A waterfall glows in the light of a colorful sunset. Near Chitistone Pass, looking toward Skolai Pass, Wrangell - St. Elias National Park and Preserve, Alaska. Please click on the image above to view a larger version of the photo.

Hey Folks

Roane Waterfall in the Skolai Pass/Chitistone Pass area, Wrangell – St. Elias National Park; an awesome foreground subject for a sunset photo (it also makes a great foreground at sunrise).

We just had 2 fantastic trips to the Skolai – Wolverine area, and got some great photos, etc. Highlight for me was seeing my first wolf in Wrangell – St. Elias National Park; something I’ve been hoping for now for years. Seeing it in a place such as this only made the experience that much greater for me. We watched him for 5 minutes or more.

A great summer so far; here’s to good weather for the rest of it.

Cheers

Carl

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

Wrangell - St. Elias National Park and Preserve is home to the Wrangell Mountains. Mt Jarvis, 13 421' high, stands east of Mt Wrangell, and catches the first light of the day. Early morning (pre-dawn) alpenglow reflection in a high alpine tarn, Wrangell - St. Elias National Park and Preserve, Alaska. Please click on the image to view a larger version of the photo.

Hey Folks

Image of the Month for October, 2010. Mt. Jarvis, in the Wrangell Mountains, and reflection in the early pre-dawn glow. This kind of light is sooooo subtle; it’s really a reflection of the light on the clouds to the east, still quite a while before the first real alpenglow lights up the east.

By that time, of course, a slight breeze had stirred up the lake’s surface and the reflection was gone. Once the alpenglow faded, the breeze ebbed, and the surface stilled. Nice, but the moment was gone.

Sometimes when I photograph a scene like this I’ll zoom in to have no foreground elements other than the reflection, such as just above the moss and grass above. Usually, however, I prefer to anchor the scene with something, and I like the way the foreground here kind of complements the lines of the reflection. It is also balanced by the negative space in the lower right hand corner.

A split density filter (or several) is a must have for this kind of shot (unless you choose to do multiple exposures and blend them afterward. And, of course, a tripod. Always bring a tripod.

Cheers

Carl

A view from the Skookum Volcano Trail, a nice hike in Wrangell - St. Elias National Park and Preserve, near the old mining town of Nabesna. Please click on the thumbnail to view a larger version of the photo.

Hey Folks,

Here’s a quick shot from a recent hike up around Nabesna. I walked the Skookum Volcano trail – some great views out over this part of Wrangell – St. Elias National Park. Fall colors are right around the corner, and up high like this, the blueberry is already turning red.

The mountains up around this pass are amazing – really some great shapes and patterns in those rocks. I need to get back up there asap and shoot it some more.

The northern side of the park receives far fewer visitors than the south side, on the McCarthy Road, though I think the dayhiking and the photography is probably better on the north side. If the weather is clear, some of the best views in the park can be found off the Nabesna Road. Fall colors, too, can be intense, almost overwhelming, in late August/early September. And, I generally see more wildlife in this section of the park than I do along the McCarthy Road, though wildlife viewing is almost always hit and miss anywhere.

Next summer I’m going to be doing a little more backpacking in the area, and will offer some newer trips in this region, particularly a few shorter, easier hikes. As well, some of those walks don’t involve bush flights in and out of the backcountry, so they’ll be quite a bit cheaper as well. Stay tuned to the website for more information on those in October.

Those are the Mentasta Mountains in the background.

Cheers

Carl

A waterfall in a small stream near the Upper Marsh Fork River, Brooks Range mountains, Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR), Alaska. Please click the thumbnail to view a larger version of the photo.

Hey folks,

Here’s another image from our recent trip to the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. this trip was simply awesome. A great group of folks, from Florida, Colorado and Washington, who all carried the most ingredient for a great trip – great attitude. Everyone really clicked, and we had a ton of fun; lots of laughs and good times.

This photo was taken on our 1st night out; we camped on a big alluvial fan that comes out of the mountains, on the west side of the Marsh Fork River. After dinner we hiked up the stream and climbed a small ridgeline for some amazing views back south, to the heart of the mountain range and the contintental divide. The light was really happening, and I was pretty happy with a few of the images I made.

Afterward, the light began to fade and we hiked back toward camp. The sun began to poke through again, for one great show, and I saw this little miniature waterfall that I knew would make a great foreground. The light show only lasted a couple of minutes before high clouds to the north dulled the glow. By the time I’d rearranged this for a horizontal composition, the light was noticeably dimmer on the distant peak. Minutes later, the glow was gone.

This image was taken around 2:00am. Photography in the arctic summer is a challenge, shifting ones mental and body clock to the wee hours of the “night“, to capture the nicest light. Oftentimes I’ll shoot til later and go to bed around 4:00am, or later. They don’t call this the land of the midnight sun for nothing.

Here’s a photo below of Steve, from Colorado, shooting the following morning, around 4:00am. We’d gone to bed, got some rest, and then the sun came around the corner of the range to the north, and lit up the valley. I was up immediately, woke Steve, and we shot for a couple of hours before going back to bed. It’s an absolutely incredible experience to watch the mountains here, in the quiet hours of the “dawn“, and feel the arctic air start to warm. Magical doesn’t describe the experience.

Steve shooting the Marsh Fork River, Brooks Range, ANWR.

What a blast we had! To view some of Steve’s fantasic work from this trip, visit his gallery here. He made some amazing images.

It’s really nice to have another serious photographer along on a trip like this, even the trip is not promoted as a ‘photography tour’ at all. Steve inspired and motivated me to work harder and longer, and to look more closely than I otherwise might. I learnt a lot from watching him shoot.

Cheers

Carl

Shower Camp Camera Cover from Alaskan Alpine Treks on Vimeo.

Hey Folks

I thought this video might be both entertaining and useful to visitors to the website. Here, Andy Seeger shows off his fashion-sense and creative ingenuity with ‘Shower Cap Hat’ – a cheap workable solution to protecting your camera gear from bad weather on backpacking trips. Backpacking is ALL about compromise; weight, bulk and space, durability, multi-use, etc … these are things to consider when packing for your trip.

Rather than carry an expensive and heavier camera rain cover, a cheap plastic shower cap fits perfectly. it’s lightweight, packable, durable, light and easily available. What’s more, as Andy says, you can even get water with it.

This video was taken on our fall Skolai Pass Photo Tour. We hiked out to this high ridge from Chitistone Pass, overlooking the Russell Glacier, and spent the day here before a walk back to a pre-determined spot where we photographed the mountains at sunset from. Then a big hot meal of pasta and lots of chocolate for dessert wrapped a fantastic day.

Have a look at the webpage for the Skolai Pass Photo Tour – Skolai is an amazing place, and never fails to impress. I always look forward to a return visit to Skolai, and this year just as much as ever. I’ll probably even bring a shower cap – maybe not lime green though. Something a little earthier, perhaps?

Cheers

Carl

Mountain Avens and Dwarf Fireweed, Hole in the Wall, Skolai Pass, Wrangell St. Elias National Park and Preserve, Alaska. Click the image to view a larger version.

Hey Folks,

It’s always nice when a magazine editor wants your photo for their story, and you get published. But it’s WAY nicer when you get published in a magazine you enjoy, read and value. This image posted here is in the current edition of backpacker magazine, page 65 – full page vertical, which is nice. The image accompanies an article on backpacking “the Goat Trail”, in Wrangell – St. Elias National Park and Preserve. This was the first route I ever hiked in Wrangell – St. Elias, and definitely a favorite of mine, so having my image chosen to accompany the story represents much more than just another published photo and a check to me.

It’s also cool for me because a few of my friends are published in the same edition of the magazine. It’d be remiss of me not to mention Bret Edge, Jon Cornforth and Ron Niebrugge, all of whom are photographers I admire. This month’s edition (March, 2010) is features some great backpacking trips in Alaska and the Rockies, so there’s a wealth of great photos out there that could work for these articles; thanks to backpacker magazine for considering and selecting mine, and great choices on the others, as well.

A little on the image; I took this photo on a trip to Skolai Pass in 2004. We’d camped in the area for a few days, had some unbelievable weather, and I really wanted to get up in to this area, called Hole in the Wall, for some nice evening light. I’d led the group was guiding up to the area earlier in the day, had a great hike, got back to camp in the early evening, had a big dinner, and then asked if anyone wanted to head back up for some photography. Everyone else was kinda happy to stay at camp, but they were adamant that I should go shoot my photos as well; I can’t tell you how cool it is to guide people who are so accommodating on a backcountry trip.

So I grabbed my camera (a nikon N90s, film camera), and headed up to Hole in the Wall. The light got better and better the further I walked. I had a pretty good idea of exactly which composition I wanted, and had my little 24mm prime lens already mounted on the camera body (I SOOOOO miss that lens, sold it a few years ago).

I used a Singh Ray graduated neutral density filter to help balance the light differential between the warm direct light on the peaks and the shaded foreground. Stopping to F22 gave me the depth of field I want to render everything sharp, foreground to background.

This area is one of my favorite places anywhere, and I go back to Skolai Pass every year. I’ve hiked the Goat Trail an inordinate number of times, and it never ceases to amaze me; it’s a grand landscape that no matter how many times I visit, I can never really “see” it all. I grew to love the place so much I named my photography business and website after it. You can see why I say this sale means a lot to me; not just as a sale, and not just because it’s such a cool publication as backpacker, but also because this photo means so much to me. I hope you enjoy it.

Thanks.

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