US Nation Nordic Skiing Championship

The US National Nordic Championship hosted in Anchorage at Kincaid Park finished up today after a long week of waiting. Temperatures were just slightly too cold to race most of the week and many of the events were canceled. Monday warmed up just enough to allowed the Freestyle Race to proceed. The women skied a 5K loop and the men skied a 10K loop. Anchorage's very own Kikkan Randall placed 2nd racing for the US ski team and Alaska Pacific University. Laura Valaas placed 4th, Kate Arduser place 6th, James Southam place 5th and Brent Knight placed 6th, all racing for Alaska Pacific University.

Today the racing jury decided to run the sprint classic race for the final race of the event. Temperatures were just warm en0ugh despite a consistent breeze, but racers only had to brave a short distance 1.2K for the women, and 1.4K for the Men. Kikkan Randall led the pack throughout the entire finals, and came in first. Shortly behind her Laura Valaas in second place. Congratualations APU!

Laura Valaas coming up a hill during the sprint race

Lars Flora tucking around a corner in the sprint race

A Pre-Season to Remember

Andy Dietrick and Weston Morrison skinning up a peak in Hatcher Pass, late October.

The Best Birthday Present Ever. A beautiful day of ski touring in the Girdwood Valley.

Brooke Edwards making telemark turns on Sunny Side in Turnagain Pass

Kris Dudley, enjoying the powder and the view from Notch Peak, Girdwood Valley.

Why can't we be in the sun? A view from the top of Max's Peak, Girdwood Valley

New Prospects and Projects

Some grad students outside one of the buildings on the Kellog Farm.
Both are in the Master's of Environment Educations at APU.

Somehow I have managed to squeeze in a few side projects on top of my mountain of responsibilities this fall. Hence why its been two months since I've updated my blog. In August I started working full time for APU, running their aquatics program for APU's Recreation Program. I had previously committed to teaching two beginning photography classes two nights a week for the semester and also decided to work part time ski patrol come the start of ski season. November was rough, as all three of these jobs collided into days on end of work. You want something done? Ask a busy person. In late October I was asked to shoot some photos for APU's website and some of their Master's program brocures. I so badly wanted to say no, but I couldn't refuse the opportunity. Photography is my dream job. In the end it payed off and sleep was the only thing I really lost.

Kikkan Randall leading the APU women's team during a practice at Hatcher Pass

Alaska is hosting the US Nordic Championships at Kincaid starting tomorrow Jan. 3rd. This event is a big deal for the Alaska nordic community. Many of APU's very own nordic ski team will be competing in this event and are expected to do very well. In preperation for the event their coach had asked if I could take some pictures of them practicing early season at Hatcher Pass. Here is one of the images that appeared of the front cover of Coast Magazine this month.

A view of the North dorms of the Atwood Center at APU in November

Grand Prize Photo for the 2nd annual Anchorage Press b & w photo contest

In June I shot a series of commercial pictures for my friend Josh, who owns a Landscaping business in Anchorage. This was taken from the top of the new J and L Tower of one of his employees watering the grounds. I immediately saw the interesting patterns that were created from the shadows of the vertical sculptures and I really like the contrast and the patterns on the sidewalk. I decided to change it to black and white and entered it in the Anchorage Press annual black and white photo contest. To my surprise I won the grand prize and it appeared on the cover of the Press in December.

Represents of the feeling of Night Skiing from Chair 1 at Alyeska.
Actually taken early in the morning prior to avalanche control work.

Throughout the month of December I had ten prints hanging up at the Java Haus at Alyeska. All were pictures of the Alyeska Ski Patrol hard at work last ski season. Thanks guys! I will miss these early morning control days.

Psyched for Another Season

West Face of Little League, if they had only dropped in right now, this picture would have been even sicker. They chose to wait until the light was gone. Skiers Unknown.

Headwall Ridge Hike, ski patroller Brian McGorry

Sponsored by Smith

Watherfall, Shadows Area, Andy Dietrick

Greatings Earthlings

Brooke always makes it look easy

I love it when people wear lots of color, boarder unknown

Winter of 07-08 was the best season of my 28 years on this earth. I'm looking forward to another one.

Painting with Light

This is series of self portraits from a friends house in Girdwood. I created these pictures at night with a star machine, a slow shutter speed, and my camera propped up on my backpack. I shot about 15 and these three were my favorite. A tripod would have made this a whole lot easier, but I didn't have one with me and No, I wasn't on drugs or drunk. I just couldn't sleep.

Textures of the Talkeetnas

All of these images have been manipulated in Adobe Lightroom. The first seven images I shot specifically to change to colors and contrast for an abstract series of landscapes. I got the idea originally last year while out on the same Talkeetna trip, when I shot a picture of a steep mountain side drainage that looked almost like paint being squeezed out of a tube. I decided I would try to create a series of these pictures this year. Here is the original image below.

The talkeetnas are full of a variety of facinating geology. We found a huge chunk of limestone in Caribou Cr. full of fossilized shells.

The tail of Meekins Super Cub Piper, just after he supplied us with our first re-ration of food

Spikes working their way out of the rails along the longest train trussel west of the Mississippi.

Textrue along the train trussel

Silhouette of a Caribou

Raina on lookout for the students across Prairie Cr.

Traversing the Talkeetna Range

Oshetna River

Nowhere Cr.

Descending into Mazuma Cr

Leaving Nowhere

Yum, Pizza night!

Heather and Raina infront of one of the few Glaciers still left in the Talkeetnas

Nowhere Camp

Our most challenging Pass, full of large boulders and snow

Glacial Erratics are everywhere

Descending into the Kosina

Kelly and Kyle

Amanda traverses over a beaver damn

24 days, 150 miles, 20,000 + ft of elevationi, 5 wolverines, wet boots, numb toes, and a pile of stinky gear. We made it again, a trek across the Talkeetna Range, one of the most stark and beautiful areas in all of the world. If there was a place on earth that resembed Mars it would be the Talkeetnas, deafeningly silent at times, except for the occasional roar a river or buzz of a bush plane, its emptiness is full of rich textures.

This was my third time crossing of these mountains in the last four years. I feel honored to have participated in one more successful Expedition Leadership class at Alaska Pacific University. A unique experience at a unique college, and one of the my favorite trips of all times. Our class consisted of 6 students, one teacher assistant, co-instructor Raina Panareese, and myself. Our packs weighed about 55lbs on average, and we had two food rations flown in at pre-arranged locations.

We started along the Glenn Hwy near Gunsight Mountain, traveled up Caribou Cr, to the Oshetna River drainage. We then moved then crossed the Black river, and pushed our way up the Kosina, and over the Tsisi. We bushedwacked our way accross all 8 miles of Praire Cr. up the bench above the Susitna River and bushwacked our way down the otherside to our destination, Gold Cr. where we flagged down the train at one of the only whistle stops left in the country.

Caribou Cr.

This is a unique upper level course that emphasizes leadership in the most basic of ways, traveling on foot, with only the most essential things, in an environment that only few have the opportunity see. Each student is required to teach three classes; a skills class, a natural history class, and a leadership class. They take turns leading each other, making decisions for the group and navigating the mountainous terrain, with two instructors , myself and Raina, whom are there to provide feedback. In some ways it is artificial, with the instructors there to interject any dangerous decisions, i.e. river crossings. But... in the end the students have developed their own judgement and we are able to let them travel unaccompanied for the final 6 days. We follow behind almost 24 hours in terrain that would be impossible to stumble upon them, and we must trust that they will be waiting for us at the train. And of course they are.