Skiing in June isn’t what you would expect for a dream trip to Alaska. But the Tordrillo Mountains are full of unexpected experiences. While skiing was our priority, little did we know that we would remember all the other experiences just as much — SUPing under the midnight sun, casting for rainbow trout, wake-surfing on Judd lake, and just being out in the wild Alaska wilderness. It all combined into an experience like none other.
Corn skiing or snowboarding is a magical experience. At night the snow freezes. By day, as it slowly melts, the top layer becomes the ideal consistency for skiing. There’s a perfect few-hour window where that top layer makes skiing a joy to slide on. Before that window it’s too firm, and afterwards it becomes sticky and sloppy. You can chase that prime time with the angle of the mountains, since the sun is what mostly affects the snow.