After a week of gray skies and rain in Anchorage, the clouds broke and we had incredibly clear skies. Time to head up into the mountains! We chose to climb Penguin Peak first. It rises right out from Turnagain Arm, and is one valley west from Girdwood.
The trail was very steep, which was made more difficult by snow and ice on the rocks. We climbed up through thick alders for about 45 minutes before breaking treelike, to be greeted by the debris from a recent avalanche. Somewhat ominous, but the snow seemed stable enough today.
Looking back over Turnagain Arm at sunset, around 3:30 pm
The pitch became so steep at the base of the peak that it felt more like climbing than snowshoeing! We could not have done it without the grippy metal cleats on our snowshoes.
There was a beautiful cornice on the opposite ridge. Even though the sun sets early, there is enough glow to see by (with help of the snow) that we didn't need headlamps until about 5 pm.
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