Confluence Peak, Alaska
Confluence; the junction of two places.
Sitting at the reaches of the Mendenhall glacier Confluence Peak is a highpoint overlooking two conjoining glaciers, Herbert and Mendenhall.
It was the Confluence summit where I discovered a new found appreciation for snowboarding.
From style to ethics, this experience left a go-pro like memory in my head.
I am writing this late night on a Tuesday so my writing may reflect that.
The photo above is our group leaving basecamp to accomplish a pre-requesiture for an Alaskan Range capstone.
Born and raised a midwestern powder hound, I was accustomed to ski lifts and fake snow. So to to say I knew what snowboarding & climbing meant would be a lie. But since I chose to transition my life to a new chapter, I embraced a heavy pack and walking mentality with open arms.
Our group became fully immersed in a ready to tackle anything mindset. Each with our own quirks, we all had different styles of leading but made things work through communication. The weeks prior to this we had deligated time for every member to lead all of us as a group - for some reason society thinks leading is an easy thing so having a grip on the concept is tough.
My perspectives towards leading tend to be a bit different given my childhood background. In my youth I was constantly surrounded by family leading various community organization & stepping up to the plate. It lead me to appreciate an open mind on jaded topics and taught me to listen then respond. The listening to speak mentality grew over time, but generally speaking it had certainly got me to where I was now on the glacier skin-track pictured below.
Okay I am done with the rambles. It just feels like common sense isn’t common anymore and society needs a wake up call. Just be yourself and not someone else.
Anyways… below are numerous pictures from the glacier.
Making every split stride count on our approach walk
The Mendenhall towers showcasing their presence to any man wishing to pursue life's finer things.
Slowly making our ascent.
The summit of Confluence peak. Shelter Island in the distance.
This photo represents a moment of self actualization and my human experience.
Three skiers enjoying the feeling of a successful descent.
Shortly after descending, weather struck and the blue bird environment changed to a more ominous scenery. Once to base camp we are hot meals and chatted about the day. Typical base camp chats in some circles.
The following morning I snapped the photo seen above outside my tent. Our door zipped open to the Mendenhall Towers for inspiration.
Our walk back to reality
In the end, the experience left a larger than life impact for what’s possible with ambition. Southeast AK is near & dear to my heart.
