Sea Otter in Valdez Harbor

Once upon a time there was an elite group of skiers congregated in a small Alaskan town at the end of an 800 mile long pipeline stretching through the earth and over mountains from Prudhoe Bay to Prince William Sound.

The skiers spent the first day of the competition waiting, waiting and waiting some more for a chance to ride a hollow orb with blades on top to lift them to the summit of a mountain to free ride and show their stuff amongst themselves.

Ice climbing on Thompson Pass during a weather day

In the meantime, a big nasty cloud sat over the entire state of Alaska. The orbs couldn't take off, so some of the skiers went on a boat into the harbor. Some puked, others were just nauseous and they went to the foot of the Columbia Glacier for the day. A few others went ice climbing. Everybody killed time waiting for the event to take place that they came here for. Maybe tomorrow. Safety first, the weather will tell.

Dean Cummings [click for interview]

So, we met up with ex-competitor and heli-adventure business owner Dean Cummings and headed down to the docks to rap. [Click to hear the interview]. Cummings was a top-5 finisher in the early days of WESC and won the championship in 1995. To top it all off, he's a really nice guy.

Tomorrow, maybe we fly.

— Michelle Quigley, Mountain Zone Staff