Outdoors: Climbing at its ‘Peak'

June 12, 2007

By Will Elliott/Frontiersman

MAT-SU - Over a vertical mile in height, 6,398 foot Pioneer Peak above the Knik River turns away some hikers for the simple reason of its size. Though a maintained trail leads most of the way up the peak, the 12 mile round trip to its lower summit and back makes for a long day, and then some.

Standing on the mountain's south peak, contemplating the hike back down to the trailhead, it's easy to see why climbers on some mountains have packed parachutes or gliders, and done away with walking downhill altogether.

During a window in late summer, snow conditions on local mountains offer a simpler option. Though many hikers turn to lowland trails in early June while snow still caps the higher peaks, that snow can be the key to making a big hike like Pioneer Peak go much faster.

The consolidated snow typical of mountainsides this time of year can speed things up for hikers on both the way up and down. The scree slopes of Chugach mountains like Pioneer Peak are a tiresome climb, as the bits of broken rock slide and settle with every step. As late season snow metamorphosizes, though, there is a point at which the snow is soft enough on top for a foot to sink in securely, but firm enough below to yield good footing. That's a big improvement over the one step up, half step back approach to scree.

Those same surface inches of wet snow make for a fast glissade down. Boot soles provide the vehicle, and if terrain and conditions are right, all a hiker needs to do is stay in control, be cautious, and let gravity do the work.

On Pioneer Peak's north face, skiing down on boot soles can turn hours trudging up a snowy gully to achieve the mountain's west ridge into a speedy fifteen or thirty minute descent back to the peak's treeline meadows. On the Pioneer Ridge-Austin Helmers Trail, which winds its way up the mountain's east side, linking together smaller snow patches will have similar results.

Summer snow has its dangers, though. Slopes that gave firm footing in the cool morning can be an avalanche hazard later in the day, especially near rocks, which conduct heat and weaken the snow. Boulders hidden beneath the snow can also melt out hidden holes hikers can fall into. That's a familiar problem on the popular Reed Lakes trail near Hatcher Pass, and throughout the boulder-strewn Talkeetnas. Meltwater streams running down steep gullies do the same, and create scary holes where the snow melts away from the water on a slope.

Glissaders are especially susceptible those hazards. Every year Alaska hikers slide over a cliffs, into holes or smash into rocks at the end of snow slopes. Though considered requisite, sometimes even mountaineering ax doesn't guarantee safety. Ice can underlie the snow, preventing the ax from biting in, or a buried rock can jar it out of a hiker's hand. Since 1978, five people have died on Pioneer Peak, and others have been killed on neighboring mountains such as Twin Peaks above Eklutna Lake. The majority were hikers who slipped on moderate ground, then tumbled into steeper terrain.

To make use of summer snow, practice, caution, and experience evaluating snow conditions are essential.

Various gullies on Pioneer Peak's east and west shoulder are a good place to use those skills, and the substantial elevation gain means a long, fast slide back down. From pullouts on the Old Glenn Highway head up the slippery rocks of stream gullies to the sheep-filled meadows at mid-mountain, and if things are safe, follow the snow to the ridge from there. Online trip reports and bulletin board threads offer photos and information, and a good place to learn more about the mountain's hazards.

More difficult routes abound on the middle gully of the mountain's north face. Requiring special equipment, favorable conditions, and an understanding and acceptance of what they are getting into, qualified climbers can negotiate the waterfalls, steep snow, loose rock and multiple rappels needed to get up and down the peak safely.

The Pioneer Ridge-Austin Helmers Trail offers an easier way up to the mountain's rear, lower peak, with the option of continuing on to the true summit. Complete with trail markers and ridgetop picnic tables, the trail earned Valley resident and trail planner Austin Helmers a national trails award, and volunteer award from former Alaska first lady Nancy Murkowski.

Helmers, a retired U.S. Forest Service researcher, spent nearly two decades developing the trail that bears his name out of a desire to make the mountain accessible to hikers of all levels. From a trailhead at mile 3.5 of the Knik River Road, the trail winds out of old growth timber to alpine tundra and views of Knik Glacier and Cook Inlet.

Camping is possible, and snow patches are the best bet for water- another reason to travel in the spring. For more information on the trail, contact Mat-Su Borough Parks and Outdoor Recreation at 745-9690.

Contact Frontiersman reporter Will Elliott at 352-2252 or will.elliott@

frontiersman.com