‘Powder abounds’: Even though we’re almost to March, there’s plenty of good riding left for snowmachiners

Sometimes the snow comes down in June. If you were a glacier, that would likely make you very happy. For a glacier to advance and grow, it must have a cool climate and more snow must fall than melts. Late snow pleases snowmachiners also. Spring snow is usually wet soggy stuff, but it lengthens the riding season nonetheless. There is plenty of the white stuff this winter, but it is mostly powder fluff.

Backcountry riders will find they need big machines with plenty of power to negotiate and play in the snow this March. Trail machines and even the smaller long tracks, such as the Ski-Doo Tundra II, will have difficulties getting around off-trail on the present snow pack. Older long track machines, such as the Arctic Cat Super Jag, though it comes equipped with a 156-by-15-inch track and a 440cc power plant, will take an experienced driver and open ground to keep moving.

Willows are the bane of riders in this type of soft pack snow. The snow around the willows is held up by branches and has little or no structure. Your machine will dive off into the willows at an extreme angle — and is then buried. Big machines with lots of power and paddle tracks can power through and keep going — though don’t make the mistake of thinking your 1000cc mountain sled can’t be stuck ... That’s why they make make tunnel packs that have shovels with them.

The most popular ride locations in the southern Interior are the Summit Lake/Paxson area and the Denali Highway. For the mountain purist, Summit is one of the best. The mountains east of the Richardson Highway, especially between mileposts 190 and 200 are excellent riding. The Summit Lake area is open country with plenty of hills and ravines. There is little wind to disturb the limitless powder snow. Riders should use caution as the season progresses; a heavy snowfall on the soft powder base will make conditions unstable. Avalanche danger will be high.

Without any additional snow, windy conditions can cause surface drifting, making conditions right for slab avalanches. A slab avalanche occurs when a layer of drifted snow is on an unstable powder snow pack. The weight of the slab causes it to break free and slide. Snowmobiles can easily trigger this type of slide by noise and vibration.

I was racing dogs in France a few years back when a relatively light overnight snowfall shut our racing down for a day while the locals fired cannons to trigger the mountains to slide. Noise. Thompson Pass, on the way to Valdez, has the same set-up to induce slides.

The area around Paxson is another popular location for snowmobilers. The riders who utilize Paxson are generally expedition-type riders. These are guys who are going somewhere. They expect to spend some time being stuck. The main hazards in the edge-of-timber country are overflow and old snowmobile trails. Count on overflow in any early snow and relatively warm winter. All lakes and most ponds will be overflowed. Shovels are a welcome touch.

Old snowmachine trails can be an irritating hazard. They are barely visible as an indentation in the trail. You can ride them carefully for a bit before the inevitable occurs and your machine dives in a side-slip into powder. There is no powering through this situation when pulling a sled. All you can do is break out the shovel and level the machine so it can again go on.

The joy rider, who is not so hardcore, has one more option; the Denali Highway. The Denali offers diverse conditions to please all riders. There is a groomed trail from Paxson to Cantwell. There are lodges to overnight at and relax. The highway has some bare pavement stretches on the Paxson end, but the groomed trail bypasses these. Once past Tangle Lakes the snow improves as you climbs into Amphitheater Pass. Powder abounds. Maclaren Lodge is open for business at Milepost 42. Twenty-six miles farther along, Alpine Creek Lodge is also full service and open. Clearwater Mountain Lodge will not be open this winter. If you are headed in from Cantwell, plan for a 67-mile run to Alpine Creek. Carry plenty of fuel — I’ve walked a stretch of that because I did not.

March and April are the months of the snowmachine in Alaska. Great snow, mild temperatures and plenty of daylight characterize our spring. The spring of 2023 is shaping up to be one of the better ones. Ride with a buddy, use caution in avalanche zones, carry a shovel and pray for snow in May.