"You can search the world over for a fluted face this perfect and snow this good. We called this spot in Alaska's Chilkat Range 'Test Monkey Basin.' It has the most incredible massif of spines we had ever seen. Still it was a catch-22. I can't deny that I felt anxious on the 55-degree run. The crux was hitting a four-foot-wide [1.2-meter-wide] exit between two crevasses. Attempting terrain like this keeps me humble, but making it to the end is the ultimate high."

Jeremy Jones, 31
When a 22-year snowboarding veteran picks a favorite destination, listen up. A legend in big-mountain riding with more than 20 action-sports films to his credit, Jones has traveled the globe, from Russia's Caucasus Mountains to the Chilean Andes, to find the best runs. But the Truckee, California, resident chooses to sojourn in Alaska's Chilkat and Chugach Mountains each spring to enjoy unmatched heli-access to the sublime peaks and snowpack.


Photographs, from top, by Chris Bezamat; Adam Clark





Pick up the March 2006 issue for more secrets of the Southwest, nine Caribbean adventures, the best gear for runners, and our World Class outfitter trips.