Hiking on the Russell Glacier, Wrangell - St. Elias National Park and Preserve, Alaska. To view a larger version of this image, please click on the photo above.

Hey Folks,

Here’s a quick snapshot from the recent trip we did to Skolai Pass; Justin hiking on the Russell Glacier on a gorgeous afternoon in Wrangell – St. Elias National Park. This was actually the first time I’ve ventured out on to this particular glacier; good times indeed.

An hour or so later, we saw a wolf heading up the valley. That’s a great day!

Cheers

Carl

Nimble Bob hiking on the Nizina Glacier, Wrangell St. Elias National Park, Alaska. Please click the thumbnail to view a larger version of this photo.

Hey Folks,

I just had the good fortune to spend a week with a fellow whose company I enjoy very much, Bob S, from California. Bob’s been out on 4 trips with me now, 2 photo tours to Skolai Pass, 2 weeks in Katmai photographing grizzly bears and now a trip to Wolverine and the Nizina Glacier in Wrangell – St. Elias National Park. Thanks Bob for your fantastic company!

The first trip Bob made with me was on what became a somewhat infamous Skolai Pass Photo Tour, where we basically hunkered down under a tarp for the bulk of the week avoiding the sleet and wind and rain that hammered Alaska most of that summer. Yikes!

So I was more than amazed when Bob contacted me about a redo the following year. A hardy soul indeed, so we ventured back to Skolai Pass, where we had a grand time, some great light, and a memorable morning photographing a friendly grizzly bear in the mountains. Good times. The following year Bob comes back again, for 2 weeks in Katmai photographing the great coastal brown bears. We had a fantastic time, and some great photography opportunities.

This year we did a mixed trip, some time down “low” in the valley floor, hiking and photographing the Nizina Glacier and surrounding area, and then made our way up to Wolverine, a high alpine ridge above the Chitistone Valley, where we walked and talked and took pictures in the mountains. Good stuff.

Next year Bob aims to go to Africa for a photo tour, so anyone with any recommendations for a great trip to shoot wildlife in Africa, please get in contact.

Cheers

Carl

Hubbard Gacier calving chunks of ice into Russell Fjord, Wrangell - St. Elias National Park and Preserve, Alaska. Please click on the thumbnail to view a larger version of this photo.

Hey Folks,

Here’s a photo from a trip to southeast Alaska I took, of the Hubbard Glacier calving into Russell Fjord at Gilbert Point, Wrangell – St. Elias National Park and Preserve, near Yakutat. To watch a 250′ high wall of ice crash into the ocean is simply awesome. And I mean awesome like ‘inspires awe’ … absolutely jaw-dropping stuff.

The Hubbard Glacier is one of the few advancing glaciers in Alaska right now, as most are retreating under the glare of warming climate; the cycles of glaciers that calve into the sea are also dependent upon dynamics of the sea floor, as well as other complicated elements. The glaciers are often at various stages of a retreat-advance cycle, and the Hubbard is currently advancing. A decade or so ago it actually advanced across the very narrow neck of Russell Fjord, known as Gilbert Point, and blocked off the Fjord – drastically affecting the ecosystem there. The pressure built up in the Fjord eventually pushed back, and the glacier washed out.

It’s an incredible place to sit and watch the absolutely breath-taking power of ice. These sheets of ice crack off the wall and hurtle into the ocean below; it’s pretty intense to witness. As a photographer, you also need to be on your toes, and not get lost in the viewfinder shooting photos. Within seconds of this calving ice, waves careened across the ocean surface toward the boat, and I had to make a rapid retreat. Intense stuff.

I look forward getting back to this area, near Icy Bay, this summer, and shooting this amazing landscape some more. It’s an incredible experience.

Cheers

Carl

Hey Folks,
This short video was taken on the Skolai Pass Phototour, fall 2009. We had a great trip, some great weather, some great people, and loads of fun. This particular afternoon we put in some miles hiking out along the Russell Glacier toward Mt Bona and Mt Churchill, to awesome peaks 16 000 and 15 000 feet high, respectively. The Russell Glacier runs right up to the north face of Mount Bona, and inspiring sight.
We had a fantastic hike, enjoyed lunch on the high flat plateau, and then walked back toward camp at Chitistone Pass for the afternoon, and to shoot the evening light on the mountains. And, I must say, we had a simply unbelievable evening, with gorgeous alpenglow on the mountain peaks. It was a lot of fun being in the right place at the right time for some photography. That doesn’t happen everyday, but when it does, it makes al those hours and miles worthwhile.

This trip is always a lot of fun, and everytime we do it the trip is different. In 2009 we ran the trip in July and then again in early September. Both groups were tons of fun, with good people, good food and good times. we had excellent photo opportunities on both of trips, yet both were very different. We concentrated more on landscapes on the latter trip, and were blessed with amazing light and weather much of the time. The first trip in July we ended up shooting a bit more wildlife, which was a blast. We saw a golden eagle swoop by camp nearly every day, and I’m still kicking myself for not managing to make a photo of that incredible experience.

The fall trip we covered some miles; we did a lot of hiking, with some very strong group participants, which was fantastic. Up early every morning, we shot the sunrise, had breakfast, then dayhiked most of the time, until heading back to a predetermined destination for the sunset. It was really a productive trip, and I must thank the folks on the trip for their willingness, if not eagerness, to really jump in and work hard. Especially thanks to Doug Roane for the loan of his camera. My camera simply stopped working the 1st morning of the trip, and Doug was kind enough to loan me his backup body. Thanks Doug.

Just as an indication of how productive the trip was, we were sitting on the ground, cameras out and firing away within 20 minutes of landing. The plane dropped us off at Skolai Pass, we unloaded, the plane departed, we ran through a quick safety talk, shouldered the backpacks and hiked maybe 300 yards before finding a small Least Weasel running through the brush. The packs were dropped, cameras grabbed, and we had a blast shooting the little guy. I had my first photos of a weasel from Wrangell St. Elias National Park and Preserve, and we weren’t even half an hour into the backcountry. Awesome stuff!

The music on this video is “Avalanche”, a song written by Shawn Colvin. This snippet is from a recording I made a few years ago with a good friend of mine, Steve Lusk. He’s singing, and we’re both playing guitar. Steve sings this song so great.

Cheers

Carl