So here we are, April 15th, Anchorage, Alaska. Andy Magoo, myself and Sunday Hauser arrive at Clippership Motor Home Rentals. Emmet, the smiling man behind the telephone voice and our new home on wheels is awaiting. Be flexible.
"Keoki and Magoo- on the road again" |
A quick Tax deadline drop, at the post office, a visit to the local thrift shop followed by an overwhelming shopping experience to stock the cupboards, and by the time we hit the road, the fridge is filled with the likes of three inch Halibut steaks, two pounds of King Crab legs, fresh cookie dough and three drawers full of great munchables. Magoo pulls us out onto the road - we are off. I begin to unpack. Anchorage falls behind as we head off towards Valdez and the Chugach Mountains. Once again, I cant help to think what a tough life we live - roughing it on the road.
As we pull into the parking lot of the Tsaina Lodge on Thompsons Pass, it is 10 p.m. and still light out. I look up at the 360 degree panorama of soaring peaks - Chugach, wow! That one must be Diamond. I have heard talk of that mountain for a long time. We park and walk into the lodge. The Tsaina is going off.
Happy, tired-looking, smiling ski movie stars are everywhere because this place serves as the homebase for Doug Coombs helicopter operation. He is considered the best and most experienced extreme skier out there, and he has gathered around him the best hard cores as his trusty guides. These guys get paid to heli-ski the finest, most consistent radical terrain anywhere. I see Swany and Rick Armstrong at the bar and go over to join them for a beer. Over there at the pool table are Steve and Todd, the Jones Brothers. The log walls are covered with photographs, artifacts and curios. Ski and mountaineering magazines are strewn across the tables. Kristen Ulmer walks into the bar and sets down her oversized pack. I pour her a beer out of my pitcher, "Did you ski today?"
"Nope, I just hitched a ride with a snowcat and parapented off the Berlin Wall, what a rush! I am going again tomorrow, want to come? I have an extra chute."
"Swinging at the Tsania" |
In the dining room, Mike Hatchett is sitting at one of the tables with Tex and Craig Kelly. They are looking at Polaroids of the past weeks first descents. When they choose a new peak that no one has ever skied before, they always hover around and check out the line from the air. The Polaroid helps the riders to remember and identify exactly where they are and where they have to go once they are dropped off on top.
Standard Films has brought the bulk of the people actually staying in the Lodge. With the help of his brother Dave and Tom Day, Mike comes up here each year and invites the worlds finest all mountain snowboarders to come help him make his movie. Last years film, TB5 made it clear that they have the best set-up going. After five years , they know the ropes, are familiar with the rules and know how to get the goods.
The best riders (all disciplines) come here regularly. Many of the athletes stay in town, But, all the flying happens up here on the pass. The Tsaina is the only place to be. The clan is made up of a whole slew of different film crews, sponsored team athletes, magazine journalists here on assignment and just hard core gatherings of rippin friends. Theres is the FILA RV with Mark Fawcet hanging out. Over their is Kent Kreitlers RV with his Boards in Motion magazine crew. They too are here to do a story. The motorhome right next door is filled with buddies from home. The word Dawgs is spelled out with black electrical tape on the back door. Joe Dukeman is here to do a segment for his sequel to his last film, the Dawgs of Winter.
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