Mt. Sanford, Wrangell - St. Elias National Park and Preserve, Alaska. Please click on the image to view a larger version of this photo.

Hey Folks,

Wow, what a great response to this; I so appreciate everyone taking the time to enter, and especially those who shared the offer around the web. Thanks so much.

So, to cut to the chase, I’ll announce the folks who were drawn here:

1) Adam Wolf/Christina Smith

2) Patsy Lascha/Charles Fry

It was so cool to hear from people with such a clear passion for the great outdoors and particularly for Alaska. This is definitely a special place, and it’s great to see so many people who are attuned to that.

And that’s it. I’ll try to persuade them to maybe send me a photo so I can post it here and you’ll all get to see who these people are. And we’ll definitely have some photos and videos with a full trip report posted in March.

Thanks so much, and I really wish you all a great year for 2012.

Cheers

Carl

PS: Edit, 4pm – Folks, I’ve had a few people email me and ask about an opportunity to book a trip like this as a regular trip. If anyone is interested, please let me know. If we can get a group together, 3 minimum, we can run a trip for about $1000.00 p.p.

Backcountry skiing on the Root Glacier, with Stairway icefall in the background. Springtime brings melt, opening a small pool of water on the glacier's surface. Cross country skiing, Wrangell - St. Elias National Park and Preserve, Alaska. Click on the image to view a larger version of the photo.

Hey Folks

Here’s our Image of the Month for March 2010. Backcountry skiing on the Root Glacier one gorgeous spring day. This little blue pool of crystal clear water was simply too nice to pass up for a photo op.

Carrying a tripod allows me to set up for photos when I’m out and about by myself. I set up the shot, and visualize where I’d like to stand to make the composition. Sometimes standing a bit further away allows the photo to be more of a scenic shot, without the person being too dominant in the frame.

This is where a digital camera really helps, being able to review the shot in the LCD, as I’m not able to guess exactly where to stand. For example, I didn’t want my head here to merge with the horizontal line at the end of the glacier – base of the mountain in the distance, so it took a couple of tries to get it right.

Normally I wouldn’t leave quite as much room for the sky, but I wanted to give the image a bit more of an expansive feeling here, with more space. I also wanted to leave plenty of room for text, if the photo were ever to be chosen for a cover shot for a magazine or story. (more…)

Backcountry cross country (XC) skiing in the Mentasta Mountains, Wrangell - St. Elias National Park and Preserve, Alaska. Click the image to see a larger version.

Hey Folks,

Happy New Year to you all! I hope the coming year brings you all the good times you’re looking for.

I know for me the Year got off to a phenomenal start. 12:30am on January 1st had me skiing through the boreal forest for nearly 90 minutes under a gorgeous full moon, just me, the snow, my skies, the big full moon, the mountains and the cold. The temperatures were down around minus 5 (Fanhrenheit) so it wasn’t too bad at all – just perfect for a nice long ski through the Mentasta Mountains in Wrangell – St. Elias National Park and Preserve. It’s pretty hard to think of a better way to start the new year – it was possibly one of my favorite experiences yet, absolutely amazing. I got back to the cabin feeling a sense of what it really means to be fully ‘alive’ – Awesome stuff!

This photo is of me on another ski (I didn’t take the camera on New Years Eve) up around the Mentasta Mountains, right at dusk. The wind was fairly whipping by, and the minus 10 temps felt like minus 50 and then some. Ouch!

Best to all,

Cheers

Carl