{"id":887,"date":"2023-03-04T02:43:13","date_gmt":"2023-03-04T02:43:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/americangunpeople.com\/?p=887"},"modified":"2023-03-04T02:43:13","modified_gmt":"2023-03-04T02:43:13","slug":"photos-of-the-renegade-bird-hunters-who-ski-the-backcountry","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/americangunpeople.com\/?p=887","title":{"rendered":"Photos of the Renegade Bird Hunters Who Ski the Backcountry"},"content":{"rendered":"


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FOR MOST<\/span><\/strong> upland hunters, Alaska\u2019s winter effectively puts an end to their season long before regulations do. Some hunters turn to snowmachines, which are loud and cumbersome; others resort to snowshoeing, which is exhausting and inefficient. Peter Wadsworth spent 10 years skiing Vermont\u2019s backcountry before moving to Anchorage seven years ago; he knew there was a better way.<\/p>\n

At the time, Wadsworth wanted to use his skis to access ptarmigan country. Old-timers and newer locals alike told him the same thing: \u201cYou can\u2019t hunt on skis. It doesn\u2019t work.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Most Alaskan skiers don\u2019t hunt on skis, so the ones he chatted with didn\u2019t have any suggestions. The long, skinny cross-country skis and old-school backcountry setups in their garages simply wouldn\u2019t work to navigate the deep powder and steep terrain he had in mind.<\/p>\n

So Wadsworth, now 44 and a full-time adventure photographer, drew on his extensive ski touring background\u2014and plenty of trial and error\u2014to find the right ski setup that could take winter bird hunters up where they needed to go, fill limits in snow up to 10 feet deep, and get them back down in short order. He experimented until he came up with the perfect recipe.<\/p>\n

Jessie Janowski, Wadsworth\u2019s hunting partner, applies skins to the bottom of her skis before climbing into the Chugach Mountains. Skins were originally made from animal hides (hence the name), but now they\u2019re hi-tech strips of nylon and glue that allow wearers to gain elevation, glide on the flats, and slide downhill easily. While recreational skiers often remove their skins once they reach the summit, the hunters leave their skins on for the entirety of the hunt because it slows their descent and offers more control. \u201cThe first pair of skins I ever put on skis changed my life,\u201d Wadsworth says. \u201cThey are my favorite piece of gear I\u2019ve ever owned for any sport.\u201d Some skis sold to hunters already have partial climbing skins or scales inlaid on the bottom, but Wadsworth has tried them all and found they do not provide the necessary traction for traveling in the backcountry while bird hunting. Full-size skins are best for climbing the steep slopes Alaska\u2019s upland hunters encounter. Peter Wadsworth<\/i><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

His unique kit includes a pair of thick, short skis (better than long cross-country skis for maneuvering tight terrain) with lightweight bindings and ski mountaineering boots (a hard boot with more flex than the kind worn at a ski resort). Wadsworth has shared his setup with other hunters, and it\u2019s gotten popular enough that a local ski shop immediately recognizes a Wadsworth disciple when someone wanders in to ask for this strange setup.<\/p>\n

The real magic, however, happens with the final piece of gear: climbing skins. Most downhill skiers rely on chair lifts at ski resorts to carry them effortlessly up the mountain; obviously such luxuries don\u2019t exist in the backcountry. Willow ptarmigan, Wadsworth\u2019s main quarry, live in the snowy valleys outside Anchorage, but he can still gain up to 2,000 vertical feet on a hunt. Without skins, he wouldn\u2019t be able to climb even 5 feet without sliding backward into creek bottoms or drainages.<\/p>\n

Besides his own buddies, Wadsworth knows very few skiers who hunt like he does. (Scandinavians traditionally ski-hunt for ptarmigan, but they use .22 rifles and don\u2019t run dogs.) He\u2019s gotten some interest from hunters on his Instagram page, but estimates just 10 people ski-hunt like he does in the Anchorage area. Which is a shame, because not only is his method a ton of fun, it\u2019s also incredibly effective. Instead of a brutally hard hike, Wadsworth\u2019s hunting party glides up the terrain for half the journey and slides down the second half, allowing them to stay out longer, travel farther, and find more birds.<\/p>\n

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From left: Wadsworth\u2019s buddies Tyler Overby, Emily Spolyar, Scott Johnson, and Jessie Janowski head into the Talkeetna Mountains for a March ptarmigan hunt. Spolyar, a conservation specialist for Pheasants Forever, added a sling to her shotgun so she could use ski poles on her first ptarmigan hunt. Poles can prove cumbersome if you\u2019re already carrying a shotgun, but they\u2019re worth the hassle for newer skiers who need a little extra purchase while traveling into bird country. When a dog goes on point, the skier simply plants their poles in the snow or clips them to their pack and unslings their shotgun. Experienced skiers tend to hunt without poles, relying instead solely on skins for traction. Peter Wadsworth<\/i><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Ski setups for hunting can be as varied as bird dog breeds, which means that some of these grown men are hunting from skis designed for girls. There\u2019s a reason that Wadsworth\u2019s ideal setup includes children\u2019s powder skis: They\u2019re short. The ideal ski for upland work comes up only to the hunter\u2019s sternum, allowing for better maneuverability. Hunters who repurpose their longer alpine skis sacrifice some of that maneuverability, but beefier powder skis allow the rider to float on top of the snow better. Wadsworth likes his skis wider than his foot.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Skis, from left: Overby\u2019s beefy freeride alpine-touring setup; Wadsworth\u2019s girls\u2019 resort skis with ski mountaineering bindings; Janowski\u2019s children\u2019s heli powder skis with ski mountaineering bindings; Reilly\u2019s Altai Hok skin-skis; Spolyar\u2019s loaner set of Black Diamond Glidelite skin-skis; Johnson\u2019s girls\u2019 resort skis with universal strap bindings. All this gear isn\u2019t cheap, but it\u2019s about half the price of an alpine-touring setup. Wadsworth\u2019s perfect recipe costs around $1,300 total, which includes full-price skis ($500), skins ($150), boots ($400), and bindings ($250). Poles would cost at least another $50. But that high-end setup isn\u2019t necessary. He started ski-hunting on a pair of $100 army-surplus skis and still maintains that no one should pay over $200 for hunting skis. (He bought his $500 girls\u2019 skis half-off during a closeout sale.) He also encourages others to look for used or discounted skins. Instead, Wadsworth advises, spend your money on ski boots. \u201cI encourage all skiers in all genres to never skimp on boots,\u201d he says. \u201cDon\u2019t look at the price. Buy the thing that feels so good even if it\u2019s $700. Boots are worth every dime.<\/p>\n

Dogs from left: Bruce, Janowski\u2019s German shorthaired pointer; Cilo, Overby\u2019s golden retriever; Sam, Reilly\u2019s Ryman setter; and Riker, Johnson\u2019s German shorthaired pointer after a successful ptarmigan hunt in the Talkeetna Mountains.\u00a0 Peter Wadsworth<\/i><\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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Overby coats his golden retriever\u2019s paws in cooking spray and flour to prevent heavy snow from accumulating in her fur. He once ended a hunt early because the snowballs were hindering Clio\u2019s movement, but a dog groomer who happened to be hunting with them that day suggested this game-changing tip. Now Clio, the group\u2019s designated flusher, is able to hunt all day without getting weighed down by snow clumps the size of softballs. Peter Wadsworth<\/i><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Janowski and Olive, a German shorthaired pointer, check out a buried mining camp. Olive is a hot, all-business bird dog when there are birds in the area. If the hunters spot ptarmigan tracks in the snow, Wadsworth can line her up like a duck dog and send her up to 300 yards away to check out the alders. And if she sweeps through without a point, the group can assume those were yesterday\u2019s tracks and the birds have moved along. Wadsworth says she will also peg a bird 1,000 feet upslope, then throw her infamous \u201clook-back\u201d that says: \u201cI found a bird. Are you coming?\u201d Whenever this happens, Wadsworth and his buddies play a frantic game of nose-goes to determine the unlucky hunter who has to follow Olive up the mountain. The only reasons they won\u2019t give chase are if the sun is setting, the slope is so steep they\u2019d risk an avalanche, or they\u2019ve already limited out. Peter Wadsworth<\/i><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Riker sniffs out ptarmigan for lifelong bird hunter Scott Johnson, Wadsworth\u2019s hunting mentor and his first convert to ski-hunting. Ptarmigan will \u201csnow roost\u201d during a snowstorm, meaning once the weather turns, they hole up and let new snow fall on top of them as they wait out the storm. They often explode from beneath undisturbed snow the next day, or even several days later, hungry and thirsty. Peter Wadsworth<\/i><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Janowski points out a far-ranging dog to Johnson in the Chugach Mountains. Ptarmigan can find food and cover almost anywhere, but access to water is limited in deep snow packs. Janowski\u2019s 4-year-old GSPs, Olive and Bruce, frequently work creeks in valley bottoms, looking for thirsty birds. Wadsworth will follow 50 feet above the dogs in these valleys so that when one dog goes on point, he can quickly close the distance by sliding downhill on skis, instead of making an exhausting double-time trudge in snowshoes. While the water in this area is obvious in the photo, sometimes snow conceals it so that only the dogs know it\u2019s there. Peter Wadsworth<\/i><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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A white-tailed ptarmigan sits camouflaged in the snow, hoping the hunting party doesn\u2019t spot it. Wadsworth\u2019s crew mainly hunts willow ptarmigan because they roost in the flats. White-tailed and rock ptarmigan usually live on steeper slopes, but after a big storm some will have escaped to the valleys. Due to avalanche concerns, he stays off steep slopes with the dogs. These hunters cover anywhere from 6 to 15 miles a day on skis; the ptarmigan are hard to find, but they rarely fly away. Red hawks are the birds\u2019 main predator, so a ptarmigan will typically take its chances with one dog, or more often a coyote, on the ground rather than risk death by beak and talon. Peter Wadsworth<\/i><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Johnson approaches Riker, who waits patiently on point. Shorter skis, which Johnson favors, are crucial for navigating tight brush and bushwhacking. They still give him an edge over snowshoes, however, and let him keep up with the dogs. And in Alaska\u2019s elusive winter shooting light\u2014sometimes as short as four hours in December\u2014time is of the essence. Peter Wadsworth<\/i><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Johnson with a male spruce grouse; Bruce supervises closely. Scott considers these \u201cconsolation birds\u201d while hunting ptarmigan or ruffed grouse. Sprucies, which are known for sitting in trees instead of flushing, aren\u2019t as challenging for diehard wingshooters to hunt, or as tasty as other birds, but they\u2019re great for working young dogs, and they\u2019re plentiful in Southcentral Alaska. Peter Wadsworth<\/i><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Kevin Lewellyn points out a dog on point and a running covey of ptarmigan to Overby (left) and Johnson (right). The pursuit begins.\u00a0There are safety concerns to keep in mind when skiing with a shotgun, but they aren\u2019t what you might think: Wadsworth and his buddies keep their guns unloaded until a dog goes on point, and their skins and thick skis provide good control and stability while shooting. The biggest danger that must be taken into account is an avalanche, which can be fatal.\u00a0<\/p>\n

While most backcountry skiers are trained to prepare for avalanche danger, the same education isn\u2019t marketed as well to hunters, snowshoers, and snowmobilers. Wadsworth has more avalanche education than most and teaches courses to local hunters, but he thinks everyone should know two key rules. First, measure<\/a> the angles of the slopes around you and only venture onto those that are 20 degrees or less. Second, respect rapid change in the snowpack. Give the backcountry a day or three to settle after a new storm, high winds, rain, and so on.<\/p>\n

Dogs don\u2019t know about avalanche danger, and if they get birdy below a dangerous slope, it\u2019s the handler\u2019s job to rein in their dog. But with the right gear and conditions, winter upland bird hunting is worth the risk. According to Wadsworth, there\u2019s not much that beats the sight of a covey bursting from the snow. Peter Wadsworth<\/i><\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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Bruce returns with a willow ptarmigan. An adept skier but relatively new dog trainer and hunter, Wadsworth has now converted several members of his local North American Versatile Hunting Dog Association chapter to the ski-hunting lifestyle. Now he ski-hunts around 20 days a season. He hunts mostly on weekends, but in the spring there\u2019s sometimes enough light to go out after work (Alaska\u2019s ptarmigan season is open as late as May in some units). Peter Wadsworth<\/i><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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From left: A white-tailed ptarmigan, a ruffed grouse, a willow ptarmigan, and a snowshoe hare make for a challenging Alaskan mixed bag. While the skis in this photo are mounted with expensive ski mountaineering bindings (which Wadsworth calls \u201coverkill\u2014beautiful overkill\u201d) he has recently deemed the $250 Rottefella XPlore bindings the best for ski-hunting. Peter Wadsworth<\/i><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n