Atlin to Juneau Ice Fields Tour Cool, crazy party and hilarious entertainment in a totally relaxed atmosphere where you can hang out with the local characters! Let your hair down and join the dancing!
For the last five seasons Pete Wright, a local ski guide from Atlin BC has been taking ski touring expeditions out from Atlin Lake BC onto the Juneau Ice field skiing the Nunatacks, mountains in the Atlin recreation area and ski mountaineering in the Hoboe Creek to Llewellyn Glacier portion of the Juneau Ice Fields. Recently they have been going a little further afield to the Gilkey Galcier that drops into the Lynn Canal Pacific Ocean Gulf of Alaska. Last year Wright and his partner Julie Cossette ski toured across the Juneau Icefield from Atlin to Juneau Alaska timed to arrive during the epic, wild, eccentric Juneau spring folk festival. In all our years of ski touring places like St Elias ranges, Mount Logan, Kluanne park, Haute Routen Switzerland, and the Coast Mountains, nothing compares to the epic wild finish we had when landing in Juneau amongst a throng of local Alaskan characters with some of the best music in a Pacific coast town that is by far the most scenic and amazing place in all of Alaska. We were so excited by this trip, that we decided to offer it to guests as a close of our Heliski season at Yukon Alpine Heliski (YAH). This will be the ultimate guides expedition and the finish to another great heliski season. We booked rooms in the Alaska Hotel circa 1913, one of the social hot spots of the Yukon and northern territories from 1913 to 1930's. This historic hotel is an essential part of this ski tour. The hotel is "rustic", breathes history and gold rush spirit to fit perfectly with the whole experience we are trying to present for our guests. www.alaskanhotel.com, the oldest hotel in Juneau was built with proceeds from gold mined in the Atlin Gold Rush of 1898. Have a look at the history on our web site. Although these accommodations may be somewhat basic with bathrooms at the end of the hall, rooms 1930's style, and decor a bit worn, after sleeping in snow caves on the glacier for a week it will seem like absolute luxury. The Alaskan hotel is also one of the best music venues in the entire Juneau folk festival; wild banjo picking, squeeze boxes, fiddling, and hard core folk tunes. After skiing across one of the epic haute routes of North America from Dry Continental Yukon across the Coast Range to the wet rainforest pacific coast, there is no better finish to a ski tour experience of a lifetime. https://akfolkfest.org,
After 2 days of wild dances, jigs and party with the best characters of Alaska and the Yukon,we top it off with a walk on Ferry from Juneau to Skagway via Haines Alaska amongst some of the most spectacular coastal scenery in the world. This ferry is a "mini cruise" in itself, with a comfortable one-day trip arriving in Skagway with enough time for a quick look around this old gold rush town, before heading to our base and hotel in Whitehorse Yukon to prepare for a final celebration evening dinner. The following morning we go to the Whitehorse International Airport and bid our guests farewell. April 06: Evening flight from Vancouver on Airnorth, a 2 hr flight, stay in Whitehorse, or come on the morning flight on the 7 th saturday. April 07: Arrive in Whitehorse on the morning flight drive to Atlin staying at the Kirkwoods Cottages in Atlin with a view over the Atlin Lake.These cabins are perfect for spreading out and organizing gear.this will be a day of going over rope skills and preparing for a early start on April 8 th. Meetings and dinner with the guides to discuss the morning departure, get a weather update, study maps and get to know each other in the Famous Atlin Inn bar! April 08 - Day #1 Prepare for departure from Atlin in one of three ways depending on weather and Atlin Lake crossing conditions this will be an early morning departure 6am. All gear will be prepared the day before packed in the Haglunds for transport. A. Beaver ski plane from Atlin to Llewellyn Ice Field with all gear B. Hagglunds snow cat with snow machine accompany, all gear one load. C. Snow machine access only with skimmers, and each group of two guests riding a snow mobile with a gear skimmer. Ski tour to the first base camp on the Llewellyn Ice Field, this is approximately a 4-5 hr ski, conditions ranging. This is quite a substantial base camp set up in advance to give our guests a maximum level of comfort while we wait for the window to cross the divide over the icefield. April 09 - Day #2 If the weather forecast is good we will take the next step straight south to the Glacial camp YAH #2 that is a set group of very comfortable Igloo style ice caves. This camp is located on the divide and is about a 5-6 hr easy flat glacial ski. Alternatively, we will ski tour gorgeous glacial Nunataks, viewing wild life like goats, wolves and wolverine who have all been sited on these glacial Islands. This day will be spent typical expedition style, lots of tea, soup, playing cards and maybe some limited skiing if weather permits. Just enough physical activity to keep everyone limber and ready for the big push ahead. For those with extra energy we have a series of mountains flanking each side of the Llewellyn Ice Field to provide nice skiing opportunities within a few kilometers off our route.once camp is set up and we have time in the afternoon we can explore some of these possibilities.
April 10 Day #3 Weather permitting we will leave this camp. Keep in mind that you are on ice, 1.5 km thick at this point and there is a reason why the Juneau Ice Filed is one of the healthiest glaciers in the world, in fact, the Taku Glacier is one of the few advancing ice fields left in North America. Be prepared for a snow fall experience that will amaze you... 1 meter in 24 hrs is not uncommon! Last year Julie, Pete and their dog Gilligan were stuck in the divide camp for 48 hrs with an amazing 1.5 meters of powder to slug through. The dog was not seen all day, except for a little black tail tip wiggling above the snow surface! The skiing down towards the pacific was amazing!! We will depart straight south towards Juneau and the Taku. Your guides will make a directional decision as to which pick up we will use; ski plane, helicopter or boat from the Taku. The level of adventurous ability of our guests has been determined at this point and we can decide what route south to take. April 11 - Day #4: Ski tour down to Juneau Ice Field to YAH Camp #3. This is a spike camp, where we will set up 3-man North Face VE-25 expedition tents using igloo wall camp defense forts, with an snow outhouse, all to be built as a guest and guide team effort. Now you will be on the real expedition Canadian style, no sherpas, we are a team and we all pitch in to set up this camp as part of the experience. This day will be a short travel day 4-5 hrs to the camp set up. April 12 - Day #5: Ski south to Lemon Glacier or Taku inlet for Ski Plane pick up or the Hughs 500 hundred little mountain machines we use based in Juneau. This is a once in a life time chance to fly in these excellent unusual helicopter from Temsco helicopters www.temsco.com, based at the Juneau airport. This pick up will be around 3-4 pm of course weather dependent. We arrive in Juneau at the Airport customs and present our passports or Visas if needed for USA customs, it is essential that all guests get this together before departure from their respective countries.
Our guides will insist on a copy of valid passports and visas in advance, to be e-mailed to us before arriving in Canada. These e-mails will be sent to US customs in Juneau to start a file for our expedition,so they are not surprised by our arrival. The night of April 12 we arrive in Juneau for a seafood feast of seasonal seafood, crab halibut, shrimp and other cold water Alaskan delicacies. The Alaskan Hotel is in the center of the wildest party district of Juneau and please keep an open mind. This festival is the "wild west of the north", do not be surprised if you have a bunch of banjo pickers in the room next to you playing music all night long, maybe even a wild looking bush man passed out in the lobby of the hotel, or a friendly Tlingit familly in town for the festival striking up a 3am conversation!! Please be aware we are not advertising this trip for the faint of heart as it is a wild experience of the best Yukon/Alaskan quality, so please do not apply if you are not prepared for a lively adventurous experience. April 13 - Day #6: We will arrange a local tour rental bus and an Atlin guide who now lives in Juneau will be showing us around sites of interest, including fishing boats, glaciers and restaurants. Upon arrival in Juneau, YAH will only be responsible for your rooming costs and Transport and ferry costs back to Skagway and Whitehorse. We will have transport for all your gear from Skagway to Whitehorse. The party nights in Juneau y and last night in the Yukon you will pay your hotel room and meals, and as in Juneau you will pay all your costs for drinks and misc. meals, party hats or whatever other fetish you may need! April 14 We will shake a leg and everyone is on there own in Juneau to shop or enjoy the scenery. Sauna, fishing, Heli skiing, or just sleep and rest up for the Juneau Folk Fest party and hall dance. April 15 Sunday and it is suggested we leave town to Skagway this day and then on to Whitehorse, Yukon April 16 Monday in Whitehorse guests will arrange their own schedule. There are several options for departure at this point.
This trip is probably one of the most unique ski tours left anywhere and we need guests who are self motivated, physically fit, adventurous and easy going, with some good out doors experience, ski touring and mountaineering. We need to drop the guest- client relationship on this expedition and become a team. With that said we would be honored to have you join us in our northern circle Whitehorse-Atlin -Juneau-Haines-Skagway and finally back to Whitehorse. Your guides are some of the most experienced ski tour guides available in the Yukon territory, we are all either IFMGA, CSGA or ACMG registered guides and will be there for your up-most safety on this expedition. You will notice I have made several mobe and demobe options some more expensive than others but we will be charging in your package price the highest price option and taking what ever option works best for us at the time, weather and lake condition dependent.