Three More Ways to Indulge in the Frontier State

Heli Skiing in Valdez

Ha! And you thought skiing at Mt. Bachelor was expensive! A six-day group trip in pow-heavy March will run you $8,757 if you book a package with Valdez Heli Ski Guides. The 20-year-old outfit guarantees 30 runs, seven nights lodging (meals are extra!), and a helicopter and guide, of course. It’s pricey, sure, but can you really put a price on magical, untracked powder? Apparently, you can. The going rate is $3,500 per hour of flight time. Whoa.

Photo taken by Lucelu.

Specialized S-Works Epic Carbon 29er

If shredding dirt in AK, rather than snow, is your thing, this $10,000 mountain bike is what you want and is, without a doubt, better than whatever tricked-out rig you’re sitting on currently. The full-suspension beauty, however, is a sub-20-pound dedicated race machine and is only for the most discriminating bike nerd. Specialized’s high-end XC bike was the first 29er to win a World Cup race and, outfitted with a mix of super-light house-brand parts and Sram XX components, it remains one of the lightest and most expensive mountain bikes on the market. Surprisingly, more of you are indulging than this reporter would have thought— allegedly the Morgan Hill, Calif.-based company can’t keep ‘em in stock.

Though arguably less sexy, Specialized’s halo road bike, the S-Works + McLaren Venge model carries with it a jaw-dropping $18,000 price tag. We’ll take two, thanks.

Climbing Denali

If you’ve always wanted to stand on North America’s highest peak, it’ll cost you. A 21-day expedition in June up Denali’s West Buttress will run you $7,900 if you book your trip with Alaska Mountaineering School, one of the best guiding services in the country. Paying nearly eight grand to gain the summit of the notoriously frigid 20,327-foot mountain may sound like a lot, but it might just be the best money you ever spend if you value your life. The fatality rate is nearly three people for every 1,000 attempts. Since most deaths are private-trips-gone-wrong, we’d urge you to opt for experience, despite the baller price tag.

Photo taken by Skip Via.

This article appears in Oct 4-10, 2012.