At some points the forest opens up like a scene out of “FernGully.” 

Some optional, increased difficulty opportunities will be available too, like this tree crossing over a small creek.

Unless you keep your head down admiring the soil the whole time you will see some wildlife. Keep an eye on the tree line for bald eagles, drop your head occasionally for some run-of-the-mill ground squirrels, but most importantly try to stay loud to avoid any bear in the area. While a bear run-in is less common this is bear country. Most commonly you will run into black bear. Not necessarily aggressive, but nothing to be messed with. This little guy welcomed us to the trail the last time we visited good ol’ Winner Creek.

Overall though the main point is – you are out in Mother Nature and she won’t disappoint. Like I said though, before you turn around you have to try out the hand-tram. It’s not for the faint of heart or for those that have a slight problem with heights.

Do they really have to say “Do NOT feed the bears” because I wasn’t really considering it….until you told me not to. 

And now for a little bit about our contributor, Andrew DeVore:
Andrew DeVore is currently a law student at William and Mary. Andrew grew up nearby Winner Creek in Anchorage, Alaska. His most recent excursion to Winner Creek was in June 2013 when he visited back home with his wife Jackie, and a few close friends. It is still up for debate how closely he is related to FNO founder Christopher DeVore. Andrew shares the same passion for the outdoors as do the other members of his family.

Trail Tuesdays is the newest weekly segment of Father Nature Outdoors. We realized that we have friends and colleagues all across the country so why not take advantage of their knowledge, and hear some fun stories in the process. If you would like to contribute to Trail Tuesdays yourself just go to the “Contact Us” page and let us know. In return we will reward you with a free
FNO microfiber headband. We get to hear some awesome stories and in return we’re rewarding you just to go get some fresh air! That’s a win-win in our book.