I  dream of AK. Maybe you do too. Once you’ve been, it’s hard not to obsess about a return. And if you’ve never been North to the Future where everything operates loosely like the past, I hope you’ve at least thought about it once or twice. Because for fall-line snowboarding, Alaska can’t be touched. 

If you’re reading this title, I’m sure you’ve heard that enough. And you’ve heard about the trials and tribulations of getting it just right—slogging out weather systems and down days that can linger for weeks on end, battling wind, weak layers, unexpected warm-ups, and dwindling checking accounts to sink into a Chilkat line or two.

In 2020, I had to swallow those dreams, which always percolate to the surface since first finding my way to Valdez a decade ago. Blame COVID. A handful of lucky folks hit a March weather window—and a few dedicated souls rode it out at home—but most of us had to chew on defeat. So to return in 2021 was that much sweeter… 

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