March 2020 was an epic month for ski mountaineering in Southcentral Alaska. I was able to bag eleven new 500’+ prominent peaks in the Chugach and Kenai Mountains. Before I knew I’d be out of work indefinitely due to COVID-19, I had a week off for Spring Break. As opposed to the Spring Break 2019 week I had off, during which nasty weather only provided me with one day of ice climbing, the weather and conditions during Spring Break 2020 were what a ski-alpinist’s dreams are made of. As usual when the “gettin’s good”, I entered a frenzied state of mind to get as much of that gettin’ as I could.

It had been a few years since I’d visited the “Berry Peaks” area of the Western Chugach.  On March 25, 2017 Brian Harder and Travis Baldwin joined me for a ski-peakbagging linkup of Bramble Knoll (ascent of NW ridge, descent of north face), Bearberry (ascent of south ridge, descent of amazing 2000′ north aspect chutes and spines), and Lowbush (ascent from south, descent to north) starting on the Seward Highway at Kern Creek and ending at Alyeska Resort via Winner Creek.

The following autumn, on September 30, I biked and hiked solo up to Berry Pass and did a high alpine ridge traverse to the southwest summiting Nagoon, Lingon, and making an attempt on Highbush. About halfway up the northeast ridge of Highbush it became too exposed and chossy, forcing me to turn around. From Lingon-Highbush pass I descended the glaciated upper valley to its drainage tributary of Winner Creek. I clambered over wet boulders and trudged directly down the tributary, rather than bushwhack through dense Chugach jungle, to reach the Winner Creek trail and my stashed bike.

On March 10, 2020 (for my first Spring Break adventure) Jess Tran and I climbed and skied Berg Peak from the Girdwood Nordic trailhead via Winner Creek. We skinned up to the Berg-Highbush pass, and from there climbed the east ridge to the summit. We descended south and then southwest from the summit, down a steep chute to mellow and open slopes (through impeccable and sunny spring pow), almost 3000′ feet to Kern Creek. From there we ascended to the Hibbs-Berg pass and back to Winner Creek and the nordic trailhead.

Jess following the freshly broken trail up Winner Creek:

Jess skinning up to the Highbush-Berg Pass:

The Berry Peaks from Berg’s east ridge:

Jess on Berg’s east ridge:

Jess on the summit ridge of Berg:

Jess skinning up from Kern Creek after the Berg descent:

Berg’s west face:

Jess skinning below the west aspect of Berg:

Jess arriving at the Berg-Hibbs pass:

The following day, I rallied Sam Inouye for Highbush. We took the same initial approach that Jess and I’d used the day before, skied a wonderful and sunny southeast-facing run off Berg, climbed a southwest-facing couloir on Highbush to the south ridge, and followed the south ridge (a very aesthetic alpine climb with amazing views) to the summit. We then descended the southwest face and wrapped around to Lingon-Highbush pass for our return to the trailhead via Winner Creek trail.

Sam skinning to the southwest couloir of Highbush Peak:

Highbush and its southwest couloir (as seen from Blueberry Hill area the following day):

Sam skinning the final bit to Highbush summit:

Sam transitioning on the Highbush summit:

The next day I was back to the Berry Peaks again with Jess Tran.  This time, from Peterson Creek on the Seward Highway. We followed the first mapped tributary (also a 1500’+ avalanche path) up to the Blueberry Hill alpine. We then climbed the main, most prominent, southwest-facing couloir of Blueberry Hill. From the top, it was a short and easy boot up to Blueberry Hill’s summit. The 4000’+ descent back down to Peterson Creek was an amazing and varied run: steep couloir, to mellow and open alpine slopes, to glades, and ending with steep drainage chutes opening up to smoothed-over avalanche debris fan.

Jess skinning up from Peterson Creek (Bramble Knoll is the prominent peak behind her):

Jess reaching the Blueberry Hill alpine:

The west side of Blueberry Hill:

Jess nearing the base of Blueberry Hill’s prominent west couloir:

Jess transitioning to booting in the west couloir:

Looking north from the Blueberry Hill summit (with Jess at the top of the west couloir):

Looking east:

Looking south:

Looking west:

After these three days of Berry Peakbagging, I only had one remaining peak (albeit the most formidable) to finish off this area of the 166 Western Chugach 500’+ summits: Kinnikinnick Mountain. Ten days after our ascent of Blueberry Hill, Jess and I were blessed with perfect conditions for the suspected fourth ascent, and likely first descent, of Kinnikinnick. That trip report can be found here.

Video of ascents and descents of Berg, Highbush, & Blueberry Hill: