Gravina Island Nipple Peak

We have a good amount of low elevation snow, despite the El Nino science guys saying we wouldn't.  With that, decided to tick off skiing on another island in the archipelago.  Turned out to be a pretty heinous day of bushwacking and a murderously slow pace.  Oh well, retrospective fun.

The goal for the day.  The line is the right hand skyline down to a rock slide/couloir.  Not an attractive ski line for the sake of just skiing, but the views of Annette Island, Ketchikan, and the Pacific were more the goal than the quality of the turns.

At first the bushwacking and falling down stuff in the darkness was funny.  Later on it was not funny, except in a very cynical way.

Frozen lake.

Mountains behind Ketchikan that we usually ski.

Annette Island.

Beta photo of Tamgas Mtn.  The highest point on Annette Island and a future ski goal.

Looking out over Annette Bay and the Blank Inlet.

Looking back at Ketchikan, and all the nasty muskeg we had to cross.

Summit of Nipple Peak, looking west over the Pacific.  There's nothing to stop the weather here from the sea.

Nichols Passage and Metlakatla below the snowy peaks.

Looking off toward the Misty Fjords and Annette Bay.

Sam chillin near the summit.

Skiing above the ocean is kind of inspiring.