Thompson Pass Basics (Ski)

Looking south over Worthington Glacier

Thompson Pass and portions of the Chugach nearby have limitless ski terrain. After all, the mountains stretch west clear to Anchorage, and to the east is the largest contiguous glaciated region on earth except for the Antarctic ice sheet. More importantly for most backcountry skiers, there is plenty of skiing that is accessible in day trips, even with short winter light.

The Richardson Highway makes a sweeping bend as it crosses Thompson Pass. Within the curve of the road, to the east, is an area known as “Odyssey” that has the most accessible and some of the safer ski terrain in the pass. When we were there, right after a large snowfall with high winds, it was one of the few areas with numerous ski lines that weren’t exposed to avalanches. Odyssey and Little Odyssey Mountains, and the adjacent Moonlight Basin offer several days of fun, safe ski lines if you’re waiting for avalanche danger to subside.

The northern aspects of these hills, particularly Little Odyssey, have ample mellow terrain. Beginners and intermediates, and anyone else on a day with elevated avalanche risk, can find low-angle skiing in the south-facing Moonlight Basin, located between Odyssey and Goodwills Mountain. To access Moonlight, park at the lot near the hairpin turn just south of Thompson Pass.

The east side of the Pass also has many square miles of moderate terrain. A series of fairly broad, north-facing chutes drop from between steeper pinnacles down to the road, and provide easy access powder skiing. The first obvious one descends from the pass at the top of Moonlight Basin. The next large chute to the east is called “School Bus,” named for the vehicle that an avalanche from it annihilated one year. The next two chutes, still moving to the east, are called Gullies One and Two, followed by Nicks Happy Valley. These roughly 1,500 feet runs offer great skiing on their own, and access to steeper terrain higher up. Sometimes they will be visible enough to ski while storms enshroud the higher peaks.

On the west side of the road, serrated mountains slice through glaciers and vertiginous peaks at first appear inaccessible to human travel. Most of them aren’t inaccessible at all. Girls Mountain, for example, looms far above Worthington Glacier, and is a very accessible day ski. Park at a turnoff south of the Worthington Glacier lot (Mile 29), then ascend aiming toward the moderately-sized pocket glacier that faces southeast. First you gain a long, low ridge, then work westward toward the bottom of Girls’ pocket glacier. This route offers intriguing views of the relatively recently exposed lateral moraine of the Worthington Glacier beneath Girls peak. On your ascent route, the pocket glacier leads gently up to ridgeline. Though at first the high point appears to be snow-encrusted spires directly ahead, in fact the summit of Girls is little more than a hundred yards to your left from the ridge. It has with majestic views of Worthington Glacier, Sapphire Peak, and the endless mountains stretching westward up the Tsaina Valley. A view of Girls and its pocket glacier on a clear day illustrates that it does have crevasses, though they are certainly less extensive than on the Worthington. Little Girls, a subpeak to the east of Girls, has low angle ski options for days you want to minimize avalanche terrain but still get out and explore. It also has expansive views of the Tsaina Valley.

Girls is just one of the relatively easily accessible peaks for day skiing on the west side of Thompson Pass. Others--Loveland, Catchers Mitt, Sapphire, and more--are in Matt Kinney’s outstanding guidebook Alaska Backcountry Skiing: Valdez and Thompson Pass. In addition to the peaks and valleys right near the road, Kinney has route descriptions and maps for more ambitious targets, and for less frequently skied terrain in the Port Valdez area. In addition to easily usable maps and route descriptions, Kinney identifies approximate slope angles of commonly skied areas, which is useful for planning if you aren’t familiar with the area and are taking avalanche risks into account.

Local ski guide Matt Kinney details these routes and many more in an exemplary guidebook entitled Alaska Backcountry Skiing: Valdez and Thompson Pass. Kinney’s guide includes detailed maps and route descriptions, as well as illustrations of slope angle for many commonly skied mountains. This information on slope angle is particularly valuable for Thompson Pass newbies trying to choose where to go while minimizing avalanche danger. Kinney also maintains the website thompsonpass.com, which has frequently updated information on snow conditions. Using Kinney’s information, plus the avalanche report from valdezavalanchecenter.org, you can easily get out and start exploring the pass.

Unlike in Hatcher Pass and Turnagain Pass, there are essentially no rules on where snowmachines or helicopters can go in Thompson Pass. Snowmachiners may track up significant amounts of accessible ski terrain any time of year, but it is the worst around the Tailgate event in April. Heliskiing and cat skiing pick up in February and March. As a result, early winter can be a great time to backcountry ski in Thompson Pass to avoid the crowds and the noise, if the weather will cooperate.

The vistas from Thompson Pass are difficult to fathom because they are so vast. Most ski routes provide panoramic southern views of the Chugach from eastern Prince William Sound to the Bagley ice field. Directly to the west, Worthington and and other glaciers cling to the flanks of high peaks. The mountains continue to the north, retreating in what looks like an endless succession of ridges all the way to the horizon. Even after becoming inured to the grandeur of Turnagain or Hatchers Pass, you may feel compelled to stop in your skin track and try to absorb the overwhelming views from Thompson Pass.

If you aren’t mesmerized by Thompson Pass, you should be tested for blindness. It is four hours farther than Turngain or Hatcher Pass, and worth every minute. Pick a clear weekend with stable snow conditions and make the pilgrimage.