Almost ten years ago to the day I finished my season with one of the best runs of my life down Pontoon Peak. Since that moment those experiences have held a place in my most cherished memory bank. I refer to lines like this as “life time achievement awards.” The list is short for these lines, The Tusk, Grizzly Spine, The Brothel, Meteorite, Storm Troopers, Shoulder of Death, Stevie Wonder and Pontoon Peak.

It towers above the rest of the Chugach and sits all by itself as if other mountains were afraid to get close to it. Whenever I am around it I feel it gravitational pull and can not take my eyes off it. The fact that it was ridden in the early 90’s by Trevor Petterson and Eric Pehota proves to me that I was not the only one to feel Pontoons pull. At the time terrain like this was considered unridable and most of the Chugach was unridden. To top it off Trevor and Eric had to sit on the skids(Pontoons) in order to land the peak. It was so far outside the realm of what people where doing at that time that they must have felt like astronauts exploring outer-space.

I do not know when Trevor said these words, ‘THERE COMES A TIME WHEN ONE MUST RISK SOMETHING OR SIT FOREVER WITH ONES DREAMS,” but there is a good chance it was siting on the pontoons of the heli moments before being lifted to the top of Pontoon Peak.

“Airy” is the best way to describe the feeling of standing on top of the Peak. There is a weight to the air one can only get by standing on an edge that drops away thousands of feet on all sides. I felt myself crawling to my line even tough I had a few feet on either side of me.

Dropping in the rollover seemed to never end and I felt like I was riding on the edge of the world. 5,000 feet below I hopped over the bergschrund just as the shadow crept up the face. It would be my last run of the trip and was a story book ending to an incredible Alaskan experience.

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Have you ever seen a better looking mountain? Whether is person or in a photo I have looked at this Peak more then any other mountain in the world. The line I hit 10 years ago is the center spine to cliff. Do to the conditions this year I started off the peak and faded to the right exiting just lookers right of the cliff.

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So much sick terrain everywhere you look but it is hard to take your eyes off of Pontoon.

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We landed on the bump in the center of the ridge. The 100 yard walk was the width of a sidewalk butdo to the exposure on both sides it felt like a tight rope.

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I took at least 50 photos of the peak over a two week period.

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A good view of the Peterson and Pehota line down the right hand ridge. The bottom of the photo is the halfway point.

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Right before going up I talked Travis into getting in the Heli and riding it. He has the right mix of respect for the mountains and balls to deal with exposure. Look for him to carry the torch of legit Big Mountain riding. Being one of the biggest peaks in the range the Northwest face get the last light. We dropped in at 8:45 at night and did not get home until 10 at night.

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THAT’S IT, THAT’S ALL! Check out the movie coming this fall. If you have not seen the teaser check this link. Check back in a few weeks for the new teaser.

http://snowboardermag.com/videos/flash/thats-it-thats-all-teaser-travis-rice/