Mount Blackburn in alpenglow, across the Root Glacier and Donoho Basin, winter time, Wrangell - St. Elias National Park, Alaska. Please click on the image above to view a larger version of this photo.

Hey Folks,

Image of the Month for June, 2011. Mount Blackburn, in all the glory of a clear winter morning.

This is another of those photos I really wanted to shoot for along time. As grand a scene as Mount Blackburn is in the summertime, from Kennicott or McCarthy, it doesn’t get that really great alpenglow like this, because the sun rises and sets so far to the north during those months.

For years I thought about making the effort to shoot Mount Blackburn in the winter in rich warm light. Finally making the photo was a nice treat.

Cheers

Carl

Brown bear sow, or female grizzly bear stands tall, raised up on her hind feet. Coastal brown bears can stand nearly 10' tall. (Ursus arctos). Katmai National Park and Preserve, Alaska. To view a larger version of this photo, please click on the photo above.

Hey Folks,

From last year’s Grizzly Bear Fall Photo Tour. It took a lot of trying, but I finally managed to snag a few images of this grand bear standing upright, looking toward me.

A photo like this is one I’ve really wanted for a long, long time, so I was pretty glad when I finally managed to get something like this.

Can’t wait to get back there this year and see how she’s doing. The bears are just a great way to end the season.

Cheers

Carl

A snowy campsite on the high alpine tundra of Wrangell - St. Elias National Park. Termination dust covers the ground, or fresh fall snow, and Mt Jarvis (13 421') of the Wrangell Mountains stands dominating behind. Backcountry campsite, Wrangell - St. Elias National Park and Preserve, Alaska. On a backpacking trip in September. Please click on the image above to view a larger version of this photo.

Hey folks

A lot of people heading to Alaska inquire about the “best” sleeping bag to bring; i.e., what temperature rating to bring. My recommendation has always been for a warmer bag than many people typically expect. My advice for a summer bag in Alaska is 20deg F, (about -6deg C) and no warmer.

That is, 20deg Fahrenheit minimum! don’t bring a 32deg F bag (0deg C).

Surely it’s not going to be below freezing in July, I hear folks respond?

Well, hopefully not. But it certainly can be, especially if we hike up in the high country at all (which we typically do, because that’s where the views are, and where the brush isn’t). And the altitude needn’t be that high; 5000 feet is alpine country in Alaska.

But the reasons for a warm bag go beyond merely snow and cold. Some folks will say they’d rather bring a warmer bag, like a 32deg F bag, as it’s lighter weight, and they can always wear extra clothes to bed if need be. They’ll be bringing warm clothes along anyway, right? Sometimes, this is true. But there can easily be times when it is not true. How about your fleece jacket is wet? Or you lose it (yes, I’ve seen that happen)?  (more…)

Mount Sanford and the Copper River Basin, winter, dawn alpenglow, boreal forest and tundra, Wrangell Mountains, Wrangell - St. Elias National Park and Preserve, Alaska. Please click on the image above to view a larger version of this photo.

Hey Folks,

From a trip to Wrangell St. Elias National Park and Preserve last month, here’s a photo of Mount Sanford and the Copper River Basin.

The wind was fairly whippin this morning, and it was way colder than I like for it to be, but the light was nice. What a  mountain, eh?

Cheers

Carl

Snowshoeing and backcountry skiing in the Mentasta Mountains, winter, Wrangell - St. Elias National Park and Preserve, Alaska. Please click on the image above to view a larger version of this photo.

Hey Folks,

Another photo from a winter trip; this one to the Mentasta Mountains in Wrangell – St. Elias National Park and Preserve. My favorite mode of travel; snowshoe up, and ski back down. It’s worth bringing the extra gear!

Heinous wind – Yikes!

Cheers

Carl

Winter in Alaska. The Viking Lodge Cabin, a public use cabin in Wrangell - St. Elias National Park and Preserve, makes a fantastic getaway for a winter trip. Please click on the image above to view a larger version of this photo.

Hey Folks

Here’s a shot of one of my favorite places in Wrangell – St. Elias National Park and Preserve; Viking Lodge Cabin. The cabin is not far off the Nabesna Road, which is nice; accessible. Unlike most public use cabins in the park, this cabin requires reservations, though that also means when you arrive, you know ahead of time you don’t have to share the cabin with anyone else who might show up. There is no fee to use the cabin, which is nice. It’s quite a treat, being able to head out in the winter and have a cozy, comfortable cabin to relax in.

An old barrel stove sits in the middle of the cabin, and warms the cabin pretty quickly, even in the depths of winter. It makes the world of difference after a day out in the mountains, skiing or snowshoeing, to come back to a warm cabin, rather than a cold tent. Perhaps in the morning it makes even more difference, waking up and having a nice warm pair of boots sitting by the cabin, rather than crusty frozen boots outside the door.  (more…)

Wrangell - St. Elias National Park and Preserve, Wrangell Mountains, Crystalline Hills and the Kuskulana River, from the Kuskulana River Bridge, McCarthy Road, Winter, Alaska. To view larger version of this photo, please click on the image above.

Hey Folks,

From a short trip to Wrangell – St. Elias National Park over the holidays.

Small piece of trivia – Minus 40deg F is the same temperature as minus 40 deg C.

Cold days indeed.

Stay warm folks,

Cheers

Carl

Wrangell - St. Elias National Park and Preserve, Wrangell Mountains and the Kuskulana River, Mount Blackburn, near Nugget Creek mine. Winter, Alaska. Please click on the image above to view a larger version of this photo.

hey Folks,

Welcome to mount Blackburn, winter, Wrangell – St. Elias National Park and Preserve, Alaska.

Cheers

Carl

Hey Folks,

Here’s hoping you’re somewhere special, with people you love and care about, and enjoying the moment. And if ya can’t be with the one you love, well, love the one ya with. And love ‘em with everything you got. It’s a good time.

All my best to all you, and thanks so much for a great, great year. Here’s to many, many more of them.

Cheers

Carl

Hiking on the tundra beneath the towering Mt Blackburn, Wrangell - St. Elias National Park and Preserve, Alaska.

A female brown bear (grizzly bear, Ursus arctos) chases Sockeye Salmon up Brooks River. Katmai National Park and Preserve, Alaska. Please click on the image above to view a larger version of this photo.

Hey Folks,

Wow, another month has passed by already! So here’s the Image of the Month for November, 2010. No surprises for what kind of photo would be posted this month; after 2 weeks of virtually nonstop grizzly bear photography at the end of September, I could do a whole year of Images of the Month with nothing but bear photos.

So, speaking of bear photos, I might just add that I’ve updated the 2 bear galleries on the website, as I undertake a major overhaul of all the photo galleries here. Tedious work, but they’re such a schemozzle I know I need to do it. (and, I really wanted to use the word “schemozzle” in a blog post). So, take a look at the new galleries .. virtually all new images posted, with larger photos, too. Here’s the Bears #1 gallery, and here is the Bears #2 gallery. I hope you enjoy some of the images. Oh, and I also added the dates for the 2011 bear photo tour.

So, back to this image; just a nice low angle on a sow racing through the water, splashing her way after some luckless Sockeye salmon. I’m glad I’m not a 5lb fish meeting a 800lb bear!

Hope you like it folks.

Cheers

Carl