Moosehead Pass
Straightforward, no bull.
Published 11-5-2022 | Last updated 8-17-2022
61.894, -148.996
[Unofficial name, no GNIS Entry]
This pass at the head of Moose Creek was given the straightforward name “Moosehead Pass” in February 1984 by the quartet of John Bauman, Todd Frankiewisz, Steve Koslow and Marty Schmidt. At the time the venerable Mint Hut, built in 1971, was the only backcountry shelter in the region: the Snowbird Hut would start its life around 1985 as a private venue,[1] the Bomber and Dnigi Huts were built in 1990 and 1995, and the Seth Holden Hut is the most recent addition as of 2018.[2] This 1984 group had set out to ski around Montana Peak starting from the Gold Mint Trail, basically predicting the standard route and key passes between the huts today.
Each hut has its own logbook, but in the years before the other huts the Mint logbook received a concentration of tales and route descriptions and emerging names as backcountry athletes explored and made the area their own. The quartet didn’t leave any entry on their original trip, but Schmidt and Bauman wrote about their experiences on another pass through in 1987. They clarified that they skipped writing an entry during the 1984 trip
“because of the bloody temperatures. Extremely cold Feb. Also because it was our first day and we didn't know if we could do it.” - Martin Schmidt, 1987[3]
They did succeed, and coined the names Moosehead Pass, Blazing Saddle, and Sobriety Pass along the way. Moosehead was purely a reference to the animal, “not after the Canadians,” and the vicinity has since evolved into a bit of an unofficial shrine to Alces alces, with names including Dnigi Hut and Peak, Dewlap Gap, and Dewlap Peak.
With gratitude to John Bauman for proofreading.
Sources
[2] “Huts” Mountaineering Club of Alaska. Accessed August 17, 2022. hhttps://www.mtnclubak.org/huts