The winter of 2025/26 was the all-time coldest on record (so the coldest winter since recording started in 1904). From December through March, Fairbanks’ average temperature was -13.6 Fahrenheit. But after 2 months of cabin fever, a nice weekend finally materialized at the end of January which warranted scheming up a real adventure. I think Rowland might have actually proposed going for Mount Hajdukovich itself (it wouldn’t be his first 9000’er in January). But for a soft mountaineer like myself, I am more inclined to wait for a warmer month with more daylight. Still, the Little Girstle was begging Rowland and I for another visit… What to do, what to do. “Well, there is a 6083′ peak back there that I’m keen to check out…”; Spur Peak.
Tag Archives: Delta Mountains
Little Girstle Trilogy – Part 1: Independent Peak
Mount Hajdukovich is a 9600′ peak in Alaska’s Delta Mountains. 9000′ might not seem like much to someone from Colorado, but when the trailhead starts at 1300′, you are looking at 8000′ of elevation gain. For snowmachine mountaineers like Rowland Powers and myself, Mount Hajdukovich is an attractive objective because the lengthy approach can be covered on machine. But snowmachine trails aren’t always as straightforward as you hope, so in November of 2023 we set our sights lower, on the 4545′ high point of Independent Ridge, to serve as an educational trip for a smoother Mount Hajdukovich expedition in the future.
Institute and Minya
Institute and Minya: two more of the awesome Gulkana Glacier Peaks. And while my favorite Gulkana Glacier peak remains to be Icefall Peak; that doesn’t mean either of these two peaks were slouching. It just means that all the Gulkana Peaks are super amazing. And the reason for this is because the Gulkana Glacier peaksContinue reading “Institute and Minya”
Peak 7150
9 miles total, 5300′ elevation gain. Peak 7150 was a straightforward dayhike I’d been carrying around in my back pocket for years. I’d actually solicited this trip idea many weekends over the years but they never gained traction and no attempts ever materialized. The weekend of May 15th displayed the right characteristics to deploy this trip. “Right characteristics” meaning a single day of decent weather bounded by undesirable weather on the days bookending it. Not much is required of this hike other than good physical fitness and a desire to do it. There are two west ridges to Peak 7150 with Onemile Creek sandwitched in between. I like how we went up the southern more interesting one and came down the northern mellowly sloped one.
Old Snowy and the 8750’s
The weather forecast was spelling out a bunch of bluebird days in the deltas. As Fairbanks mountaineers know all too well, this basically never happens. So Zack Seimsen and I took a Monday and Friday off work to capitalize on it. Strangely enough, the weather forecast didn’t deteriorate and we were even blessed with aContinue reading “Old Snowy and the 8750’s”
From Rocks To Rivers 