In reply to alexm198:
It really depends what you mean by "the glacier". Alaska has quite a few...
If you mean the Kahiltna Glacier, for Denali, then skis are not necessary and trying to ski, roped up or not, with a big pack, pulling a sled, will be more dangerous than useful.
But I presume you mean elsewhere, in which case skis might be more useful, as they generally are if you can use them even a little bit, and particularly if your partner is skiing. Snowshoes suck.
So I guess you have Spantiks or the Scarpa equivalent to climb in? Even though Dynafit-type copy bindings are most popular for real ski mountaineering with the suitable boots, you can still find online Silvretta type backcountry bindings (old 404, newer 500 or Pure models) or Fritschi Diamirs that will take a climbing boot. Buy a cheap pair of old-model or used basic skis, nothing fancy, not too heavy, maybe a little shorter than you'd ski on a resort, and get the Silvretta(or Fritschi etc) bindings mounted in a shop.
You can do it yourself at home, I have, but it's best done by a pro. Even better, have it done in Anchorage (or wherever your friend lives, by the ski shop he uses) that way you don't have to lug them $$$ all the way there. You could get a suitable pair of skis for $100 or less, maybe secondhand bindings for around the same, and then get a pair of BD or G3 skins that will fit. If this sounds complicated, plenty of people in the US do it and you could even maybe sources such a setup by asking on MountainProject or similar.
https://www.wildsnow.com/bindings/fritschi-backcountry-skiing/fritschi-diam...
New ones like at:
http://blackdiamondequipment.com/en/ski-bindings/fritschi-diamir-scout-w%2F...
https://www.wildsnow.com/1156/silvretta-500-in-the-museum-and-still-availab...