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Eielson Visitor Center, Denali National Park

French (Northwest) Ridge, Mount Huntington

On Firm Ground

Triple Crown, Alaska Range

Magic Hour!

 

Cassin Ridge, Mount McKinley

Fang Mountain

Denali's Wickersham Wall - The Greatest Vertical Rise In The World

Teklanika River

Sugar Loaf Mountain

 

Home Away From Home

Eldridge Glacier

Pioneer Ridge, Mount McKinley

Room with a view

Outhouse with a view

 

Polychrome Pass, Denali National Park

West Buttress, Mount McKinley

McKinley River Bar, Denali National Park

East Fork Toklat River

Denali National Park entrance area - This aerial view shows the narrow strip of commercial development along the Parks Highway and Nenana River near the Denali National Park entrance, often also referred to as 'Glitter Gulch'. The Denali Princess Wilderness Lodge, the largest hotel in Alaska with 750 rooms, is visible in the center with its red roofs. That's where I show my 'Climb Denali' multimedia show daily to guests staying at the lodge. Also visible are the Alaska Railroad, the Denali airstrip, and the beginning of the park road.

Denali National Park entrance area

 
Root Canal Glacier, Ruth Gorge - Considering how broken up and heavily crevassed the lower section of the Root Canal Glacier in the Ruth Gorge is, its top is comparatively flat and provides a perfect landing strip for climbers bound to climb Moose's Tooth via the Ham n' Eggs couloir or other routes. It's also amazing to think that pilots will fly their planes up and down the Root Canal.

Root Canal Glacier, Ruth Gorge

Most Scenic Outhouse Location In The World - Perched high above the Don Sheldon Amphitheater on a rib of rock surrounded by the Ruth Glacier , the outhouse adjacent to the Don Sheldon Mountain House is located in what I believe is the most scenic location in the world. It provides breathtaking views of some of the areas impressive summits. Mt. McKinley and the Moose's Tooth are at right there, as is Mount Dan Beard, looming above the outhouse in this picture. The Mountain House is so spectacular that Reader's Digest listed it as one of the ten most spectacular places on earth!

Most Scenic Outhouse Location In The World

Summit Ridge, Denali - Flying at around 21,000 feet and breathing with the help of supplemental oxygen, I photographed this rope team ascending the final 300 yards on North America's highest peak. Off center to the right a few climbers are celebrating on the summit. Sure brought back fond memories of my own ascents of Denali.

Summit Ridge, Denali

In The Shadow Of Denali - This is one of the most unusual pictures of Denali I have taken. It is actually the shadow of Denali, spreading across the Susitna Valley all the way to the Talkeetna Mountains. It was a fantastic sight from the airplane.

In The Shadow Of Denali

Moose's Tooth - Located on the east side of the Great Gorge of the Ruth Glacier, the Moose's Tooth is a popular climb in Denali National Park. While its altitude (10,335 feet) is not great, especially considering its huge neighbor Denali, the Moose's Tooth stands out for its stark vertical walls, elevator-shaft like couloirs and kife-edge ridges. This picture of the north face doesn't show the walls and couloirs Moose's Tooth is known for, but its razorblade summit ridge is clearly visible. There are no 'walk-ups' on this mountain; all routes require substantial technical climbing and have considerable objective danger.

Moose's Tooth

 
West Ridge, Mount Hunter - The climb of Mount Hunter's West Ridge is considered by many one of the classic climbs of North America. The technical difficulties climbers have to overcome on the climb include spectacular overhanging cornices, ice falls, towering seracs, hanging glaciers and 60-70 degree mixed snow and ice climbing. Mount Hunter, elevation 14,570', Mount Foraker and Mount McKinley form a compact triangle of three of the most spectacular and challenging mountains in North America. The peoples living closest to these majestic peaks had long called them Denali (The High One) for Mount McKinley, Sultana (The Woman) for Mount Foraker,and Begguya (Denali's child) for Mount Hunter. These are the 'big three'--the Bach, Beethoven and Brahms of classic Alaskan mountaineering.

West Ridge, Mount Hunter

Mount Russell, Denali National Park - The evening sun illuminates the north ridge of Mount Russell, elevation 11,670 feet. Mount Russell marks the southwest boundary of the Denali National Park wilderness. It is one of the major peaks of the central Alaska Range, approximately 35 miles southwest of Mount McKinley (Denali). Though much lower than McKinley or its neighbor Mount Foraker, Mount Russell is a steep, dramatic peak and a significant mountaineering challenge in its own right. Its summit rises 6,560 ft over the Chedotlothna Glacier to the northwest in only 1.8 miles, and almost 10,000 ft above the lower Yentna Glacier to the south in only 8 miles.

Mount Russell, Denali National Park

Tanana Valley - The green bomb, the explosion of green life, went off early this year in the Tanana Valley, but extremely dry conditions caused this picture to be somewhat deceiving. There are already dozens of wildfires burning throughout the Interior, and this summer might be a reply of last summers busy fire season.

Tanana Valley

Kluane Lake - It's late May, yet much of Kluane Lake in Canada's Yukon Territory is still covered by ice that likely will not melt until June. At approximately 400 square kilometers, and 70 kilometers long, it is the largest lake contained entirely within the territorial border. The mountains in the distance are part of the Ruby Range.

Kluane Lake

Kluane Lake & Sheep Mountain - One of my favorite places along the Alaska Highway in Canada's Yukon Territory is Kluane Lake. No matter how many times I have traveled along the lake, the moods are always different and unique. It truly is a magical place. The word Kluane comes from the Southern Tutchone word, Lu'An Mün, meaning lake with many fish and in reference to the Yukon's largest lake. Adjacent Kluane National Park is home to one of the largest populations of Dall Sheep in the world. I always see groups foraging on the slopes of the appropriately named Sheep Mountain, which is mirrored in this view from the south end of Kluane Lake.

Kluane Lake & Sheep Mountain

 
Ptarmigan Cabin - Driving north along the Haines Road in northern British Columbia, I passed through familiar territory near Chilkat Pass. It's here that biologist Dave Mossop built a little cabin that looks like nothing more than a box from the road. Dave conducted willow ptarmigan winter survival research from this cabin in the 1980's, and introduced me to it on a Yukon College field trip in the early 1990's when I used to live in Whitehorse. Every spring for three years in a row, friends and I would spend several weeks in this area and use the cabin as a jumping off point for ski touring and climbing nearby mountains. I was happy to see that in the almost 20 years since my first visit, little at the cabin had changed.

Ptarmigan Cabin

Harris Harbor, Juneau - The evening sun casts a warm glow on the boats moored at Harris Harbor in downtown Juneau.

Harris Harbor, Juneau

Eagle Beach - The outgoing tide exposes some of the tidal areas at Eagle Beach during another gorgeous day yesterday. Spring is coming, but its arrival is not as dramatic and sudden as in the Interior. It seems to take weeks for the leaves to finally pop open.

Eagle Beach

Mendenhall Wetlands - It was almost eerie how quiet it was during my recent walk at the Mendenhall Wetlands, except for a few Canada Geese honking and some Mew Gulls calling. I saw hardly any shorebirds, except for a couple of Western Sandpipers.

Mendenhall Wetlands

Mendenhall Wetlands - A minus tide yesterday exposes intricate mud and algae patterns in the Mendenhall Wetlands near Douglas Island.

Mendenhall Wetlands

 
Eagle Beach - Greta and Florian walk out towards the tidal flats at Eagle Beach on Friday. Located about 30 miles north of Juneau off the Glacier Highway, the large beach and gravel bars offer great beach combing and scenic views of Lynn Canal and the Chilkat Mountains.

Eagle Beach

Last Hurrah At Eaglecrest - All good things have to come to an end, and that is true this weekend for Eaglecrest ski resort. It's the last weekend the lifts will be running, and we will be there to enjoy a gorgeous weekend playing in the snow. This shot shows the new Black Bear chair in the foreground, and Mount Ben Stewart in the background.

Last Hurrah At Eaglecrest

South Douglas Island - Another perspective from the top of Mount Troy, this time looking towards South Douglas Island, with Mount Bradley (Jumbo) being the prominent high point in the distance.

South Douglas Island

Downtown Juneau - This view of downtown Juneau, taken from Mount Troy on Douglas Island, shows its precarious location between a narrow strip of land between Gastineau Channel and the base of Mount Juneau with is multiple avalanche paths. The red dot marks the location of our house.

Downtown Juneau

Seymour Channel - Aerial view of Seymour Channel taken from the top of Mount Troy on Douglas Island. This large channel is located south of Douglas Island and to the west of Stephens Passage, between Admiralty Island and the Glass Peninsula.

Seymour Channel

 
Indian Point - We hiked this old trail near Auke Bay recently. It is said that this trail was probably used by Tlingit Natives when they lived adjacent to or on Indian Point and later in Auke Village.

Indian Point

Mendenhall Valley - Birds view looking out from Mount Ben Stewart on Douglas Island to the Mendenhall Valley, with the Juneau International Airport and the Mendenhall Wetlands State Game Refuge in the foreground.

Mendenhall Valley

Blackerby Ridge - After days of rain and snow, the skies cleared a couple of days ago, just long enough to be able to appreciate again just how beautiful this place is. Here, fog hovers over Gastineau Channel at low tide, with the first rays of the day illuminating Blackerby Ridge. This ridge is about three miles long and parallels Salmon Creek. It's been my goal to get up there this winter, but I haven't made it up there (yet).

Blackerby Ridge

Home Sweet Home - This is our new home on D Street in Juneau. The original house was actually built almost 100 years ago, but it has been well maintained over the years. The last owners, Curtis Edwards and Sheela McLean, left it in meticulous condition. It's located in a very nice neighborhood near downtown and schools, stores and the harbor a just a short walk away. Behind our house rises Mount Juneau, and reflected in our front window is Mount Troy on Douglas Island. We are happy to finally settling down after several years of moving around.

Home Sweet Home

Goodbye Thane - Hello Juneau - After several months in our temporary living quarters in Thane, we moved into our new little old house in downtown Juneau last week. Now that the move is over, we are relieved and happy to settle into our new space. During the move I never had the time to take pictures, which explains the absence of new content on this website. One of the many advantages of living in town is that we will not have to worry anymore about avalanches roaring down on Thane Road, such as as the one pictured here that buried Thane Road last year.

Goodbye Thane - Hello Juneau

 
Douglas Boat Harbor - Unlike a year ago, when severe winter weather caused a boat to sink in January, it's been a pretty smooth winter for the boats tied up at Douglas Harbor.

Douglas Boat Harbor

Melting Permafrost - Building on permafrost has always posed challenges across the North because the uppermost, or 'active', layer of the permafrost melts and freezes seasonally. However, this seasonal thaw has been getting deeper and deeper and is affecting infrastructure, such as these historic buildings in Yukon's Dawson City, that were previously embedded in the once-continuously frozen ground. The permafrost upon which Dawson City is built has been melting in recent years, posing serious problems for the town's public works department. Water pipes, roads, sewers and building foundations are all built into the frozen ground and are thus subject to destructive shifting as the ice melts unevenly. The increased ground temperatures have been attributed to climate change, as well as to urban heat island effects.

Melting Permafrost

Gold Dredge No. 4 National Historic Site of Canada - Healy musher Dave Dalton mushes his team past this historic landmark along the Yukon Quest trail outside of Dawson on his way to Scroggie Creek.

Gold Dredge No. 4 National Historic Site of Canada

Dawson City - Paris Of The North - During the Klondike Gold Rush, Dawson was a thriving city of almost 40,000. It also became known as the 'Paris of the North' - the biggest city west of Winnipeg and north of San Francisco. I have had a love affair with this city since my first visit in 1987. In the summer of 1992, I struck it rich, not by panning for gold but by picking morel mushrooms. In the following years, I came through Dawson many times during the Yukon Quest, and I loved the small-town feeling that is lost during the summer tourist invasion. It remains my favorite northern town to this day.

Dawson City - Paris Of The North

Along The Yukon Quest Trail - The mighty Yukon River cuts its way through the lowlands upriver from the Alaska-Canada border in the Yukon Territory, with the Ogilvie Mountains looming in the distance. Yukon Quest mushers return back onto the Yukon at its confluence with the Fortymile River. This portion of the race is always very, very cold.

Along The Yukon Quest Trail

 
Woody's Place - Waiting for mushers to show up on the remote American Summit outside of Eagle, I stopped at Woody's place. As I entered the cabin, I stumbled over pallets and pallets of beer and other liquor filling almost every inch of the interior. Located just outside of the Eagle town limits, the isolated cabin actually serves as a liquor store. Eagle is a 'dry' town, and Woody's is strategically located just outside the dry zone, right on top of the windblown American Summit. Needless to say that most Quest mushers are more concerned about getting their teams over the summit than stopping in for a drink.

Woody's Place

Mile 101 Dog Drop - Dog teams are resting on straw at Mile 101 Dog Drop, a cabin at mile marker 101 (the distance from Fairbanks) on the Steese Highway. The cabin gives mushers the opportunity for a short rest before crossing Eagle Summit on their way to Central, the next checkpoint along the trail.

Mile 101 Dog Drop

Favorite Channel And Chilkat Range - This view of Favorite Channel and the Chilkat Range is not from yesterday, but it speaks to me for how beautiful and peaceful this place can be when the skies are clear and the seas are calm, which hasn't been the case very often recently.

Favorite Channel And Chilkat Range

Lena Cove Sunset -

Lena Cove Sunset

Eaglecrest - It was almost eerie yesterday at Eaglecrest, with very few skiers taking advantage of the nice powder up high. This shot is looking back down to the top of the Ptarmigan chairlift.

Eaglecrest

 
Gold Creek - Even in winter, the sound of running water seems all pervasive around Juneau. Here, Gold Creek runs its course near Cope Park close to downtown Juneau. One never has to venture very far in Juneau to see and hear the sound of water.

Gold Creek

Aurora Harbor - There isn't much activity at the harbor during the winter time. And with the recent snowfall there are even fewer boats pulling in and out of the harbor.

Aurora Harbor

Mendenhall Wetlands Ice Labyrinth - Extremely low and high tides combined with cold weather created some beautiful patterns in the Mendenhall Wetlands recently. The tidal action staked some huge plates of ice on top of each other. It reminded me a bit of the pressure ridges I have seen in Norton Sound in northwestern Alaska, but on a much smaller scale.

Mendenhall Wetlands Ice Labyrinth

Outer Point - A powerful low pressure system has brought heavy rain to Southeast Alaska and washed away much of the snow at lower elevations. Even up high the snowpack has suffered, however the lakes are clear of snow again and next week might be great for skating. The coming and going of rain and snow reminds me of the dynamic interplay of high and low tides, like here at Outer Point on Douglas Island.

Outer Point

Mendenhall Glacier - The Mendenhall Glacier flows from Juneau Icefield high in the Coast Mountains for 12 miles down the Mendenhall Valley to its terminus near the Visitor Center. Hidden from our view but really right in our backyard, the Juneau Icefield encompasses about 1,500 square miles of ice and is the beginning of many glaciers including Mendenhall, Lemon Creek, Herbert, Eagle, and Taku Glaciers.

Mendenhall Glacier

 
Hogsback Ridge - The weather has been magical lately, except for some high winds in channeled areas. The same is true for the light, the alpenglow on the mountains around Juneau at sunrise and sunset have been simply gorgeous. Hogsback Ridge on Douglas Island is one of my favorite areas to catch the sunrise, with vast sweeping views in all directions. This shot is looking west beyond Stephens Passage, Admiralty Island, Lynn Canal and the Chilkat Range in the distance.

Hogsback Ridge

Auke Bay - Yesterday's picture showed the sun rising in the east, today's picture shows the sun setting in the west, looking out over Auke Bay harbor from the Glacier Highway. Needless to say that regardless of the sun's position at this time of the year, the light can be quite magical.

Auke Bay

Lutak Inlet - Upon catching the ferry back to Juneau I watched the sun casting beautiful light on the mountains on the east side of Lutak Inlet near Haines. I could not resist to leave the ferry terminal and snap a few shots further along the road, just to make it back in time to catch the ferry. This scene made for a gorgeous ending of a fabulous trip to the Bald Eagle Preserve.

Lutak Inlet

A Taste Of Winter - Precipitation in Juneau is rarely light, so when it rains or snows, accumulations are usually significant. Such was the case during yesterday's snow storm, which brought several inches of fresh snow to our area. We enjoy it for now, and don't worry whether or not the next warm spell will melt it all away.

A Taste Of Winter

Mendenhall Towers - When the ceiling lifts around Juneau, the scenery is simply amazing. So when I was at Mendenhall Lake recently, it was great to see the Mendenhall Towers, or at least their outlines above the glacier.

Mendenhall Towers

 
Nugget Falls - This waterfall was formed by the receding face of Mendenhall Glacier. It now cascades into Mendenhall Lake, and is fed by Nugget Creek, which in turn is fed by Nugget Glacier, one of many glaciers that form the Juneau Icefield. A popular destination during the weekend, there was not a soul to be seen yesterday for this picture-perfect reflection.

Nugget Falls

Mendenhall Wetlands - A low tide earlier this week reveals some of the mudflats and sloughs in the Mendenhall Wetlands. This State Game Refuge is a great place to observe shorebirds and waterfowl.

Mendenhall Wetlands

Mendenhall Lake Freeze-Up - Thin layers of ice are forming across Mendenhall Lake as a result of cooler temperatures. Skating on the lake was one of the great joys of last winter, so we keep our fingers crossed and hope that we may get in some skating on the lake this year.

Mendenhall Lake Freeze-Up

Treadwell Mine - The eerie remains of what used to be part of the largest gold mines in the world at the time, the Treadwell complex of lode mines on Douglas Island, are slowly taken over by vegetation. The first claims were staked in 1881. In the mid-1910s, with tunnels reaching as far as 2400 feet below the surface and extending under the sea, Treadwell was one of the most technologically advanced mines of its day. Up to 2000 people worked at the mine before a collapse allowed the rising tide to flood the tunnels in 1917. All operations at the Treadwell complex ceased by 1922.

Treadwell Mine

Douglas Harbor - The clouds were lifting unexpectedly earlier this week, and the reflections of the light on the water were spectacular, as in this view of the Douglas Harbor, with the mountains along Gastineau Channel in the background.

Douglas Harbor

 
Klehini River Valley - When we drove down from Chilkat Pass into the Klehini River Valley on our drive to Haines, it felt like we had arrived in the Garden of Eden. Lush vegetation, vibrant fall colors, warm temperatures made us forget the early arrival of winter in the Interior. We had finally caught up with fall again!

Klehini River Valley

South To The Future! - Alaska's State motto is 'North to the future', but for us, the future lies south from where we have been living during the past few years. We are moving to Juneau, Alaska's State captial, located in Southeast Alaska's panhandle. Our epic relocation involved 1,000 miles of road travel through some of the most isolated and wild country in North America. Here, our U-Haul winds along the scenic Haines Road in Canada's Yukon Territory, with the snow-covered Boundary Ranges of Kluane National Park in the background.

South To The Future!

McGonagall Pass - So much of the backcountry in Alaska remains in such a pristine state that hiking through it resets our threshold for what constitutes wilderness. And no place in the state is more spectacularly beautiful than the Alaska Range, 600 miles of glacier-covered mountains, rolling taiga, and expansive tundra. This aerial view shows McGonagall Pass in Denali National Park, the final, wild divide between tundra, rock, snow and ice. I have hiked through this pass both in the summer and winter, and the transition from tundra wilderness to the glacial ice and rock surrounding Mount McKinley is awe inspiring. The valley leading up to McGonagall Pass is Cache Creek, which drains into Clearwater Creek and then into the braided McKinley River, visible in the distance.

McGonagall Pass

Mount Deborah - Mount Deborah, 12,339 feet, one of the giants of the central Alaska Range, looms 70 miles beyond the park road and the Savage Uplands. This mountain is the subject of one of the classics of mountaineering literature, Deborah: A Wilderness Narrative, by David Roberts, which describes a failed attempt on the peak in the 1960s.

Mount Deborah

Denali At Its Best - Yesterday was another magical day in Denali National Park, with clear views of Denali and gorgeous fall moods, like in this view of Wonder Lake at the west end of the park.

Denali At Its Best

 
Wonder Lake & Mount McKinley - Mild temperatures, clear skies and vibrant fall colors coincided to create the most memorable fall I can remember here at Denali Park. Here, the sun rises on Mount McKinley in this classic view from near Wonder Lake.

Wonder Lake & Mount McKinley

Fall Along The Denali Park Road -

Fall Along The Denali Park Road

Healy - This image provides an aerial view of Healy and the northern slopes of the Alaska Range. The winter population of Healy is about 1,000, however in the summer the population almost doubles in size because of the influx of workers employed in seasonal tourism-related businesses. The town is located on the Parks Highway, about 110 road miles south of Fairbanks and 250 miles north of Anchorage. The little red dot marks the site of our home in the Tri-Valley Subdivision.

Healy

Mount Hayes - Mount Hayes, located in the eastern Alaska Range, was first climbed in 1941 by Bradford Washburn. This mountain is not frequently climbed, however, due to its remoteness and the resulting access difficulties.

Mount Hayes

Mount Brooks - This mountain is prominent a prominent peak in the skyline of the Alaska Range when viewed from the north, as it lies just to the east of Denali The northeast ridge of Mount Brooks is in my opinion one of the mountaineering classics in Denali National Park. I had a chance to climb this ridge both in the summer and in the winter.

Mount Brooks

 
Parks Highway - The Parks Highway between Nenana and Fairbanks winds through the boreal forest along a ridge that separates the Tanana basin to the south and the Minto Flats to the north. The smoke in this picture is caused by the large wildfire burning in the Minto Flats.

Parks Highway

Smoky Skies Over Nenana - Wildfires just a few miles outside of Nenana create an eerie sky over this small native village on the banks of the Tanana River. Ash kept falling and it got so dark that one would have thought it was the middle of the night, not the middle of the day when this picture was taken. As of early Tuesday, over 350 fires have burned over 500,000 acres, compared to 267 fires that had burned less than 25,000 acres at the same time last year.

Smoky Skies Over Nenana

Polychrome Pass Area, Denali National Park - During the birth of Mount McKinley 56 million years ago when molten magma solidified deep beneath central Alaska, volcanic activity was also occurring in Denali National Park, and produced red, yellow and brown basalts, rhyolites, and other volcanic rocks. These rocks can be seen along the park road, particularly at Polychrome Pass, named for the colorful volcanic rocks exposed there.

Polychrome Pass Area, Denali National Park

Copper River - The mighty Copper River is one of the longest and most rugged rivers in Alaska. Twisting and cutting deeply through the Wrangell and Chugach mountains, it's 300 mile stretch of pristine glacier-fed waters are riddled by hundreds of rapids. Every May, around the 15th, the first salmon of the season return to the rivers and streams of Alaska with the Copper River being one of the first. King, Sockeye, and Silver salmon embark on long journeys up the Copper River to spawn and lay their eggs. As salmon begin their last journey up this home stretch and prepare to mate, their feeding habits diminish. Because the Copper River salmon's journey is so long, they must store extra fat and oils in order to survive the long trip. This high fat and oil content is why Copper River salmon are recognized as some of the world's best eating salmon. Our freezer is full again with sockeye salmon filets and last night we ate out first filet from this year's dipnet catch and it was fabulous.

Copper River

Wood Canyon - The Copper River is a 300-mile long glacial river running from the Wrangell Mountains to Prince William Sound. This picture was taken in Wood Canyon, where every year dipnetters from across the state gather to fish for sockeye and king salmon. An old railroad bed parallels the river, but it is washed out in so many places that many dipneters today charter a boat that takes them to the best dipnet spot in the canyon.

Wood Canyon

 
Savage River - It is early June and river ice and brown tundra along the Savage River in Denali National Park are examples of just how short the summer season in parts of Alaska is. Here, frost may arrive any time during the summer, and by early September the leaves will have fallen again.

Savage River

Robertson River - Recent warm weather in the Interior has accelerated break-up and caused flooding along many rivers. Here, water runs above layers of overflow ice along the Robertson River west of Tok.

Robertson River

Mount McKinley - The first rays of the day illuminate Karstens Ridge, on the left, and Pioneer Ridge, on Mount McKinley. This shot was taken from Stony Hill.

Mount McKinley

Mount McKinley & Northeast Fork Kahiltna Glacier - The Northeast Fork of the Kahiltna Glacier is commonly used by climbers attempting the West Rib route on Mount McKinley.

Mount McKinley & Northeast Fork Kahiltna Glacier

Mount Huntington - 'Mount Huntington is remarkable not for it's past, but for it's present. For the sixty years men have known about it (not many men either), it has possessed a quality common to only a few mountains in the world. A sense of arrested grace, perhaps; a sculptured frailty too savage for any sculptor's hand; a kinship with the air around it that makes it seem always in motion - but these are only metaphors, unable to capture the essence of the mountain.'<br>-David Roberts- Mountain of my Fear

Mount Huntington

 
Frostbite - I suffered a little bit for this shot of Mount McGinnis, taken from near Skaters Cabin on Mendenhall Lake earlier this year. As I was getting carried away by the breathtaking quality of the light, I still was keenly aware how the temperature was falling very rapidly. Handling my camera without gloves, I struggled to keep my hands warm. The alpenglow at sunset was intense and there was no time to go back to the parking lot to fetch the gloves. So I kept shooting away, while at the same time trying to move my hands. Back at home later that evening, I noticed a small red spot that eventually turned into a blister. Frostbite! Getting frostbitten is never something to be proud of, and since I had never experienced frostbite before, I was even more mad at myself for being so careless.

Frostbite

Eaglecrest At Its Best - It is amazing how just a few inches of fresh snow can transform a regular run into a blissful experience. Here, a skier carves a line in the West Bowl.

Eaglecrest At Its Best

Winter's Last Breath? - We continue to grapple with winter weather here in Juneau, with another winter storm watch in effect for tonight. Above-average snow and below-average temperatures, probably the result of cold air mixing with moisture coming off of the Gulf of Alaska, have created great snow conditions here. How much longer will it last? I don't know, but I sure enjoy it while it lasts.

Winter's Last Breath?

Berners Bay - Beyond the end of the Road, 40 miles northwest of Juneau, lies Berners Bay, an outlet for four rivers draining the mighty Juneau Icefield. U-shaped glacial valleys, wetlands and lakes have created one of the world's finest places to witness nature's food chain. After a long Alaskan winter, Berners Bay is an explosion of life in the spring. Every year in late April or early May, millions of hooligan arrive to spawn in the glacial rivers that feed the bay. For a few short weeks, tens of thousands of predators are drawn to the bay to prey on the oily, nutritious fish. Scientists have counted as many as 1,000 eagles, 800 seals and sea lions and 50,000 gulls in the bay during the hooligan run.

Berners Bay

Skagway - As I traveled through Skagway earlier this week, I tried to imagine what the now still deserted streets may look like in the summer, when over one million tourists descend, in the period of five months, upon this little town at the end of Lynn Canal. Equally as difficult is to imagine what is may be been like arriving here in 1897 on one of the steamers in hopes of striking it rich in the Klondike gold fields.

Skagway

 
Tormented Valley, British Columbia - The Klondike Highway north of Skagway parallels the daunting Tormented Valley of British Columbia, Canada. The Tormented Valley contains large areas having an almost lunar appearance, making this one of the most unique eco-systems in North America. It is a mix of a stunted forest of three hundred year old trees, known as krummholz, and alpine tundra. It is in this setting that much of the movie 'Never Cry Wolf' was filmed.

Tormented Valley, British Columbia

Canada-Alaska Border - A State of Alaska road crew uses a snow blower to clear snow along the Klondike Highway near the Canada-Alaska border. This area of the highway gets substantial annual snowfall and is prone to avalanches, creating constant challenges for the snow removal crews to keep the road open.

Canada-Alaska Border

Eldred Rock Lighthouse - We headed up Lynn Canal yesterday on the state ferry LeConte. To do this trip under clear skies is absolutely magical. Near the Chilkat Peninsula south of Haines sits a small island surrounded by the majestic, snow covered Chilkat Range. The island is called Eldred Rock, and for over 100 years it has been the home of the Eldred Rock Lighthouse. Eldred Rock is the oldest original Alaskan Lighthouse building. The octagonal building was constructed of the same huge timbers brought to the island by the US Government in 1905. Eldred Rock Lighthouse was decommissioned in 1973 and has been operated remotely since then. In 1975, it was added to the National Register of Historic Places.

Eldred Rock Lighthouse

Auke Village Recreation Area - This is one of the richest intertidal areas in Juneau and a great place to look for sea urchins, snails, sea stars, clams and many other life forms, especially during minus tides. Here, my mother Iseut, my nephew Gilles, both visiting from Switzerland, as well as my son Florian, enjoy the gorgeous sunset at low tide yesterday evening. The tides keep the beach free of ice and snow most of the winter.

Auke Village Recreation Area

Mendenhall Glacier - Before 1750, the Mendenhall Glacier was advancing; its face was 2.5 miles down valley from its present position. Since then, due to slightly warmer temperatures, the glacier began receding. It flows for 12 miles from the Juneau Icefield high in the Coast Mountains, where heavy snowfall accumulates year after year, down the Mendenhall Valley to its terminus near the visitor center. The ice flows forward at an average rate of 2 feet per day, but at the very same time, it melts and calves away at a slightly faster rate.

Mendenhall Glacier

 
Fairweather Range - I barely escaped blizzard conditions with 40 mile per hour winds and drifting snow in Nome that effectively shut down all air traffic. Instead, I found myself flying back to Southeast Alaska under clear skies, which provided stunning views, like this aerial perspective of the Fairweather Range near Glacier Bay.

Fairweather Range

Douglas Island Reflection - We were treated to another gorgeous day yesterday. I decided to check out the sunrise on Thane Road and drove along Gastineau Channel to the Sheep Creek bridge. Here, I left the car behind and walked along the creek towards the channel. The low tide exposed lots of little channels and pools. The light was quite beautiful long before sunrise, when I stumbled across this tidal pool. I gradually moved into a state us photographers refer to as to be 'in the zone'. To us, this means a period of time where we feel very connected to our environment and the photographs just seem to flow one by one. The creative process seems almost effortless. It's a state that isn’t very easy to define, only that we know we are there when we feel it. French photographer Henri Cartier-Bresson defined is as to have 'head, heart and eye along the same line of sight'. There have been many times I have experienced this, but certainly not every time I go out. After sunrise, I returned to the pool, glad that to see that Douglas Island was still perfectly reflected in the pool's shallow water. After a couple of hours, I stepped out of 'the zone' and back into the car. What a great way to start the day!

Douglas Island Reflection

Mount Redoubt Eruption Near? - I came across this shot in my files, and thought it might be timely to post it. Mount Redoubt has been in the news lately, as it is expected to erupt within days, or even hours. Scientists raised the volcano watch alert based on increasing seismic activity, including some small earthquakes and volcanic tremors. Due to the eruptive history of Mount Redoubt, scientists monitoring the activity expect it to result in an eruption. Mount Redoubt’s 10,197-foot peak is located 100 miles Southwest of Anchorage. Earthquakes, caused by moving magma under Mount Redoubt, have been measured up to 2.1 in recent days. Mount Redoubt’s last eruption was in December of 1989. The falling ash that would be created by an eruption presents a possible danger to Alaskan residents, especially children, people with respiratory problems, and the elderly. The jagged bits of ash and particulate can damage skin, the soft tissue of the eyes and especially the lungs. Residents in Anchorage and the Kenai Peninsula have been scurrying to hardware stores to arm themselves and their families with protective goggles and dust masks. The next stop is the auto parts store for air filters. The ash gets into the engine of automobiles and can cause damage as well.

Mount Redoubt Eruption Near?

The Daily Grind - Espresso drive-thrus, such as 'The Grind' in Auke Bay, seem to be popping up everywhere in this country. However, average annual consumption of coffee among Americans is still only about one third of what most Scandinavians consume. For instance, people in Finland, Norway and Denmark consume around twenty pounds of coffee every year, while the average American 'only' consumes about six pounds annually.

The Daily Grind

Paul Emerson Park - This lovely little beach is part of Paul Emerson Park, off Mile 11.5 Douglas Highway near False Outer Point. It affords beautiful views of the Chilkat Range and Lynn Canal in the distance. Paul Emerson was a local activist working in trail conservation, and the park the named because of his exemplary life and environmental contributions, as well as his generosity and energy in promoting a more civil society.

Paul Emerson Park

 
Eaglecrest Ski Resort - Clear skies, warm weather and corn snow at Eaglecrest ski resort created ideal spring-like skiing conditions this past weekend. Corn snow results from cycles of nightly freezing and daily thawing. This snow is wet and granular as it melts more during the day. Here, a skier drops off into the 'Steep Chutes', the only double Black Diamond run among the 31 alpine runs at the resort. Even a separated shoulder wasn't a good enough reason for me not to ski. Thanks to a shoulder immobilizer I didn't have to pass up such a fine day of skiing.

Eaglecrest Ski Resort

Auke Bay Sunrise - A gorgeous sunrise unfolded yesterday morning over Auke Bay, 12 miles north of Juneau. The snow-caped mountains beyond the harbor in the distance are part of Admiralty Island. When I took this picture, the thermometer at the UAS bookstore displayed 55 degrees Fahrenheit at 8:15 AM! May well have been a record for this day in Juneau.

Auke Bay Sunrise

Belated Happy 50th Birthday, Alaska! - Alaska just celebrated its 50th birthday as the 49th state of this country. On January 3, 1959, statehood was proclaimed. Jerry Wade, the son of Alaska's first lieutenant governor, Hugh Wade, reflects in an essay on the events leading up to statehood. This essay is of particular interest to me, as it was written by Greta's dad, someone I have come to know, love and appreciate since joining her family. Here's the link to the piece published in the Anchorage Daily News: http://www.adn.com/opinion/story/643638.html

Belated Happy 50th Birthday, Alaska!

Avalanche Danger - National experts consider Juneau one of the largest municipal avalanche hazard areas in the country because of the threat to Thane Road south of downtown, as well as several large, active slide paths that lead down into busy neighborhoods. Nineteen avalanche paths empty onto Thane Road, traveled daily by residents and twice daily by two school buses. State avalanche control crews usually fire artillery at Mount Roberts ridge from across Gastineau Channel, 2.3 miles away, to control the avalanche danger. The power lines that run along Thane Road carry about 70 percent of the electricity used by the City and Borough of Juneau. This is not the case now, as the city relies on diesel power because of an avalanche that downed three transmission towers south of town. For a sense of scale, please note the pick-up truck at the base of the avalanche path on Snowslide Creek.

Avalanche Danger

Lights Out - Not only did we loose the gorgeous winter light as seen here on Mount McGinnis recently, but an avalanche knocked down a transmission tower providing electricity to Juneau yesterday afternoon, forcing the city to switch to more expensive diesel power.

Lights Out

 
Alpenglow On Mendenhall Towers - The setting sun casts its last rays on these beautiful granite spires after another magical winter day in Juneau yesterday.

Alpenglow On Mendenhall Towers

Front Street - It's been snowing and snowing and more snow is in the forecast. Even at sea level in downtown Juneau the snowpack is considerable, after the last storm dumped almost 10 inches of fresh now. The light trails along Front Street are created by a long camera exposure of about 15 seconds.

Front Street

Below Zero - Some areas around Juneau hit below zero temperatures last night. That's still almost 50 degrees Fahrenheit warmer than what some Interior residents experience during a cold spell that currently blankets much of the state. And it's supposed to get colder yet before it will get warmer! No wonder there is not much action at Auke Bay Harbor, as the few boats moored at the dock are locked in the ice.

Below Zero

Where Is Sarah Palin? - The Alaska Governor's Mansion in Juneau sits empty for most of the year, as Governor Sarah Palin chooses to govern from downtown Anchorage and commute to her home in Wasilla. In fact, Palin spent more than 300 days during her first 19 months as governor living in her Wasilla home rather than the capital. She's the first governor in the history of Alaska to run the state mostly from Anchorage. And although Palin said this month that she is proud to support Juneau continuing as the state capital, her actions clearly tell a different story.

Where Is Sarah Palin?

Journey To The Glacier - Some came on foot, some of skis, others on skates or on bikes, some pulling a sled or pushing a stroller. They were young and old, from all walks of life. All had the same goal: To enjoy the gorgeous weather, venture out onto the frozen lake and catch a glimpse of the impressive glacial ice face of the Mendenhall Glacier. It was a beautiful sight to see so many people enjoying themselves out there.

Journey To The Glacier

 
Gastineau Channel - Or should I call it Gastineau Lake? Sure seemed that way the other day in this view from near the Douglas bridge at low tide and under calm conditions. The channel is navigable by large ships only from the southeast as far as the bridge connecting Douglas Island with the mainland. Between the bridge and the airport in Mendenhall Valley, the channel becomes navigable only to smaller craft and only at high tide.

Gastineau Channel

Come And Gone - The storm that brought up to 20 inches of snow around Juneau turned quickly into rain, and in the matter of just a few hours this huge snow accumulation was all but almost gone. Because of climate change, the long-term outlook for Southeast Alaska calls for more rain and less snow, as average temperatures are projected to increase over the next decades.

Come And Gone

Merciful Love Labyrinth at Shirne of St. Therese of Lisieux - Volunteers of all ages carried cobbles from the beach nearby for constructing this Prayer Walk Labyrinth in 2001. Evidence of labyrinths have been found dating back to four thousand years, but as of late there is a re-awakening to the value of them. The Shrine Merciful Love labyrinth, laid out in patterns of concentric rings similar to the labyrinth found at Chartres, France, provides individuals of all faiths or no faith an opportunity to enter into a sacred spiritual experience. Labyrinths are symbols of the single path to the sacred center. They are part of the mystical tradition which looks for a direct connection to the Divine. This jewel is one of the most spiritual places created by human hands I know in Alaska.

Merciful Love Labyrinth at Shirne of St. Therese of Lisieux

Shrine Island - This tiny island can be reached by a foot-trail causeway off of milepost 22.5 Glacier Highway. A wonderfully simple chapel of rounded beach stones, circled by markers of the 15 stations of the cross, stands peaceful and mysterious amid trees, rock, water, and the cries of the raven and eagles.

Shrine Island

Nugget Falls - Juneau is surrounded by mountains, glaciers and forests, but what really defines this place in my opinion is water. It is just everywhere. In the ocean, falling from the sky in staggering quantities of rain, or in creeks cascading down the mountainsides. Here, our son Florian plays near Nugget Falls in the Tongass National Forest.

Nugget Falls

 
Downtown Juneau - Downtown Juneau is nestled at the base of Mount Juneau and across the Gastineau channel from Douglas Island. The town has a population of approx. 30,000. Juneau is larger in area than the state of Delaware and was, for many years, the largest city in the country by area. Juneau continues to be the only U.S. state capital located on an international border: it is bordered on the east by Canada.

Downtown Juneau

Mendenhall Lake & Glacier - Literally a stone's throw beyond Juneau's neighborhoods one can explore some of the world's richest intertidal beaches, old growth spruck-hemlock forests, glaciers, icefields, alpine meadows, and spectacular mountains rising from the sea. One of my favorite places is the Mendenhall Glacier and Mendenhall Lake area pictured here.

Mendenhall Lake & Glacier

Dawn on the Chilkat Range - The Chilkat Range rises dramatically above Lynn Canal in this view from Stephens Passage. This mountain range separates Lynn Canal from Glacier Bay.

Dawn on the Chilkat Range

A Sunny Day in Juneau! - Juneau experienced yesterday one of those truly magical days with clear blue skies and little wind.<br>I took this shot of downtown Juneau, Gastineau Channel and Douglas Island from part way up the Mount Roberts Trail.

A Sunny Day in Juneau!

First Snow - A couple of inches of fresh snow blanketed the downtown Juneau area this weekend. It didn't last very long, as snow turned into rain as a result of warmer temperatures.

First Snow

 
Mendenhall Wetlands State Game Refuge - Mendenhall Wetlands State Game Refuge at Juneau, Alaska provides a vital feeding and resting area for both resident birds and migrants traveling to and from their Arctic breeding grounds. The 4,000-acre saltwater wetlands stretches nine miles along the shores of Gastineau Channel near the heart of Alaska's capital city.

Mendenhall Wetlands State Game Refuge

Liard Hot Springs - One of the best stops on the entire Alaska Highway are the sublime Liard River Hot Springs, located in the Liard River Hot Springs Provincial Park north of Muncho Lake. Relaxation seeps into the body as one eases into the second largest hot spring in Canada. There are two hot springs at Liard, with water temperatures ranging from 107 to 126 degrees Fahrenheit (42-52 degrees Celsius). Wonderful in the summer, the springs are beautiful beyond description in the winter.

Liard Hot Springs

Athabasca River - Rising crystal clear from the glaciers in Jasper National Park, the Athabasca River is the longest in Alberta. The river stretches over 1,500 km through mountains, prairies, forests and muskeg to the Peace-Athabasca Delta in Wood Buffalo National Park. I have fond memories about the Athabasca, as 20 years ago I canoed a 150 mile section from Jasper National Park to Whitecourt. It was my first canoe trip in North America. Here, the rivers meanders near the town of Jasper.

Athabasca River

Mount Athabasca - After Mount Robson and Mount Temple, Mount Athabasca, 3,491 meters (11,453 ft), left, may be the most well-known peak in the Canadian Rockies. It is located in Jasper National Park in Alberta near the Columbia Icefield, the largest icefield in the Canadian Rockies. Nearly three-quarters of the park's highest peaks are located close to the icefield; ideally placed to catch much of the moisture that Pacific winds carry across the British Columbia interior. Most of this precipitation falls as snow; up to 7 meters a year!

Mount Athabasca

Athabasca Glacier - The Athabasca Glacier is the most-visited glacier on the North American continent. Its ice is in continuous motion, creeping forward at the rate of several centimeters per day. Spilling from the Columbia Icefield over three giant bedrock steps, the glacier flows down the valley like a frozen, slow-moving river. Because of a warming climate, the Athabasca Glacier has been receding or melting for the last 125 years. Losing half its volume and retreating more than one mile, the shrinking glacier has left a moonscape of rocky moraines in its wake.

Athabasca Glacier

 
Peyto Lake - Peyto Lake is a glacier fed lake located in Banff National Park in the Canadian Rockies. During the summer, significant amounts of glacial rock flour flow into the lake, and these suspended rock particles give the lake a bright, turquoise color. Because of its bright color, photos of the lake often appear in illustrated books. Peyto Lake is best viewed from Bow Summit, the highest point on the Icefields Parkway, from where this picture was taken.

Peyto Lake

Whitewater Ski Resort - Whitewater Ski Resort is located just a few miles from Nelson in the Selkirk Mountain Range of British Columbia. Its high base elevation of 1,640 meters ensures plenty of snow, a ton of light, dry powder, and very few midseason thaws. The mountain consists of groomed runs, open bowls, glades, chutes, and tree skiing. Ski Canada has rated Whitewater to have the Best Deeps, Best Bowls and Best Glades. The best powder at Whitewater is found in the trees. Too bad I will not be able to experience any of the runs this year, as soon we will open another chapter in our lives that will take us to back to Alaska and beyond.

Whitewater Ski Resort

Old-Growth Cedar Stand - On the way up to Kokanee Glacier Provincial Park, a hidden trail wanders through a forest of large stands of old-growth cedars. These stands are just a few remnants in an area that has been heavily logged for over a century. Here, our son Florian gives a sense of scale to a stand of 600 year-old cedars.

Old-Growth Cedar Stand

Nelson - This vibrant little artsy town nestled in the West Kootenays is well-known for its progressive down-to-earth community. I hiked up a mountain on the south side of Kootenay lake to get this aerial perspective. The mountains in the far distance are part of the Whitewater Ski Resort. This is where some of the finest champagne powder in North America settles over the world-class terrain of the Rocky Mountains - a heaven for powder skiing with annual snowfall of 200 to 300 inches!

Nelson

Kokanee Creek Provincial Park - Just 10 minutes from where we live is this lovely park with over a kilometer of sandy beaches along Kootenay Lake and a nice trail system. In the summer, the campground is usually full with tourists, but now we hardly see a soul on our regular walks here. This view is looking north towards Kaslo.

Kokanee Creek Provincial Park

 
Kootenay Lake - Kootenay Lake lies in the Central Kootenay Region of British Columbia. The lake is about 144 km (90 miles) long, and up to 152 meters (500 feet) deep, with an average width of 4 km (2.5 miles), and is 8 km (5 miles) across at its widest. It was formed during the Ice Ages, when glacial advances deposited till to the south. The valley is bounded by the Selkirk Mountain range to the west and the Purcell range to the east. The Kootenay Lake Valley is a little-known treasure, off the beaten tourist routes and relatively undeveloped. I took this shot from near our temporary home base looking down the lake to the town of Nelson, six miles to the south.<br><br>

Kootenay Lake

Nelson, British Columbia - Nelson (population 10,000) is one of the best-preserved towns in Canada, and coupled with its hillside location on the West Arm of Kootenay Lake and the free-minded spirit of its residents make it one of the most appealing cities east of Vancouver. It is also known as the #1 small arts community in Canada. Nelsonites are proud of the unique small town feel of their town, which has remained relatively free of the chain stores, franchises and strip-mall developments that are common in other towns of similar size.

Nelson, British Columbia

Kokanee Glacier Provincial Park - Kookanee Glacier Provincial Park encompasses some of the most scenic mountain country found in the Selkirk Mountains of southern British Columbia, comprising a picturesque mosaic of high peaks, snowfields, cirques and colourful lake basins. As the dominant feature and roughly in the center of the park, Kokanee Glacier forms the culmination of mountain ridges and valleys leading in from Kootenay and Slocan Lake. The park straddles the crest of mountain ridges between Slocan Lake and Kootenay Lake. Located 30 kilometres to the northeast, the peaks of Kokanee Glacier are visible from the city of Nelson, and stand out as dominant skyline features from many points on Kootenay Lake. In this early morning image, the Selkirk Mountains reflect in the tranquil waters of Gibson Lake.

Kokanee Glacier Provincial Park

Kwadacha Wilderness Provincial Park - The mountains in the far distance are part of Kwadacha Wilderness Provincial Park. This park offers spectacular scenery in a pristine wilderness area, accessed through a 1oo mile trail system beginning just north of Trutch on the Alaska Highway. In the foreground, the Alaska Highway begins its long ascent toward Steamboat Mountain in northern British Columbia.

Kwadacha Wilderness Provincial Park

Tetsa River - The Tetsa River parallels the Alaska Highway for several miles as it cuts its way through the Rocky Mountains in Northern British Columbia.

Tetsa River

 
Muncho Lake - The 55-mile drive through Muncho Lake Provincial Park has a reputation of being the most scenic part of the Alaska Highway. 'Muncho' means 'big lake' in Kaska Language, the language spoken by First Nations peoples in northern British Columbia and parts of the southern Yukon Territory. At 7.5 miles long, it is one of the largest natural lakes in the Canadian Rockies.

Muncho Lake

Liard River Valley - The most relaxing spot along the Alaska Highway is, without any doubt, the Liard Hot Springs. Located near the banks of the Liard River, this warm oasis is a welcome spot for weary travelers. I forgot to bring my camera to the hot springs, but I will post some shots on my return trip. Here, the Alaska Highway winds away from the Liard River just a few miles south of the hot springs.

Liard River Valley

Pickhandle Lake - Pickhandle Lake is part of a big complex of wetlands along the Shakwak Trench in the Yukon Territory. The Shakwak Trench is a major fault line which runs parallel to the Alaska Highway, and separates the Kluane Ranges from the mountain ranges to the north.

Pickhandle Lake

Alaska Highway, Yukon Territory - The Alaska Highway is still an adventure road, but the degree of difficulty has eased sharply in recent years as more and more sections have been straightened and paved. Today, almost all of the two-lane highway is surfaced with asphalt. But it is no freeway. There still are stretches where the highway is narrow and curvy, where it lacks center lines and ample shoulders. Sometimes the asphalt paving can ripple like a roller coaster track in places where “frost heaves” are caused by seasonal freezing and thawing of the ground. Here, the Alaska Highway follows the Outer Ranges of Kluane National Park in the Yukon Territory.

Alaska Highway, Yukon Territory

Tetlin National Wildlife Refuge - Tetlin National Wildlife Refuge is a dynamic landscape made up of forests, wetlands, tundra, lakes, mountains and glacial rivers bounded by the snowy peaks of the Alaska Range. This upper Tanana River valley has been called the 'Tetlin Passage', because it serves as a major migratory route for birds traveling to and from Canada, the lower 48 and both Central and South America. Many of these birds breed and nest on the refuge. Others pass through on their way to breeding and nesting grounds elsewhere in the state.

Tetlin National Wildlife Refuge

 
Mount Hayes - Mount Hayes, 13,832 feet (4,216 m), is the highest mountain in the eastern Alaska Range. Despite not being a fourteener, it is one of the largest peaks in the United States in terms of rise above local terrain. For example, the Northeast Face rises 8,000 feet (2,440m) in approximately 2 miles. In terms of topographic prominence, Mount Hayes is one of the top 75 peaks in the world

Mount Hayes

Black Rapids Glacier -

Black Rapids Glacier

Mount Sanford - 16,237 foot-high Mount Sanford is a huge massif located in the Wrangell Mountains. A broad icefield covers the summit. A shield volcano, Mount Sanford is the third highest volcano in the United States behind Mount Bona and Mount Blackburn. The south face of the volcano, at the head of the Sanford Glacier, rises 8,000 feet in one mile, resulting in one of the steepest gradients in North America.<br><br><br>

Mount Sanford

North Slope -

North Slope

Glacier Bay -

Glacier Bay

 
Brady Icefield - Soaring high above Glacier Bay allows for a deeper appreciation of its verticality and immense scale. From the window of a jet, one can see the the huge tidewater glaciers, the vast mountain wilderness of the Fairweather Range and the hundreds of cubic miles of ice of the Brady Icefield pictured here.

Brady Icefield

St. Elias Range - Within this mountain kingdom of rock and ice are some of the highest peaks on the continent. The second highest peak in North America is Yukon's Mount Logan (19,850 feet), pictured on the far right. Mount Saint Elias (18,008 feet)- pictured in the far left, is the second highest in the United States and the third highest north of Mexico. All of these giants lie within the 200-mile long St. Elias Range, the highest coastal range in the world. The Saint Elias exceed the Himalayas in vertical relief, with hundreds of sharp ice-clad peaks rising dramatically above sea-level glaciers. This mountain range is also home to the greatest number of glaciers in North America, including the mighty Malaspina, the active Hubbard, and the Great Pacific Glacier, pictured in the foreground where it borders Glacier Bay.

St. Elias Range

Mount Logan - Canada's highest peak, Mount Logan, 5959 m (19550 foot) high, towers above the St. Elias Mountains in Kluane National Park in the Yukon Terriory. The largest icefields on the planet outside of Greenland and Antarctica are frozen in this remote part of the North American continent. Dimensions are Himalayan. There are no crowds here as there are on Denali. Climbing Mount Logan is a true wilderness expedition to one of the earth's greatest summits.

Mount Logan

Mount Shand - The first light of the day illuminates the east face of Mount Shand, a 12,600 foot-high peak in the eastern Alaska Range.

Mount Shand

Muldrow Glacier Aera - Much of the terminal moraine of the Muldrow Glacier in Denali National Park is buried under huge volumes of debris. In the distance, a heavy rain cloud empties its load near Wonder Lake.

Muldrow Glacier Aera

 
Kahilta Glacier - The Kahiltna Glacier is the longest in the Alaska Range - a 45-mile long river of ice. In the foreground is the heavily crevassed section between 7,000- and 9,000-foot level that must be negotiated by all parties climbing Mount McKinley via the West Buttress and West Rib routes.

Kahilta Glacier

French Ridge Mount Huntington -

French Ridge Mount Huntington

Muldrow Glacier -

Muldrow Glacier

Denali Fault -

Denali Fault

Chulitna River -

Chulitna River

 
Polychrome Mountains -

Polychrome Mountains

A Matter Of Perspective - This aerial view shows the small patch of commerical development, sometimes also referred to as 'Glitter Gulch', near the Denali National Park entrance. Over half a million tourists stay in the area each summer. The footprint of this commercial development may seem big when on the ground, but from the air it is pretty evident that it's just a little patch of development in an otherwise largely undeveloped area.

A Matter Of Perspective

Historic Recorder's Cabin - The original cabin that was used to record Kantishna gold claims at the turn of the century is located on site at the Kantishna Roadhouse. An authentic sod roof and many old artifacts add charm to this interesting piece of gold rush history.

Historic Recorder's Cabin

Wickersham Wall - The first attempt to climb Mount McKinley was by Judge James Wickersham in 1903, via the Peters Glacier and the North Face, now known as the Wickersham Wall. This route has tremendous objective dangers from avalanches and serac falls and was not successfully climbed until 1963. Since then, it has seen only a handful of successful ascents.

Wickersham Wall

Lonely Road - During a recent drive along the Denali Highway, I encountered three vehicles during the 130-mile drive. One of those three had a flat tire, not uncommon on the rough gravel road that links Cantwell and Paxson.

Lonely Road

 
Parks Highway - I have been driving the Parks Highway between Fairbanks and Healy numerous times recently as we are closing in on our house building project. The days are slowly getting shorter again and yesterday I saw the moon for the first time in weeks.

Parks Highway

Mount Sanford - Clouds partially obscure 16,237-foot Mount Sanford, a shield volcano in the Wrangell Volcanic Field near the Copper River. It is the third highest volcano in the United States behind Mount Bona and Mount Blackburn.

Mount Sanford

Gakona Glacier - Located along the Denali Fault in the Alaska Range east of Paxson, the area around the Gakona Glacier experienced a magnitude 7.9 earthquake in 2002 that created some impressive landslides and fractures along ridge lines.

Gakona Glacier

Denali Highway - The Denali Highway is a 135-mile, mostly gravel highway connecting Paxson on the Richardson Highway to Cantwell on the Parks Highway. Opened in 1957, it was the first road access to Denali National Park. The highway is mostly gravel and in pretty rough shape. It is little used and poorly maintained, and closed to all traffic from October to mid-May each year.

Denali Highway

Denali (Mount McKinley) - It's hard to believe that over 400 climbers currently dot the slopes of this beautiful mountain. The climbing season is from mid-May through mid-July, and during this short window of opportunity over 1,000 climbers will try to reach the coveted summit of this peak.

Denali (Mount McKinley)

 
Goldstream Creek Flooding - It's been an unusually easy break-up across the Interior. Even the ice on the mighty Yukon just went out without any major ice jams. Goldstream Creek in Fairbanks is a different story. As a result of the cold winter and low snowfall, the ice froze thicker and pinched off the normal channels, forcing the water to surface. Through time, the creek flooded over its banks and threatened homes, such as our friends Larry and Jen Landry's cabin. Here, Jen takes our son Florian on a canoe ride through their backyard.

Goldstream Creek Flooding

Mount Deborah - The prominent peak in the far distance is Mount Deborah, elevation 12,339 feet (3,760m), in this view from the Denali Park Road. Mount Deborah is one of the major peaks of the eastern Alaska Range. Despite its low absolute elevation (compared to other major peaks in North America), it is a particularly large and steep peak in terms of its quick rise over local terrain. For example, the Northeast Face rises 7000 feet (2135m) in approximately 1.5 miles (2.4km). This steepness, combined with difficult access, harsh weather, and classic Alaskan ice and snow features, make this a challenging peak to climb.

Mount Deborah

Nenana Ice Classic - The Nenana Ice Classic is a betting lottery which began at Nenana back in 1917 and has been run annually ever since. In March each year the townspeople mount a tripod out on the frozen Tanana River which runs through the town. The tripod is secured firmly to the ice and a rope run from the tripod to a clock mechanism at the shore. When the ice breaks up in late April or early May, the tripod gives way, gets carried only a short distance, finally tripping the clock. The time is then recorded. The lottery organizers take bets from people all over the world, the winner being the person who can make the closest prediction of the actual date and time of breakup. This year the winning time was Friday, April 27, 3:47 AST. I took this picture just a few hours before the tripod went out. The winner(s) will share a $303,272 jackpot. After a near-record low snowfall in the Interior this winter and a late-season record cold snap in February and March, many Alaskans were betting on a late breakup, but warm temperatures the past two weeks caused the ice to erode quickly.

Nenana Ice Classic

Nenana River Canyon - The ice has collapsed in the Nenana River Canyon near Denali National Park and turned the once smooth icy surface into a wild chaos of ice.

Nenana River Canyon

Tanana River - While much of the snowpack is melting off quickly, creeks and rivers such as the Tanana will remain mostly locked in ice for a few more weeks. The city of Fairbanks, located on the banks of the Tanana, is visible in the upper right corner in this aerial view.

Tanana River

 
Icefield Ranges - Spring is in full swing throughout most of the state, but in the Icefield Ranges in Canada's Kluane National Park, located in the Yukon Territory just east of the Alaska border, snow and ice hold a tight grip on the landscape throughout the seasons. The dominant peak in this aerial view is Mount Logan, at 19,551 feet (5,959 meters) Canada's highest peak and the second largest peak in North America. I took this image on a recent flight from Seattle to Fairbanks.

Icefield Ranges

Twelvemile Summit, Steese Highway -

Twelvemile Summit, Steese Highway

Trans-Alaska Pipeline - The Trans-Alaska Pipeline System was designed and constructed to move oil from the North Slope of Alaska to the northern most ice-free port of Valdez. The pipeline runs through 800 miles of mostly wilderness, crossing three mountain ranges and over 800 rivers and streams. To this day, over 14 billion barrels have moved through the Trans Alaska Pipeline System. Here, the pipeline winds its way towards the Alaska Range north of Delta Junction.<br>

Trans-Alaska Pipeline

North Pole Refinery - North Pole Refinery has a crude oil processing capacity of about 220,000 barrels per day. Owned and operated by Flint Hills Resources, it processes North Slope crude oil and supplies gasoline, jet fuel, heating oil, diesel, gasoil and asphalt to local and international markets. About 60 percent of the production from the refinery is destined for the aviation market.

North Pole Refinery

Ice Fog Over North Pole Refinery - Steam plumes rise from the North Pole refinery, center, and the power plant at Eielson Air Force Base, right, in this view from Ester Dome. Extremely cold conditions along with ice fog continue to persist, creating hazardous air quality, as all the emissions get trapped under the ice fog.

Ice Fog Over North Pole Refinery

 
Late-Season Cold Snap - The cold spell and the eerie ice fog that descended on Fairbanks a week ago have been the harshest so far this winter. Although the temperatures have been up a bit on Monday, we are likely to see more very cold weather in the next few days.

Late-Season Cold Snap

Ice Fog Over Fairbanks - It has been very cold in Interior Alaska recently, with temperatures consistently dropping to forty below and even colder in low laying areas. A common phenomena during these cold spells are temperature inversions and ice fog. During such inversions warm air above acts like a lid to trap cold air below, and in the case of Fairbanks combines with the hills around town to provide a box in which ice fog forms. The prominent steam plume visible here originates from the power plant in this view of Fairbanks from Ester Dome.

Ice Fog Over Fairbanks

Lance Mackey - 2007 Yukon Quest Champion - Lance Mackey crosses the finish line of the 2007 Yukon Quest International Sled Dog Race in Fairbanks yesterday afternoon, winning his third-straight Yukon Quest. He set a new race record of 10 days, two hours and 37 minutes, shattering the previous 1995 record of 10 days, 16 hours and 20 minutes set by Frank Turner. Mackey, who will also run the Iditarod 10 days from now, <br>pocketed $40,000 in prize money for his win.

Lance Mackey - 2007 Yukon Quest Champion

Fortymile River - This aerial view shows the Fortymile River near the U.S.-Canada border, with the Ogilvie Mountains dominating the skyline in the distance. Yukon Quest mushers are currently traveling up this river on their way to Eagle, Alaska. This remote, clear-flowing river was designated as a Wild and Scenic River in 1980 because of its scenic, recreational and historic values. Placer gold was first discovered on the river in 1886, and continues to be mined today.

Fortymile River

Nenana - The mostly Athabascan community of Nenana is located 65 miles southwest of Fairbanks on the George Parks Highway, on the south bank of the Tanana River. It is from here that in 1925 much needed serum was raced to Nome by dog team, using twenty teams in a 674 mile relay race. This historic event is commemorated with the world famous Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race.<br>

Nenana

 
Mount McKinley Weather Station - For some time, scientists and others have been interested in finding out what the year-round conditions up high on the mountain are. To answer this question, a group of Japanese scientists have put in place a robust weather station at about 19,000 feet near Denali Pass. The instruments include temperature, barometric and two types of wind sensors, a spinning three-cup model and an ultrasonic sensor with no moving parts. All are separate components, so if one fails the others can continue to collect data. The weather station also contains a data logger, which records data every 10 minutes. That data is transmitted hourly and goes from the weather station to a receiving station in nearby Cantwell, and from there via the telephone lines to the Geophysical Institute at the University of Alaska Fairbanks. Current conditions are posted on the Internet at http://www.iarc.uaf.edu/mt_mckinley/<br>This view of the mountain was taken a couple of days ago from Ester Dome, about 160 miles away.

Mount McKinley Weather Station

UAF Ski Trails - The University of Alaska Fairbanks trails may well be the oldest recreational trail system in the state: the first documented recreational use of the UAF trails was a ski race on campus in the winter of 1923. During the 1930s, trails were built expressly for skiing all over campus. Today, the trail system continues to be a major asset for the campus and Fairbanks, and I have come to really appreciate these cross-country trails right in our backyard. Here, a pair of skiers emerges on Ballaine Lake.

UAF Ski Trails

Mushers Hall - Dog trucks line up at Mushers Hall near the start line to the Jeff Studdert Race Grounds. Mushers Hall is located off Farmers Loop Road in Fairbanks. During the winter, spectators come and watch the exciting sprint races from the warmth and comfort of the Mushers Hall. The log building is also a popular rental for private functions such as wedding receptions or fundraisers.

Mushers Hall

Cushman Street, Fairbanks - Vapor from car exhaust fills Cushman Street, the main traffic artery through downtown Fairbanks.

Cushman Street, Fairbanks

BRRRR.......ISK! - Yesterday marked one of the coldest days of the winter so far, with temperatures falling to 50 below in some areas in Interior Alaska. Temperatures are supposed to climb to about zero in the next 48 hours, it will feel downright balmy compared to the extreme cold we had.

BRRRR.......ISK!

 
Chena Hot Springs Resort - This resort, located almost 60 miles northeast of Fairbanks, is a favorite destination for locals and tourists alike who enjoy soaking in the hot springs and watch the Northern Lights. The springs are at the center of a 40-square-mile geothermal area and produce a steady stream of water that is so hot, it must be cooled before you can soak. The owners of the resort have vision for the resort to become a self-sufficient community in terms of energy, food, heating and fuel use to the greatest extent possible. To attain this goal, Chena is developing numerous renewable energy and sustainable development projects. The 400kW Chena Hot Springs geothermal power plant, brought online in July 2006, is the first geothermal power plant in Alaska.

Chena Hot Springs Resort

Solitary Drive - Driving the Parks Highway in the winter time is a pretty solitary experience. Once in a while one may see another car, but it is nothing compared to summer, when hundreds of tourists travel the highway daily.

Solitary Drive

Industrial Landscape - Steam rises on a blistery morning from the Alaska Railroad Depot and Powerplant near downtown Fairbanks. Most people would not equate this shot with Fairbanks, but it is a view that is quite common and visible for many form different vantage points.

Industrial Landscape

Nome Seawall - Sea ice quietly docks along the Seawall in Nome. Created to protect the city of Nome, the Seawall has seen some really rough times, most recently in fall of 2005, when a severe storm flooded Front Street.

Nome Seawall

Sea Of Lights - As we approach the shortest day of the year, more and more darkness settles over Interior Alaska. Being light-deprived, it is nice to go out and enjoy the holiday lights, like here at Pioneer Park in Fairbanks.

Sea Of Lights

 
International Arctic Research Center - The International Arctic Research Center (IARC) at the University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF) was established in 1999 as a cooperative research institute supported by both the U.S. and Japanese governments. The primary mission of the IARC is to nurture, integrate and synthesize research being conducted internationally by individuals and groups in order to identify natural and man-made changes. IARC is devoting specific effort to answering the following three questions: Is climate change due to natural or man-made causes? What parameters, processes and interactions are needed to understand and predict future climate change? And what are the likely impacts of climate change?

International Arctic Research Center

Sternwheeler Nenana - The historic S.S. Nenana is the only original wooden sternwheeler left in Alaska, one of only 15 sternwheelers left in the entire United States and one of only two wooden-hulled sternwheeled steamboats in the world. The river boat is one of the main attractions at the historic Pioneer Park in Fairbanks. The S. S. Nenana plied the Tanana River from Nenana to the large village of Tanana on the Yukon River, and from there to the community of Eagle on the upper Yukon or to the village of Marshall on the lower Yukon. At 237 ft. long, 42 ft. wide and 22,000 square feet of deck space, with a draw of just six inches, this 500-ton ship was launched in Nenana in 1934 and made the 774-mile voyage from Nenana to Marshall, Alaska, every two weeks during her five-month season, traveling 24 hours a day. The Nenana was finally pushed out of the freight and passenger business in 1955 by faster, more economical methods of transportation. In her heyday, the Nenana was the last and most luxurious of the paddlewheelers plying the rivers of Alaska and the Yukon.

Sternwheeler Nenana

Architectural Beauty - The expanded University of Alaska Museum of the North in Fairbanks looks like breaching whales. Or ships passing. Or maybe tectonic plates colliding. Architect Joan Soranno was not aiming for any particular image of Alaska in her design of the expanded museum. She wanted only to capture the spirit of the 49th state, and she found her inspiration in the wild land. 'There are no straight lines in the landscape,' she says. 'This building very much plays off that.' More than a decade in the planning, and built for $42 million, including $12.4 million in private donations, the expanded museum now complete and offers visitors a dazzling venue for Alaska art and natural history.

Architectural Beauty

Fast Food Outpost - Nothing is impossible in Fairbanks, even golden arches growing within the boreal forest. This a may seem like a strange coexistance to most people, but in this city full of contrasts nothing comes as a surprise to me anymore.

Fast Food Outpost

Fairbanks - The Fairbanks bowl is a real cold sink, with temperatures now often hovering well below zero degrees Fahrenheit. The temperatures in the hills above town are often 10-20 degrees warmer. The prominent steam plume in this picture is from the city power plant.

Fairbanks

 
Usibelli Coal Mine - The Usibelli Coal Mine has dominated the economy of Healy for over 60 years, and employs around 100 people. It is the only operating coal mine in Alaska. Of the 1.3 million tons of coal the mine produces annually, 400,000 tons are exported for delivery to South Korea and Chile and 900,000 tons remain in Alaska for domestic use. At Usibelli Coal Mine, up to 200 feet of unconsolidated sandstone or 'dirt' must be moved to uncover the top seam of coal. Another 80 feet must be moved to uncover the second seam. The most efficient machines for moving large volumes of dirt are draglines. The dragline visible in this image is the largest land-based machine in Alaska. With its 325-foot boom, it has a reach of 270 feet. The bucket weighs 32 tons and will hold 33 cubic yards of material. In one 24-hour period, the dragline can move 35,000 yards of dirt, leaving a 145-foot wide strip of uncovered coal.<br><br>

Usibelli Coal Mine

Home Sweet Home - Winter has arrived in Interior Alaska, and we are very thankful to see our log house closed in and ready for winter. We sure have come a long way since we purchased 3 acres on the north side of the Alaska Range in late July! We were lucky to find Doug Stephan, who is not just an awesome log builder and fine cabinet maker but an all-around great guy, without whose expertise and meticulous attention to details it would never have been as smooth a project and we would have never come as far as we have. Building a house is a huge undertaking, and with his expertise our dream of owning a log house is becoming a reality. Thanks, Doug!

Home Sweet Home

Northeast Ridge, Mount Brooks - It has s been over 10 years since I climbed this beautiful ridge in the Alaska Range. I also once attempted this ridge in winter, but an unstable snowpack prevented us from ascending to the main ridge. Mount Brooks, elevation 11,939 feet, is located just east of Mount McKinley in Alaska Range, between the Traleika and Brooks Glaciers. The approach is usually overland from Wonder Lake, 35 miles away, then across the Muldrow Glacier to the Brooks Glacier, where a base camp is established. An advanced camp is usually put on the east ridge leading to the main ridge. The route has portions of 65 degree steep snow and ice climbing.

Northeast Ridge, Mount Brooks

Denali Princess Wilderness Lodge - Located near the entrace of Denali National Park and on the banks of the Nenana River, the Denali Princess Wilderness Lodge has a capacity of about 650 rooms, more than any other hotel in Alaska. Most of the guests are Princess Cruise passengers who stay here during the land portion of their Alaska cruise. It is here that my multimedia production 'Climb Denali' shows twice daily during the tourist season from mid-May through mid-September. Visible across the river at the base of Mount Healy are the Alaska Railroad tracks. Most of the over 500,000 annual visitors to Denali arrive here by train or bus.

Denali Princess Wilderness Lodge

Tallest Freestanding Mountain In The World - Mount McKinley (Denali), 20,320 feet, is not only the highest peak in North America. It is also the tallest freestanding mountain in the world. From its base at around 2,500 feet on the north side, Mount McKinley (Denali) rises almost 18,000 feet to the summit of the South eak at 20,320 feet. Mount Everest by comparison rises only about 10,000 feet above its base on the Tibetan Plateau. This classic view of the mountain was taken from near the Stony Overlook in Denali National Park.

Tallest Freestanding Mountain In The World

 
Mount Brooks - The evening light illuminates the north ridge of Mount Brooks, elevation 11,939 feet, in this view from Wonder Lake. What I appreciated most about this evening was not only to have spectacular views of the Alaska Range, but also to run into Larry Kaplan, who is the head of the Alaska Native Languages Department at the University of Alaska Fairbanks. Larry also is fluent is several foreign languages, and during my time at UAF Larry was one of a handful of people who I could converse in French with. The north end of Wonder Lake was pretty crowded when I took this photo. Besides Larry and his wife, there must have been at least 50 Japanese tourists who were watching the sunset over the Alaska Range.

Mount Brooks

High Above the Clouds - There is nothing like escaping the rainy weather and low ceiling in the Denali aera to soar high above the clouds for some stunning views of Mount McKinley. All it takes is a pressurized aircraft, a pilot and a realiable forecast. In this view from the north, Mount McKinley's slopes above 17,000 feet tower above an endless ocean of clouds.

High Above the Clouds

Dry Creek Site - Dry Creek is a look-out site on a bluff in the Nenana River Valley on the north side of the Alaska Range. It was the first site in the Alaskan interior to yield firm evidence of a human presence in the region during the Late Pleistocene. The earliest human occupation of the site dates to about 11,120 years BP. The stone tools found include bifaces, side scrapers and flake tools. The similarity of these tools to those found at other sites in south-central Alaska suggests that the occupants of these sites may have all belonged to the same cultural group, known today as the Nenana Complex. The site is about a mile below the ridge picture here. This is the first archeological dig I participated in when I was a student at the University of Alaska Fairbanks.

Dry Creek Site

Attitude Shift - A year ago in Healy, unleaded gas was $2.52 per gallon, today’s price at the pump is $3.26 per gallon. So in just a year, the price of a gallon has risen by over 70 cents, and people all over feel the pinch. With gas prices on the rise, Alaskans are showing more interest in high-mileage vehicles as an alternative to the gas-guzzling SUV’s or big trucks. Sales of cars such as the gas-electric Toyota Prius, which gets about 60 miles to the gallon, have increased sharply, according to consumer reports.

Attitude Shift

Mount Hayes - Mount Hayes, elevation 3,832 feet/4,216 meters, is the highest mountain in the eastern Alaska Range. Despite not being a fourteener, it is one of the largest peaks in the United States in terms of rise above local terrain. For example, the Northeast Face, shown in the center of this image, rises 8000 feet (2440m) in approximately 2 miles (3.2km). In terms of topographic prominence, Mount Hayes is one of the top 75 peaks in the world.

Mount Hayes

 
First Climbing Fatality on Denali - A Korean climber died of unknown causes descending Mount McKinley’s West Buttress route at 15,800 feet. The man was part of a guided expedition who had reached 18,600 feet before being forced to turn around. Guides performed CPR on the climber for half an hour, but failed to resuscitate him. This aerial view of Mount McKilney shows the northeastern flanks of the mountain. <br>

First Climbing Fatality on Denali

Kahiltna Base Camp - The Kahiltna Base Camp on the Southeast Fork of the Kahiltna Glacier buzzes with activity during the climbing season from May through July. Air taxis parked in the shadow of Mount Hunter’s North Face fly climbers from all over the world to this jumping off point for expeditions on Mount McKinley (Denali), Mount Foraker and Mount Hunter.<br>

Kahiltna Base Camp

Gateway to Denali National Park - Healy, population around 1,000, is located about 10 miles north of the park entrance on the north side of the Alaska Range. In this aerial view of the community, the Parks Highway and Dry Creek intersect north of town. Many people in Healy are employed by the Usibelli Coal Mine.

Gateway to Denali National Park

Parks Highway Fire - Almost 50,000 acres have been consumed by a wildfire that has also destroyed several houses in its path. Even the town of Nenana was threatened and partially evacuated. More than 500 firefighters are battling the blaze, which apparently was human-caused. The fire has now moved away from the Park Highway, but a huge plume of smoke is still visible like in this view of the highway between Healy and Nenana.<br>

Parks Highway Fire

Mount Healy - A fresh dusting of fresh snow covers the upper slopes of Mount Healy earlier this week. A cold front brought snow and record-breaking temperatures to several towns in Alaska. Fairbanks recorded a low of 29 degrees Fahrenheit on Monday, the coldest temperature ever measured for this day in 115 years. Located on the northern edge of Denali National Park, Mount Healy, elevation 5715 feet, is my favorite peak to climb in the area. The climb does not offer any technical challenges, just some scrambling and bouldering on the upper slopes.

Mount Healy

 
Icy Crown of North America - This bird’s view of the north side of Denali (Mount McKinley) was taken from about 21,000 feet. There is no other mountain in the world that is so high and located so far north. Denali, elevation 20,320 feet, really assumes a unique position on our earth. The two dominant ridges are the Pioneer Ridge on the right, and the Karstens ridge in the upper center. The main ridge in the lower center separating the Muldrow Glacier to the right and the Traleika Glacier connects Mount Koven, Tatum, and Carpe. Although most of the pioneer climbs happened on the north side, only very few parties attempt this rarely climbed side anymore.

Icy Crown of North America

Denali's West Buttress - This aerial view shows Denali’s West Buttress route from above Windy Corner to High Camp. In the center is the 14,200-foot Advanced Base Camp, located in a large basin sheltered from high winds. It usually takes about 9 days to reach ABC. After a few days of acclimatizing, expeditions climb up the the headwall between 15,500 and 16,200 feet. Fixed lines are in place to protect this 45 degrees angle ice slope. Sometimes climbers camp at 16,200. On my first trip up the mountain in 1995, we camped up there and it was truly the most memorable camp of all, with incredible views to the north and south and quite a bit of exposure down the north side. From this camp the route follows the true West Buttress to the 17,200 High Camp. It’s the most scenic part of the route. The horizontal line that leaves 14,200 ABC to the right is the trail to the ‘Edge of the World’, where one gets incredible views and exposure looking down into the Northeast Fork of the Kahiltna Glacier. There are dozens of climbing expeditions on Denali right now. On another note, there is still no sign of the two well-known female climbers, Sue Nott of Vail, Co. and Karen McNeill of Canmore, Alberta, who are overdue on Mount Foraker's Infinity Spur. Denali National Park rangers held out hope that two mountaineers were OK, but evidence found on the 17,400-foot mountain pointed to the contrary. After searching the entire route by helicopter, only old footsteps at the 14,800 -foot level were found.<br>

Denali's West Buttress

Moose's Tooth - The famed East Face of the Moose’s Tooth, elevation 10,335 feet, is one of the great classics in Alaska Range mountaineering. The peak is located in the Ruth Gorge, about 15 miles southeast of Mount McKinley (Denali). The name of the peak comes from its structure: its summit ridge is a long, low angled ridge running roughly east-west for about a mile, with steep drops to the north and south. This gives the mountain a vague resemblance to a moose's tooth. It also makes climbing to the true (east) summit from the west ridge (the least technical route) very difficult. The summit is more normally reached by steep couloirs on the southwestern side of the peak.

Moose's Tooth

Talkeetna - With only 400 permanent residents, Talkeetna has managed to retain most of its original Alaskan flavor, as in this view of Main Street with some of its historic buildings and pubs. At least in the evenings, hippies still outnumber the constant flow of tourists. And right now the climbing season on Denali is in full swing and dozens of expeditions are getting ready to climb Denali. It is nice to visit old friends and guides who are gearing up fly into base camp. All south-side expeditions fly in from Talkeetna by ski plane to base camp on the Kahlitna Glacier at 7,200 feet.

Talkeetna

Spring - Spring means different things for different people. For some, it’s the explosion of new life, of flowers blooming. For others like myself, it’s watching the shore-fast ice melt a little more every day, like here in this aerial view of Golovin Bay. Spring out here in Western Alaska also means snow squalls lasting well into May and sometimes even into June. Just over the weekend two inches of fresh snow graced the landscape, and wet snow fell on and off over the last couple of days! And there is no end of this pattern in sight…

Spring

 
Nome River Break-up - Like in many other parts of Alaska, break-up of the rivers is a significant event. Rivers of ice, that were highways in the winter for snowmachines are now becoming fluid waterways for boats. Sometimes, rapid snowmelt can lead to increased runoff, and increased flow discharge. As the ice cover breaks up, sometimes ice floes become lodged at river bends, bridges, or narrow sections of a river. creating ice jams. This may cause the water level to rise quickly and cause flooding of the surrounding areas. Break-up around here has been fairly uneventful this year. Here, shelf ice along the Nome River at Fort Davis collapses as the river gradually returns to its fluid state.

Nome River Break-up

Ground Zero for Climate Change - With sea ice shrinking, permafrost thawing and sea storms becoming more frequent, residents of the remote Inupiat village of Shishmaref are preparing to move their entire community to more solid ground within the near future. Located on a narrow Chukchi Sea barrier island, just north of the Bering Strait, the village has lost so much ground in recent years that it has become an internationally famous case study into the effects of global warming. It is likely to become the first US community to move because of a warming climate, many scientists have said. The stormy waters of the Chukchi Sea have eaten away the earth where some of the homes used to sit. During the winter, the frozen Chukchi Sea acts as a protective shield against storm surges, but during the ice-free months Shishmaref’s coastline is vulnerable to erosion during storm surges. As a result, homes such as this one are tumbling into the sea after storms have worn away the coastline bordering the village. Further erosion now threatens additional homes, plus the school and airport Runway.

Ground Zero for Climate Change

Teller - The small Eskimo settlement of Teller, population about 250, is located on a spit between Port Clarence and Grantley Harbor, 72 miles northwest of Nome, on the Seward Peninsula. It gained national recognition in aviation circles back in 1926 as the landing site of the very first transpolar flight from Europe to Alaska by the dirigible Norge. With the Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen in charge of the expedition and the Italian Umberto Nobile at the helm, and carrying a crew of sixteen, the Norge lifted off Spitsbergen, Norway, on May 11, 1926, and headed for the North Pole, with a planned destination of Nome, Alaska. Navigation was difficult in those days before LORAN and GPS, as a magnetic compass is not reliable at high latitudes. After an exhausting three-day flight, and with the airship heavy with ice and difficult to control in a brisk wind, Amundsen and Nobile decided to land in Teller rather than the target destination of Nome. Thus, Teller, was destined to become famous in early aviation circles. The transpolar flight had covered 3,180 miles and had taken 70 hours and 40 minutes, giving the airship an average groundspeed of 45 mph. Teller has a road link to Nome from May to September via a 72-mile gravel road, but in the winter the only access is by plane or snowmachine.

Teller

Elim - Elim, population around 340, is located on the northwest shore of Norton Bay on the Seward Peninsula, about 100 miles east of Nome and 460 miles northwest of Anchorage. It is an Inupiat Eskimo village with a fishing and subsistence lifestyle. I consider it one of the most scenic villages in the Bering Straits region.

Elim

Norton Bay - It is almost April yet we had another blizzard yesterday, which shut down all air traffic and reminded us of our fragile existence out here. Without air support, the kind of infrastructure in this region as we know it would not exist. High winds and snow made the existing snowdrifts even bigger, consuming almost everything along their path, like among these seasonal camps along Norton Bay between Koyuk and Elim.

Norton Bay

 
Golovin - Over the next few days, I will profile a few communities in the Bering Strait region. The Inupiat Eskimo village of Golovin, population around 150, is located on a point of land between Golovin Bay and Golovin Lagoon on the Seward Peninsula, 70 miles east of Nome. The local economy is based on subsistence activities, reindeer herding, fish processing and commercial fishing. Since there are no roads connecting the town with other areas, access to Golovin is limited to air and sea. Golovin Bay is frozen from early November to mid-May.

Golovin

After the Storm - The skies cleared after the blizzard, and life returned to normal yesterday after a couple of stormy days. This seasonal camp at Fort Davis near Nome has already seen many storms this winter, and is likely to see a few more before it will be inhabited again in the summer.

After the Storm

Nome Snow Removal - The snow removal crews have been pretty busy lately, with quite a bit of new snow falling in the region over the past week. Currently, we are getting hit by a major snow storm, with another 5-8 inches of snow forecasted to fall by noon today. Combined with winds of up to 40 mph, this is again causing some very dangerous blizzard conditions around Nome and the Seward Peninsula.

Nome Snow Removal

Nome National Forest - This might be one of the most ingenious ways to recycle Christmas trees and enjoy them for a long time into the New Year. Considering that Nome is far north of the tree line, just getting a Christmas tree is a significant logistical undertaking. The trees are either collected from the Council area, some 70 miles east of Nome, before the road closes for the winter, or are flown in from White Mountain, about 100 miles to the southeast. Once Christmas is over, Nome residents take their Christmas trees out on the frozen Bering Sea and create what has become known as the Nome National Forest. The forest can easily consist of dozens of trees and stays there until the ice goes out in the spring. It becomes a major tourist attraction during the Iditarod, and sometimes one may even discover a palm tree mingling with the spruce trees on the ice...

Nome National Forest

Winter Storm pounding Western Alaska - A major storm raged through western Alaska yesterday, creating blizzard conditions with near zero visibility. Heavy snow with strong east winds of 30 to 45 mph with gusts as high as 60 mph hit Nome and surrounding coastal villages. Here, snowdrifts accumulate around a house in Nome.

Winter Storm pounding Western Alaska

 
Nome Weather - A powerful storm swept across much of Alaska Monday night. Here in Nome, we experienced 60 mph winds and drifting snow causing blizzard and whiteout conditions. Yesterday the winds died down and the snow turned into rain. Considering how little snow there is along the Bering Coast this year, it could make for a very bumpy ride for the Iditarod mushers in mid-March.

Nome Weather

Winter Survival - Much of our road system is inaccessible for travel by car during the winter, as huge snowdrifts engulf the roads and the State of Alaska only plows the first few miles of each of the three major roads around Nome. Travel beyond the State-maintained portions is at one’s own risk. On extended snow machine trips, I always carry survival gear with me: Sleeping bag, bivouac bag, shovel, stove, extra fuel, matches, dry clothes, thermos and extra food. Every year in this region, people get lost in storms or their machine breaks down and they don’t have the gear to stay alive until help arrives. I am always aware how unforgiving this country can be and how fine the line between life and death truly is. In this aerial view, the snow covered Kougourak Road winds through the Kigluaik Mountains east of Nome.

Winter Survival

Home Sweet Home! - It is so good to be back in Nome after many weeks of traveling. There truely is no place like Nome!

Home Sweet Home!

Swanberg Gold Dredge -

Swanberg Gold Dredge

Future Scenarios - If one believes the latest climate models, the coasts of Alaska, like here where the Bering Sea meets the York Mountains north of Brevig Mission, and eastern Russia could be ice free by the end of the century, and so much so that Russia will be able to ship goods over the North Pole for a large portion of the year by 2100. While many scenarios focus on potential sea level change, the biggest danger to the ocean’s health may be the changing chemical makeup of sea water itself as more fresh water melts into the oceans. Scientists argue that the acidity of the water itself will change and that could have major effects on marine life.

Future Scenarios

 
Alaska Air Defense - Located about 100 miles northwest of Nome and overlooking the Bering Strait, Tin City is one of a series of coastal surveillance sites built during the Korean War as part of an aircraft control and warning radar system. I can imagine that during the Cold War the mood in this area was pretty tense, when Americans and Sovjets literally could see each other eye to eye, being separated only by the narrow Bering Strait. Fortunately, relations between these two countries have dramatically changed since the fall of the Iron Curtain.

Alaska Air Defense

Human Crossings of the Bering Strait - Each year, adventurers from around the world with the ambitious goal to cross the Bering Strait show up in the region, but most fail. The shortest distance from the USA to Siberia is approximately 55 miles across the Bering Strait from Cape Prince of Wales on Alaska’s Seward Peninsula to Cape Dezhnev in Russia. Little Diomede Island, pictured in the upper left corner, lies about half-way en route. The only successful crossing in recent times was done by Dmitry and Matvey Shparo, a Russian father-son team who was successful on their third attempt after having been rescued on two prior attempts. I often wonder how the local inhabitants feel about such attempts, knowing that their ancestors frequently crossed the Strait in ancient times. In a few weeks, an Englishman attempting to set a world record for walking around the world will try to cross the Bering Strait. Stay tuned to Alaska365 as I will provide updates of this attempt as events will unfold.

Human Crossings of the Bering Strait

Big Diomede (Ratmanov) Island - The international border with Russia sits about a mile off Little Diomede's western shore. During the winter, a frozen shelf of ice spans the 2 1/2 miles to neighboring Big Diomede Island. Though it is only a few minutes away by snowmobile, visits to the big island are rare and illegal without authorization from the Russian government. The village of Diomede was traditionally called Inalik, or 'the other one over there,' which hints of an origin from the larger island. Many talk of long-lost relatives who lived across the border. Villagers tell of a Little Diomede hunting party that was trapped on the big island when the Soviets moved in. The hunters were never seen again. The Soviets removed the civilian population from Big Diomede in 1947, sending the residents to mainland Asia. After WWII the two island communities, connected by Eskimo family kinships but separated by American/Russian politics, led parallel lives; pictures of Karl Marx hung in the Russian schools, pictures of Abraham Lincoln in the American. Little Diomede villagers watched Warner Brothers while Big Diomeders watched movies made by Lenfilm.

Big Diomede (Ratmanov) Island

Diomede - The village of Diomede, population around 150, is located on the western flanks of Little Diomede Island in the Bering Strait, 135 miles northwest of Nome. It is only 2.5 miles from Big Diomede Island, Russia, and the international boundary lies between the two islands. Little Diomede is flat-topped, steep-sided and very isolated by its location, by rough seas, and by the persistent fog that shrouds the island during the warmer months. It is amazing to me how people have been able to survive in this harsh environment and in such isolation, their houses perched on the cliffs with no margin left for a village along the shore in the summer. To the outsider this place may appear empty, where nothing grows and life seems impossible. But to the local Ingalikmuit Eskimos, this is a productive place, and its wealth is in the abundance of animals. Through the generations, local people have developed the skills and knowledge necessary to survive in this extreme Arctic environment. Seal, polar bear, blue crab and whale meat are the preferred foods. Mainland Natives come to Diomede to hunt polar bears. Seal and walrus hides are used to make individual clothing items, parkas, hats, mukluks, and furs and skins for trade or boats. Locals are known for their ivory carving and a few residents work for the local government or school.

Diomede

Airstrip on the Edge of Tomorrow - A plane taxis on a temporary runway on the sea ice in front of Little Diomede Island. The island is situated in the middle of the Bering Strait. Portions of the Russian island of Big Diomede, also known as Ratmanov Island, are visible in the distance. Steep slopes and rocky terrain prevent a permanent airstrip from being built on Little Diomede Island, so planes must wait until the sea ice freezes and a runway can be carved out by a bulldozer. During ice-free months, Helicopters deliver mail and passengers once-a-week, and villagers use skin-covered boats to get groceries from Wales, 28 miles to the east. This must be the most unique community I have ever visited, and just getting here is an adventure. Where else in the world could one step off the plane onto the sea ice and look across the International Date Line into tomorrow?

Airstrip on the Edge of Tomorrow

 
Bering Strait - Without a doubt, this narrow, 55 miles wide passage between Russia and Alaska is one of the most extreme places on Earth. There are mountain ranges on each side of the Strait which act like a dam for air and water, constricting their flow. With the Bering and Chukchi Seas, two massive bodies of water on each side of the Strait, strong currents ripping through the narrow passage are a natural consequence. It is quite common that one side of the Strait is frozen up, while the other side is open and the water is moving very, very fast. On rare occasions, ice lenses form to allow passage from one side to another. In addition to ice currents, strong winds are funneled through the area as illustrated in this aerial view, and on windless days, temperature differences create dense fog. The Strait is named after the Danish explorer Vitus Bering, whose explorations revealed that the Eurasian and American continents were indeed separated by a small body of water.

Bering Strait

Wales - Massive snowdrifts engulf the village of Wales, located on the western tip of the Seward Peninsula, 111 miles northwest of Nome. Wales is a village of 160 people where energy scientists and two Alaska electric cooperatives have supplemented diesel power with one of the area’s greatest natural resources, wind. The wind blows year-round at Wales. The average wind speed is about 18 miles per hour, which is why engineers from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory and local power companies chose it as one of several coastal villages to outfit with wind/diesel technology. The challenge is to supplement the diesel generators with renewable energy sources without compromising power reliability and quality. Keeping the wind/diesel system running has been difficult due to the remoteness of Wales and other issues that arise when trying a new technology. Despite the maintenance problems at Wales, wind and hydroelectric projects have encouraged engineers to continue the search for alternative sources of energy, such as fuel cells. The rising fuel prices will probably be the driving force for the change from diesel-only systems. For now though, diesel generators will remain the main source of power in the villages. For all the headaches and cost of transporting diesel fuel by barge and storing it in tanks that sometimes leak, the diesel generator is still a reliable way to create electricity in a remote setting.

Wales

Alaska Range Memories - It is an interesting experience to fly over the Alaska Range at 25,000 feet and look down on this vast sea of mountains and glaciers, while the flight attendant hands out peanuts and orange juice. Usually, my attention is focused on the mountain world below, and I think of past expeditions on Mount McKinley and other mountains. On my most recent flight over the range I thought about a climb on Panorama Peak, a local mountain near Denali National Park. We were descending from the summit at dusk when my friend traversed a steep gully and triggered a slab avalanche. Fortunately, we were roped up and I was able to hold my friend’s fall. It was pretty frightening to see how far the avalanche went until the snow mass came to rest. The gully was then safe to descend, but we were pretty shaken up when we hit the base of the mountain. It was a reminder that avalanches never happen by accident. Three variables must exist for a slope to avalanche: the slope must be steep enough, the snow must be unstable enough, and there must be a trigger. Our very presence often upsets the delicate balance between stress and strength and causes an avalanche, something that I was thinking about as I was reliving our climb on Panorama Peak from the comfort of my seat on an Alaska Airlines flight to Nome.

Alaska Range Memories

Homer Small Boat Harbor - During the summer, this fishing harbor near the tip of the Homer Spit bustles with activity. During the winter months, it turns into a peaceful place where many boats remain quietly moored in their stalls. Most of the boats in this harbor are recreational, and for a good portion of them, their sole purpose for existence is to fish for halibut. Homer proclaims to be 'The halibut fishing capital of the world'. The Kenai Mountains in the background, across Kachemak Bay, are part of the Kenai Fiords National Monument. While it’s almost impossible to spot a single tourist along the Homer Spit at this time of the year, Bald Eagles soar all along the Spit. In a few months though, the port comes back to life, and the tourists will once again outnumber the Bald Eagles.

Homer Small Boat Harbor

Smoldering Volcano - After days of rain and overcast skies, the clouds broke yesterday and I got the first glimpse of Augustine Volcano showing signs of increased activity. The hot steam plumes, combined with the sharp increase in earthquake activity, makes scientists think Augustine could be coming back to life. The volcano is located about 75 miles west of Homer across Cook Inlet. There are indications that magma has risen 1,000 feet above sea level inside the volcano. If Augustine were to blow, the worstcase scenario is that the ash would reach Anchorage in less than three hours and Homer in less than an hour. But it is, of course, dependent on wind direction and wind speed. Scientists emphasize that while Augustine is more active now than at any time since its last eruption in 1986, it is not yet close to an eruption. For now, the mountain is still code yellow, which categorizes it as restless. There would need to be a 10-fold increase in seismic activity for officials to raise the danger level to Code Orange.

Smoldering Volcano

 
Tsunami Alertness - There is an elevated level of alertness in the wake of last year’s tsunami in Southeast Asia and subsequent natural disasters elsewhere. Augustine volcano west of Homer continues to sputter gases and steam as it gives off tiny eruptions deep within. An eruption may be only weeks away. While a drifting ash-cloud is the greatest concern to Homer residents, under certain circumstances an explosion on Augustine could generate a tsunami, which could be bad news for the Homer Spit and other low-lying areas in Kachemak Bay. State and local emergency teams have plans in place to alert the local population in case of a tsunami. Here, a sign marks the evacuation route from the Homer Spit to Kachemak Drive, from where it runs out to East End Road. In 1964, the last major earthquake in Southcentral Alaska created a tsunami that completely wiped out many of the coastal communities along Prince William Sound and Kodiak Island. In all, tsunami waves generated by the 1964 8.4 quake killed 119 people and caused millions of dollars in damage.

Tsunami Alertness

Real Estate 'Bubble' - When will the bubble burst? Is there even a bubble? It looks like these folks will be the least worried about real estate prices evaporating when the economy recesses. They have created their home in an abandoned ship in the old shipyard on the Homer Spit, undeterred by the speculative mania that has driven house prices to all time highs here in Homer. That’s one way to “stay afloat”!

Real Estate 'Bubble'

Arctic Dreams... - I took a break yesterday from the rainy weather in Homer. I closed my eyes and took an imaginary journey that lead me north across the Alaska Range and the Yukon River, and then west along the southern slopes of the Brooks Range, over Kotzebue Sound and the Seward Peninsula to the rolling hills west of Nome. Looking out over the vast land stretching out before me, I realized how much I have been missing the cold beauty and warm light of winter at these northern latitudes; the stars, moon and northern lights illuminating the silent night sky; and the people who call these cold places home. Just as I realized how much this landscape had become a part of myself, I was pulled back to reality as the rain hammering on our roof intensified. I know that it is impossible for the grass to be greener in Nome than it is here in Homer right now, but the temporary distance to the Arctic certainly has made my heart grow fonder.

Arctic Dreams...

There is no place like Nome! - A journalist of the Washington Post recently described Nome in an artice called 'Snowbound' as follows': 'Let's say you were looking for a vacation destination in winter. And also, that you were out of your mind. You might pull out a map of Alaska, locate Anchorage, and then let your eyes roam north and west, across mountain ranges, through millions of acres of wilderness, until you ran out of dirt. You would be in Nome. Nome: the last outpost, Babylon on the Bering, famously dissolute, said to be home to the desperate, the disillusioned, the hollow-eyed, the surrendered, the exiles, the castaways, the cutthroats, the half dead and the fully juiced. Nome, the end of the Earth.' Well, while some of this statement might be partially true, I disagree with most of it. Nome is a unique place on this earth, a crossroads of continents and cultures. A diverse community of people calls it home, me being one of them, and I don't consider myself half-dead, exiled, or disillusioned.

There is no place like Nome!

East End Road, Homer - Driving along East End Road in Homer, some of the pastoral scenes remind me of my native Switzerland. One may form a picture perfect image as cattle graze, horses run, chickens scratch, gardens flourish in the summer. On a small scale, this is probably true. Thousands of acres of potential farmland and ranchland around Homer attracted considerable agricultural interest in the past. However, only in rare cases were people able to earn an annual income from agricultural pursuits alone due to multiple reasons: Challenging climatic and soil conditions; the expense of supplemental feeding of livestock during the winter; the unpredictable nature of distant markets and competition all deterred the full development of the agricultural potential of Kachemak Bay. Today, only a handful of farms around Homer remain.

East End Road, Homer

 
Russian Orthodox and Old Believers - A number of active Russian Orthodox churches remain on the Kenai Peninsula, like the one pictured above, St. Nicholas Russian Orthodox Church in Seldovia. It is believed to have been built in 1891. Besides followers of the Russian Orthodox faith, the Kenai Peninsula is home to a number of Russian Old Believer communities that have formed east of Homer. The Old Believers split from the Russian Orthodox Church in the 17th century when the institution enacted reforms to reconcile differences between Russian religious texts and Greek originals. The Old Believers chose instead to adhere to traditional rituals. Some descendants of these dissident Christians fled to the United States to escape persecution. To shield their children from what they felt were corrupting influences of TV, tobacco, and drugs in the lower 48, a group of Old Believers purchased land at the head of Kachemak Bay in 1967, and founded through time the communities of Nikolaevsk, Kachemak-Selo, Voznesenka, and Razdolna. On a personal note, I enjoy going to the grocery store and being exposed to the bit of cultural diversity provided by the Russian immigrants in an otherwise demographically homogenous community. It has been strange to move from a place like Nome, where the Inupiat comprise a solid majority, and arrive in Homer, where an Alaskan Native is a rarity. Often, it seems as though something very important is missing. <br>

Russian Orthodox and Old Believers

Homer Spit - The Homer Spit is a piece of land that juts out five miles into Kachemak Bay. Numerous businesses, the Homer Harbor and the Coast Guard are located on The Spit and The Spit plays an important part in the local economy. It seems as if every single RV that makes it to Alaska will end up on the Homer Spit at some point. It is the farthest west one can go on the North American road system. The character of the spit changes in winter when the tourists have folded their tents, driven off their RVs and stolen away. That is when the eagles return in large numbers. The attraction for them is a woman who, for several years now, has been feeding them. But that is a whole other story.

Homer Spit

Iliamna Volcano - The first sunrays of the day cast a beautiful light on the eastern slopes of Mount Iliamna, one of several volcanoes visible from Homer on the west side of lower Cook Inlet. Located on the northern edge of the ‘Pacific Rim of Fire’, the volcano is not a symmetric cone but is made of summit peak at 10,013 feet and four other peaks forming a ridge that is over three miles long. Fumaroles located at about 8,990 feet elevation on the eastern flank produce nearly constant plumes of condensate and minor amounts of sulfurous gases. These plumes are quite vigorous and have resulted in numerous pilot reports of ‘eruptions ‘ at Iliamna Volcano.

Iliamna Volcano

Mount Augustine Volcano - Portions of Mount Augustine Volcano appear to float above Cook Inlet in this view from Homer, 70 miles away. The vocano, which last blew in 1986, rises 4,025 feet above sea level near the western shore of Cook Inlet. Comprised of young lava domes and steep, short flows, the heart of the volcano is draped with aprons of debris on all flanks, indicating repeated collapse of the growing central dome.

Mount Augustine Volcano

Anchorage - With over 270,000 residents, Anchorage is the largest city in the state of Alaska, composing more than two-fifths of the state's population. An urban metropolis surrounded by wilderness, Anchorage is situated on a triangular peninsula bordered on the east by the rugged, scenic Chugach Mountains, on the northwest by the Knik Arm, and on the southwest by the Turnagain Arm, both upper branches of the Cook Inlet, which itself is the northernmost reach of the Pacific Ocean. Despite this, the city lacks coastal beaches, instead having wide, treacherous mudflats. Anchorage is a major port, receiving over 95% of all freight entering Alaska. Anchorage International Airport is the air crossroads for transporting goods and services on many east-west routes between the United States, Pacific Rim countries, and the Russian market. Major industries include government and military, Petroleum, and tourism. There are two strategically important U.S. military bases bordering Anchorage on the north: Elmendorf Air Force Base and Fort Richardson.

Anchorage

 
Home Sweet Home - This log cabin in Nuuk has seen the faces of many storms. Located between Norton Sound and Safety Sound, it looks like the more recent storms have taken a toll on this seasonal fish camp. It is very likely that by the end of winter the cabin will be completly absorbed by this snowdrift.

Home Sweet Home

Gambell - Gambell, population around 650, is located on the northwest cape of St. Lawrence Island in the Bering Sea, some 200 miles southwest of Nome. It is about 36 miles from the Chukchi Peninsula in the Russian Far East. It is one of only two Siberian Yupik villages on the island, the other being Savoonga. The island is quite large, over 70 miles in length and approx. 25 miles wide. Since the International Date Line traverses equidistant from Gambell and the Siberian coastline, on a clear day you can actually see Tomorrow!

Gambell

Savoonga - The surf is building in front of the village of Savoonga on St. Lawrence Island, about 150 miles to the west of Nome. Savoonga has a population of about 650 people. St. Lawrence Island has been inhabited sporadically for the past 2,000 years by both Alaskan Yup'ik and Siberian Yup'ik people. The local economy consists largely of subsistence hunting for walrus, seals, fish, and bowhead whales; the city calls itself the 'Walrus Capital of the World'

Savoonga

East Beach - A little side channel near the mouth of the Nome River on Nome's East Beach is freezing up. The fishcamps of Fort Davis in the background are abandoned, the nets have been pulled a long time ago, and the fishracks are empty. A humpback salmon carcass here and there on the beach are the only reminder of the phenomenal salmon run the Nome River had earlier this summer.

East Beach

Nome-Teller Road - The Nome-Teller Road weaves at dawn through the rolling hills of the Seward Peninsula west of Nome. The road connects Nome the village of Teller, 72 miles to the northwest.

Nome-Teller Road

 
Sand Dunes in Alaska? - Glaciations and wind have created one of Alaska’s true oddities: Three clusters of dunes within Kobuk Valley National Park covering 25 square miles and constituting the largest active sand dunes within arctic latitudes. The Great Kobuk Sand Dunes stand 100 feet high in some places and are located 40 miles north of the Arctic Circle along the central portion of the Kobuk River, flanked by the Baird Mountains to the north and the Waring Mountains to the south.

Sand Dunes in Alaska?

Pilgrim Hot Springs - The former Our Lady of Lourdes Chapel still stands at Pilgrim Hot Springs, 50 miles north of Nome. A severe influence epidemic in the years 1916-1918 killed twelve hundred people living between St. Michael and Cape Price of Wales. The flu epidemic left many children homeless so the Catholic Church built a home for them here. The mission survived until 1942, by which time the children had grown up. Pilgrim Hot Springs is a favorite destination for Nome residents who want to bathe in the hot springs and want to experience something unique they can’t experience in the treeless tundra surrounding Nome – a walk among a forest of cottonwood trees.

Pilgrim Hot Springs

Teller Road - The Teller Road follows the western edge of the Kigluaik Mountains and crosses vast tundra plains before ending at the native community of Teller, 73 miles northwest of Nome. Driving the narrow gravel roads on the Seward Peninsula is tough on tires, and there are no gas stations along the way. Unleaded gas currently costs $3.99 a gallon, and I don’t think it will be long until we pass the $4.00 mark.

Teller Road

Council - The old mining town of Council on the banks of the Niukluk River consists of about 20-30 buildings. Council is a preferred summer retreat for Nome residents because of the excellent fishing along the Niukluk River, Ophir and Melsing Creeks. It is not inhabited year-round. Council also marks the nearest stand of trees to Nome and it is from this area that Nome residents get their Christmas trees. Council received notoriety after the discovery of gold near the Ophir Creek and the subsequent gold rush of 1897-99. At one time, the town may have had as many as 15,000 inhabitants. The population quickly vanished after larger discoveries near Nome around 1900.

Council

Council Road - The true beauty of Nome lies in its spectacular countryside. Access is fairly easy due to an extensive network of roads leading north, west and east. Here, the Council Road, a 72-mile dirt road connecting Nome and the old mining town of Council, winds along Fox River.

Council Road

 
Hurricane Katrina - Walking along Norton Sound near Nome in coastal fog, drizzle and under grey skies, and looking at some of the leftover of former storms, I thought about the incomprehensible tragedies unfolding on the Gulf Coast. The scale of the impact of Hurricane Katrina is simply beyond belief. I certainly feel for all the people in the states affected by this unspeakable tragedy.

Hurricane Katrina

Last Train to Nowhere - The remnants of the Council City and Solomon River Railroad known as the ‘Last Train to Nowhere’ remain in the tundra at Milepost 33 of the Nome – Council Road near Solomon. These two derelict steam engines and rolling stock were abandoned on the tundra in 1907 when construction was stopped on the railroad track here.

Last Train to Nowhere

Cold War Remnants - The now abandoned 'White Alice' line-of-sight communication towers north of Nome were once part of the DEW Line system during the Cold War. The communications station was situated on top of Anvil Mountain with a clear view in all directions. Gigantic square parabolic antennas characterized most “White Alice” sites. These antennas were 60 feet high, 60 feet wide, and painted a dead black. Sites such as this one in Nome supported the U.S. military throughout Alaska by providing them with reliable communications. Many of those sites were closed in the 1960s and 1970s, victims of the newer satellite communications technologies.

Cold War Remnants

Urban angling - I took this shot of this angler at the mouth of Ship Creek, just minutes away from downtown Anchorage. In the shadow of Alaska's largest city, fishing for salmon on Ship Creek is anything but a wilderness experience. However, the views of the Alaska Range across Cook Inlet are stunning, and the fishing isn't bad either.

Urban angling

Seldovia - This quaint little town is said to be home to about 300 friendly residents ‘and a few old crabs’. It is located near the southern tip of the Kenai Peninsula, about 250 miles south of Anchorage. No roads lead to Seldovia, the only access is by airplane or boat.

Seldovia

 
Kasitsna Bay - A few boats are moored in the protected waters of Kasitsna Bay along McDonald Spit near Seldovia at dawn. Being in this little bay is like entering a different time zone. The pace of life here is very leisurely, and I get mesmerized just watching the eternal cycle of ebb and flow dictate the movements on the water.

Kasitsna Bay

Ready for Take-Off - I found these floatplanes parked on the shore of Beluga Lake in Homer yesterday morning. Greta, Florian and I are on our way to Seldovia, where we will spend a week with her parents. It is nice to spend some time around Kachemak Bay again, and with the Jetstream dominating the weather in Southcentral Alaska right now, we are bound to have a stellar week here.

Ready for Take-Off

Halibut Cove - This tiny town seven miles southeast of Homer on the east shore of Katchemak Bay is one of the most idyllic towns in Alaska I have ever visited. There are no roads here, but 12 blocks of boardwalk that run along the waters edge and provide a scenic and relaxing way to experience this charming community. It always feels like stepping back in time when I stay here, no cars, and no motorized sounds, with the excpetion of the occasional boat that glides quietly over the water.

Halibut Cove

Ninilchik - Ninilchik’s Russian Orthodox Church on the Kenai Peninsula is a historical parish that is over 150 years old. The church sits on a little hill above the old village of Ninilchik. 10,198 foot high Redoubt Volcano looms 40 miles across Cook Inlet to the west. The church is still in use today. The Russian Orthodox faith took hold primarily in Southcentral and Southeast Alaska, where many signs of the Russian legacy in Alaska prevail.

Ninilchik

Kukpowruk River - The Kukpowruk River winds through its delta near the Kasegaluk Lagoon on the Chukchi Sea Coast.This very remote, rocky and shallow river orginates in the western DeLong Mountains. It’s likely to be one of the least traveled rivers in the entire state. Because of its shallowness, the river must be floated in June or July, when the river volume is at its highest.

Kukpowruk River

 
Kigluaik Mountains - There is a misconception about Nome and the Seward Peninsula being flat and devoid of any topography. There is actually an incredible mountain world right in my backyard. The rugged and wild Kigluaik Mountains are located about 25 miles north of Nome, and in their midst one can find beautiful U-shaped valleys, peaceful mountains lakes, clear running rivers and plenty of solitude. The highest peak in the range and on the Seward Peninsula is 4,714-foot high Mount Osborn.

Kigluaik Mountains

Bush Planes - Small planes on floats, skis or wheels, such as these Supercubs lining the Nome City Airstrip, are used throughout Alaska, and are the only practical way to reach many remote areas of the state. The areas lacking road access are referred to as the 'Bush'. The term also refers to the small planes and the pilots who serve these areas. There are about six times as many pilots and 14 times as many airplanes per capita in Alaska as in the rest of the United States.

Bush Planes

York Mountains - The southern half of the Seward Peninsula is covered by rolling hills and small mountains. Although these mountains are seemingly all part of a single system, there is no name that collectively refers to them all. There are four names applied to different areas of these mountains--Kigluaik Mountains, Bendeleben Mountains, Darby Mountains, and York Mountains. Of these, the Kigluaik Mountains (highest peak Mount Osborne 4,714 ft) are the highest and most rugged. Pictured here are the stark, barren hills of the York Mountains, near the western tip of the Seward Peninsula. Some of these mountains, ridges and valleys likely have never been visited by a human being.

York Mountains

Wales - Kids play a baseball game on the main street in Wales. The village of Wales, located just south of the Arctic Circle, is one of the oldest communities in the Bering Strait region, and is accessible only by airplane. Wales was also one of the largest villages in the region in pre-historical and post-contact times with population estimates between 500 - 600 people. The village population was decimated by epidemics of disease over the years. The Spanish Influenza epidemic of 1918 reduced the population by approximately one-half. The present population of Wales is about 160. The distance to Washington DC is about 4,330 miles, while the Russian mainland is only 55 miles away.

Wales

Westernmost point in North America - The midnight sun illuminates the sky above the Chukchi Sea at 2 AM near Cape Prince of Wales. The cape is located at the tip of the Seward Peninsula and is the westernmost point on the North American continent. Cape Dezhnev, Siberia, is only 55 miles across the Bering Strait to the west.<br>

Westernmost point in North America

 
History preserved - The midnight sun illuminates Old St. Joseph Church, a beautiful centerpiece of Anvil City Square in Nome. The church was built in 1901. It's 96-foot steeple had a cross which was covered in electric lights to serve as a beacon for guiding mushers or miners into town across the frozen tundra or over the vast sea. After a new church was built in 1945, Old St. Joseph was mostly used for storage by gold companies. The Alaska Gold Company donated the church to the city of Nome after the Alaska Association of Historic Preservation listed St. Joseph Catholic Church on its ten most endangered list. The church was renovated in 1996, and a replica of the original steeple was brought to Nome on a barge. It is primarily used for community events today.

History preserved

Denali's West Buttress - The clouds are lifting over Denali's West Buttress. In the language of the Koyukon peoples, Denali means ‘The High One’. Much like other cultures in this world, the Koyukon and other Alaska native tribes had a distant reverence for high places. Further, it was against their belief system to name physical features in the landscape after people, a tradition I believe should be honored. The state of Alaska recognizes ‘Denali’ as the official name for the 20,320 foot high peak, but at the federal level the name ‘Mount McKinley’ still persists.

Denali's West Buttress

Solomon - The midnight sun barely disappeared on the northwestern horizon in this view of Safety Sound. Barely discernible in the background are some of the houses of the village of Solomon. Just a handful of elders live here year around.

Solomon

Nulato Hills - Patches of snow linger in this mountain range that marks the divide between the coast of Northwestern Alaska and the Interior. It is located between Norton Sound to the West the Yukon River to the East.

Nulato Hills

Galena - The village of Galena, population around 560, is located on the banks of the Yukon River. The airport in the background was formerly a forward base used by the US Air Force.

Galena

 
Wal*Mike's - Everyone knows Wal*Mart but do you know Wal*Mike's? Drive up the Parks Highway to Trapper Creek, and you will find a bonanza of stuff in this uniquely Alaskan 'shopping mall'. Who knows, maybe a Wal*Mike's will pop up in your backyard soon.<br>

Wal*Mike's

Warning signs - Lenticular clouds engulf the summit of Mount McKinley (Denali) and reveal the intensity of a storm brewing around the mountain last night. I captured this view of the eastern flanks of the mountain from around 18,000 feet in a pressurized airplane.<br>

Warning signs

Silent giant - 20,320-foot Denali (Mount McKinley), the highest peak in North America, looms above an aspen and birch forest in this view from Trapper Creek.

Silent giant