Words and Captions Colin Wiseman e don’t know where we’re going stay, but we know we’re going to get there. “Get up here Friday,” says Sean “SeanDog” Brownell, according to Blair Habenicht. Sean’s got a pilot. They’ve been having a hard time finding pilots. A massive boom in the heliski industry in the 49 th state is underway off the tail end of COVID shutdowns. Everyone’s been waiting for the past few years, and it seems like plenty of folks have budget to burn. I’ve been pushing buttons, making calls for a few months to feed that Alaska addiction. Blair Habenicht knows AK. He’s been to Haines to fly with Alaska Heliskiing many, many times over the past decade-plus. Here, he navigates a blind roll into complex terrain. Photo: Colin Wiseman W And now, a window. Maybe two days, maybe three, maybe one. All we need is one. Alex Pashley’s going up to shoot photos with Blake Paul, Curtis Ciszek and Austin Smith. We can run a second crew out of the same ship with Blair, Mary Rand and Spencer O’Brien. Connor Winton and Liam Gallagher are onboard to film. Logistics: tickets to Juneau, tickets to Haines. Where are we going to stay? How much money do we really need? Do we have a car? It’s hard to keep up with the text threads but it seems like it’ll work. Don’t panic. Just go. Because it’s Alaska. And it’s snowing. And the sun’s supposed to come out. Might be some wind. Would you scrounge $5,000, $10,000, and roll the dice? I would, and I do. Credit cards are good for that. Figure it out on the fly. Because once you’ve experienced it, the promise of even one good day in AK is worth the effort if you can fabricate the means to make it happen. It’s one of the few thoughts that clouds my better judgment thoroughly after 15-plus years chasing time well spent working in the mountains. Check out, tap in, hope for the best. When it comes to Alaska it’s never a question of if, but always a matter of how. HAINES 057
The Snowboarder's Journal The Snowboarder's Journal 20.3: Page 57
