Summer in Alaska is for family visitors.  Some years no one shows up… Other years they show up in mass – a week here, a week there.  Sometimes 2 weeks. Sometimes 3 weeks… sometimes more.  Not that I’m complaining… when family visits it’s a chance to show them how you live.  And how you live might mean a long rafting trip in torrential rain, a lazy day floating the Kenai without any sign of fish or a brutal slog through dense brush in the middle of Chugach State Park. And even if that summer visitor isn’t ready for what you’re about to give them (like endless fishing in torrential rains) – it really doesn’t matter.  We’ve got all of 3 months to pack in a summer (even if that summer is 35 degrees and raining) and the summer visitor is along for the ride whether they like it or not!

So when my brother Charlie and his wife, Liz, showed up we automatically piled them back into the truck and forced them to drive 5 hours north towards the eastern Alaskan Range where we spent 5 days fishing and floating the Gulkana River.  [Read More... ]

Drove South to Homer (5 hours) for some halibut fishing this weekend. We went with our friend Becky who has a house and boat down there. Left friday night and by 11ish saturday morning we were uploading the skiff into Kachemak Bay.

Weather was kind of iffy at the put in -- foggy, a slight breeze and seas around 2 feet. By the we motored out of the harbor and into the bay we were questioning our decision. Of course once you've started you can turn around without at least a peek -- so on we continued. And as we motored west the weather improved and soon it was partly sunny with steady seas around 1-2 feet. We were in a 21' skiff; open in the back with a plastic cover in front -- and we were relatively comfortable. Anyway's - we motored for about an hour and about 20 miles out. Our first stop was about 1/2 mile off shore; we dropped in anchor in 50' of water and within a few minutes we were pulling up Irish Lords -- a blood red fish that grows to about a foot long and is covered with spines. Apparently the spines have a mild poison in them so we were very careful as we removed them and tossed them back. After about 45 minutes of fishing all we had caught were 7 Irish Lords and no halibut so we pulled anchor and headed further out.  [Read More... ]

Birch turning - Upper River Fall 2008

Lingering snow - Upper River Spring 2010

Images from two floats down the Chulitna River - Fall 2008 and Spring 2010.  [Read More... ]

We floated the Chulitna River over the long weekend… hot and sunny and with glorious views of the Alaska Range towering above the river. The mercury climbed to 80 degrees and we drifted down river in shorts and t-shirts. On Sunday night we camped on a gravel bar with the summits of Denali and Mooses Tooth jutting above the clouds. The view from my sleeping bag serene when I unzipped the tent and looked out to see the faint morning light at 3:30am turning the peaks a deep pink. When you're on a gravel bar in the sun the mountains look so peaceful and pleasant…

And then back to Anchorage and the working life. I check my email to see a string from random people I don't know. And then I check the news; 2 dead in an avalanche in the Ruth Gorge: Andrew Herzenberg, age 39, and Avner Magen, age 42 - both from Toronto, Ontario. I read the NPS report… they were killed while descending Freezy Nuts on Saturday, May 30th. A little later I read the string of emails and make the connection… I had been corresponding with Avner Magen for a few weeks and now friends and family were asking if I had any news.  [Read More... ]

Summer is here! Well... officially it's still spring but right now it's as hot as it gets around here so we're calling it summer anyways. Things are a little hectic right now as we try and figure out whether we like winter or summer more... monday we run, tuesday we ski, wednesday we bike, thursday we hike... and this weekend we float.

Koven - who turns 6 months old this week - has been restricted to short dog walks and serious play time -- but yesterday was amazing so after work I decided to introduce him to the Chugach. We took it easy and hiked up McHugh stopping often to throw snowballs and enjoy the view. Shorts and a t-shirt all we wore all evening. It doesn't get much better than this.

More pix after the jump.  [Read More... ]

On Saturday Todd and I went in and skied Graddaddys.  We weren't able to ski the North couloir (which we were hoping for) due to a huge crown and icey slopes... but it was a beautiful day! 

Todd had skied Pastoral a couple weeks ago with Yvonne.  His video is after the jump.  [Read More... ]

Full writeup coming soon.... meanwhile here's a preview:

Aconcagua's Polish Glacier... Part 1 of 4.  [Read More... ]

Aconcagua's Polish Glacier... Part 2 of 4.  [Read More... ]

Aconcagua's Polish Glacier... Part 3 of 4.  [Read More... ]