Alaska Marine Highway System - Backcountry Accessibility

[Adolf Allerbush]

Some friends and I are thinking of taking Alaska's Marine Highway System http://www.dot.state.ak.us/amhs/ this winter with the hopes of accessing some backcountry touring and/or camping...maybe shoot some birds...not really sure. We'd be leaving from Bellingham, WA and likely ending up in Haines, AK or Skagway, AK.

Some questions:

1. Anyone out there used the Alaska Marine Highway System?
2. Any suggestions on driven from Haines/Skagway to access some terrain?
3. How easy is it to get off the boat with your truck and drive to some terrain at the interim stops that the boat makes? Is there even any skiing to be had at these stops?
4. If anyone has done this, what sort of time should we allot to a trip of this nature and what time of year would be advisable to do this?
5. Is Haines/Skagway not the best place to end up? Any other suggestions as to where to disembark the boat?

Any info is greatly appreciated.

[Camel Toad]

1. yes
2. get in car and do it. loop from haines to skagway, whitehorse is a fun place to drink
3. easy, if you know where to go and there is snow
4. about a year, skiing is best in winter
5. cordova or valdez are nice this time of year. or there is always adak

[ak_telemike]

and the great thing is that during the winter, the driver rides free on the ferry

There is skiing in Ketchikan, Petersburg, and probably Wrangell - access can be stiff in SE Alaska

Juneau, Haines and Skagway all pretty much suck at this point, but things will likely improve

[Adolf Allerbush]

Thanks for the responses....sounds like it could be an epic trip if planned well. Haines and Skagway seem to have some kickass terrain and from the topos I've got it looks as though there is much to be accessed from roads out of Haines into BC and interior AK.

[col_surfer]

I skied Three Guardsmen`s Peak and the Glave about 10 miles N. of Pleasant Camp(Canadian border on Haines Hwy). Good steep lines around here and nice glade and tree runs looking just south a few miles. Most of the locals tour here. Keep heading north and the terrain really opens up into broad valleys with mountains everywhere; lots of extended touring potential. Wish I had more time on that trip. Keep in mind that the closer you are to the ocean, the more heavily forested the terrain is, and also the wind can blow severely around Haines mid-winter. There`s a good bc shop in town, can`t remember the name, but the owner has good beta on conditions. Haines is a very long one-day drive from Valdez.

[ak_telemike]

yeah, and there's a pilot named Drake (last name escapes me) who skis a lot and can drop you in w/ a ski equipped Cessna to some places for great skiing - we used him for our flights back to Haines from Dry Bay at the end of the Tat-Alsek - I'll try to find contact info for him - skiplane is way cheaper than a heli, and you can go some cool places

contact Sean and Darcie at Alaska Mountain Guides - I think they are in Alta for the winter, but they could give you tons of good beta on the Haines ski scene from the road

also seandog at Alaska Heliskiing would probably help you out

Bill Glude of the SE Alaska Avalanche Center could probably tell you where to ski just about anywhere in SE

other options include Hoonah - I can help you there - and Pelican - my buddy ran into Tommy Moe there last spring - be ready to bushwhack and play with very large grizz

[Camel Toad]

if you hit Pelican be sure to pop over to White Sulfur Hot Springs.

Damn Mike, Hoonah and Pelican, what are you trying to get these boys lost in the godforesaken wilderness?? [sarcasm]at least there isn't any devil's club in those areas.[/sarcasm]

[ak_powder_monkey]

^^^They know better then me just wondering if it will ever snow I shouldn't have bought that season pass

[ak_telemike]

don't be such a pussy

it'll snow

[ak_powder_monkey]

it did then it rained again

[Camel Toad]

akpm

if you mention rain one more time

have you looked outside at the 6-8" we are getting??? now shut yer pie hole!!!

[ak_telemike]

[skieurmalade]

i remember a small herd of juveniles in petersburg who said that they always had a local give 'em heli laps out on Petersburg Island (other island)... the lines looked short but sweet and I never even found the guy but it was summer and he may be there now like they said. fuck if i know oh yeah go just north of skagway and then head into the chilkoot trail (BC panhandle) theres a cabin for the canadian army or some shit with a huge mouse. the log book had tons of skiers in it and the lines looked as if they could sizzle the hizzle, so to speak. SEND A TRIP REPORT back please thank you.

[ak_powder_monkey]

akpm

if you mention rain one more time

have you looked outside at the 6-8" we are getting??? now shut yer pie hole!!!

I have and I remember the 12 inches we got at thanksgiving. Oh well I'm going skiing tomorrow try out my new bros I just expect the worst, hope for the best

[skieurmalade]

you know jay claus AKPM?

[Camel Toad]

almost forgot

there are two cabins in haines pass, both are free,
the nattahini (sp??) shoe box and another a few miles further from haines. bring a shovel to park. great hiking from both.

[chocolatecoveredbacon]

and the great thing is that during the winter, the driver rides free on the ferry

anyone know if this is still true? i'm planning on making the drive south in a couple of weeks. the ferry was a little more than i wanted to pay, but if the driver is free, it might be worth it...

[Hugh Conway]

I believe this is drake http://flydrake.com/

[AKPogue]

anyone know if this is still true? i'm planning on making the drive south in a couple of weeks. the ferry was a little more than i wanted to pay, but if the driver is free, it might be worth it...

Why don't you look it up on their website? If I recall correctly it was 5 years ago.

[chocolatecoveredbacon]

Yeah looks like that is long gone...too bad.

[TahoeAk1]

I do the drive to AK twice a year with the use of the ferry to and from Valdez to Cordova each year.

The driver is always free,......

[AK]

The driver is always free

x2 october through april the driver's included.

thought I'd add some current info to this thread if others are looking at using the ferry this year. here are the current fares; rates go up during the terrorist season but are pretty reasonable during the winter. make sure to check their schedule as things aren't always as frequent in the winter. ie- valdez to cordova only runs about twice a week if I remember correctly.

if you have your vehicle, access is relatively easy by driving from the ferry terminals in Haines, Skagway, and Juneau. I can't speak for the other ports, but telemike pretty much says it all up above. as far as I know, 3 years later, the same people and same amount (probably more) of devils club is still around.

depending on where the storms go, I'm looking at doing some more ferry accessed skiing over xmas. I'll post some more info if I come across anything worthwhile.

here are a couple pics looking west from the boat this spring while heading down the lynn canal. there's some low-flying skud in the way, but I think you can get the idea. the east side of the canal has some epic terrain, but was pretty clouded over this trip.