Byron Peak

 The soaring peaks and cascading glaciers around Portage Lake appear too chimerical to exist on this humble earth. Bard Peak rises in slender and symmetrical profile above the lake, so delicate it seems to nearly lift the surrounding icefield off the rocks beneath. Byron is too draped in glacier blue ice for its humble 4,590 of elevation: It looks more like a distant Himalayan peak in the fevered imagination of a 19th century romantic poet who had just glimpsed that range after a months-long ascent up the Ganges. These mountains play with the light itself, Bard acting as a prism and Byron casting eternal shadows over its sinuous northern glaciers. This noontime, blue-tinted darkness tenderly reveals the glaciers’ folds, which would otherwise be obscured by blinding reflections of the sun.

 Gaping crevasses complicate an ascent of Byron in summer, but winter’s snowfields open this kingdom to exploration by skiers. It is a short approach up an unplowed road and the Byron Glacier Trail to the base of the glacier. Actually, skiers first encounter a remnant glacier in the valley, which is fed by numerous avalanches pouring off the west-facing, wind-loaded face of Byron’s extended north ridge. The great mound of blue ice, with open water tunnels beneath it, is a testament to the quantities of snow that fall here. Beyond the remnant glacier, recently-exposed rock slopes lead up to the toe of Byron Glacier.

 There are numerous routes up to Byron Peak. Some of the options include ascending the higher, southwestern lobe of Byron Glacier, minimizing crevasse crossings and icefall by sticking close to the steep north face of the mountain. Another route ascends to climber’s left of the lowest elevation glacial lobe, then crosses it at a compression zone with few crevasses. From here, ascend the ridge that separates the two lobes and gain Byron’s north ridgeline after crossing the upper glacier lobe’s compression zone. Or, for the route that seems straightforward in stable snow conditions, simply stay to climber’s left of the glacier as long as possible before finally easing onto the glacier at a high elevation and meeting Byron’s ridgeline in a mellow saddle. The primary issue with this route is avalanche exposure off the west face of the north ridge.

As any of these options quickly make clear, Byron requires glacier gear and the knowledge of how to use it. Any ascent requires crossing crevasses and at least one bergschrund. The summit ridge also has deep ice and crevasses, which may be hidden by thin snow bridges as a result of wind blasting across from Prince William Sound. It is important to orient the rope team perpendicular to crevasse crossings, to reduce the likelihood that multiple members could fall in simultaneously or in quick succession. Prussiks for ascending, an ice ax or Whippet (integrated ski pole with ice ax), as well as hardware and slings to build an anchor and a hauling system, are the bare minimum for safe winter travel.

While the north face of Byron is entrancing, more expansive views open up as soon as climbers surmount the north ridgeline. This massive glacial complex stretches northeast toward Valdez in a nearly unbroken sea of ice that begins near Portage Lake with glaciers such as Shakespeare, Leonard, Burns, Portage, and Whittier. Carpathian, Byron’s taller neighbor, looks shockingly close, though Carpathian’s treacherous north face illustrates why it is a more difficult mountain to ski.

Byron itself has two peaks. The mellow east summit is slightly higher, and less interesting for skiing. The west summit overlooks a steep north face that drops over a thousand feet to the Byron Glacier. This face’s upper pitch is approximately 50 degrees, with rocks and rime ice peppering the two primary chutes that descend from the summit. A bergschrund stretches across the apron of these chutes, belying the map’s claim that Byron’s northwest glacial lobe doesn’t extend up into the bowl. Note that the further west chutes off the summit terminate in cliffs: This would not be a good place to be navigating in low visibility conditions. Compared to the north face, in icy or wind-hammered conditions a safer route could be the shallow chute that descends to the east from Byron’s summit to its north ridgeline. From the ridge, it would be possible to ski the glacial bowl to the left or retrace footsteps back down.

With its climate change-induced retreat, Byron Glacier is only half as long as it appears on most maps. Nonetheless, it creates a magical aura around the peak. Byron’s summit beckons any skiers and climbers who pass by Portage Lake and enter the peak’s long, cerulean shadows. With a reasonably thick snowpack this year, it is an apt time for ski mountaineers to ascend Byron and be mellowed by her tender, glacial light.