Monday, August 15, 2005
Kayaking Alaska - Gadling - www.gadling.com _
Kayaking Alaska - Gadling - www.gadling.com _: "One of my favorite experiences of all time was heading out of Valdez Alaska with two buddies and paddling for six days in the vast wonder of Prince William Sound in Alaska. The solitude of the place is dreamlike, the scale unimaginable unless you’ve been."
Ashland Daily Tidings :: Online Newspaper Edition - Your Community News Source Since 1876.
Ashland Daily Tidings :: Online Newspaper Edition - Your Community News Source Since 1876.: "Wegner, a 5-foot-7 utility player whose parents were NCAA Division I student-athletes at Montana State-Bozeman, earned Alaska’s Gatorade Player of the Year kudos as a senior after helping Valdez High win its fourth consecutive state championship. The team leader for kills and digs was a member of the National Honor Society and was active in student government throughout high school.
“Brooke is a terrific all-around player but she’ll probably play a back-row position here (at SOU),” Elliott said. “She has the type of ball-control skills that you rarely see in an incoming freshman.”"
“Brooke is a terrific all-around player but she’ll probably play a back-row position here (at SOU),” Elliott said. “She has the type of ball-control skills that you rarely see in an incoming freshman.”"
Tuesday, August 09, 2005
Alaskan People Tell of Climate Change
Alaskan People Tell of Climate Change: "Margie Attla, an elder from the village of Galena, says 'The last couple of years has been really crazy. It is kind of scary when the wind comes up at the wrong time and we have rain in the winter, the change is really there and I am not very comfortable with it.'"
Monday, August 08, 2005
The Universal Packing List
The Universal Packing List: "The Universal Packing List
Generate a custom packing list for any journey!"
Thinking about visiting Alaska (or making any trip)? Check out the Universal Packing List... pretty cool.
Generate a custom packing list for any journey!"
Thinking about visiting Alaska (or making any trip)? Check out the Universal Packing List... pretty cool.
Sunday, August 07, 2005
PhilosophicaLawyer: How I Travel- The Alaska Series Volume 1
PhilosophicaLawyer: How I Travel- The Alaska Series Volume 1: "Travel to Alaska was somehow like traveling to another country- the differences between Alaska and the 'lower 48' are so enormous and so compelling that I felt as though I was no longer in America but in a vast frontier of endless possibilities."
Donald's Blog
Donald's Blog: "The Alaskan heli glossary
• Bergschrund - a deep crevasse where mountain meets glacier. Often filled with snow and partially hidden, so skiers are advised to point over them without turning.
• Bluebird skies - the necessary clear conditions for flying helicopters in the treeless Chugach Mountains. Flat light prevents pilots from being able to land safely.
• Bombproof - snow conditions when nothing fresh has fallen in several days. In other words, it wouldn't avalanche even if you set off a bomb, which Alaskan outfits don't do because of the high cost of insurance for throwing explosives out of helicopters.
• Down days - when helicopters can't fly and skiers can't ski. Brace yourself for at least a few.
• Drink it blue - partying hard at night after several days of foul weather so that Murphy's Law will kick in, the skies will clear the next morning and you'll have to ski hung over.
• Heli-camp - Points North in Cordova offers a collegial, dorm-style experience in a remodeled cannery, complete with dining-hall-style meals and sea-kayaking and ice-climbing field trips on down days.
• LZ - landing zone for helicopters. They need to be almost perfectly flat, although they can be incredibly small, picnic-table-sized perches atop knife-edged peaks. They're marked for visibility by branches the guides carry, and you might be asked to help maintain them with shovels.
• No-fall zone - a steep pitch where falling might mean tumbling the length of the mountain to the glacier below.
• PZ - pickup zone. Same as an LZ, only lower down on the glaciers, where sometimes hungry mosquitoes and brown bears emerging from hibernation can be a problem.
• Safe zones - expect to ski one skier at time and sometimes the whole length of a slope without stopping (to minimize slide risks). Areas below rock outcroppings and on high points above gullies are considered safe zones.
• Ski cutting - testing a slope's stability by slowly traversing out across the top and sometimes carefully stomping up and down to see if it will slide.
• Slough - loose snow that's kicked up with each turn on steep, powdery slopes. It's not quite a slide, but enough of it (6 inches or more) can knock you off your skis and carry you down the slope.
• Slough management - pulling out of the fall line after a few turns to let your slough pass you by.
posted by Slim Pickens @ 5:06 PM
1 Comments:
At 10:30 AM, Slim Pickens said...
What a fool you are!
Post a Comment
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Name:Slim Pickens
Location:San Luis Obispo, CA
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"
• Bergschrund - a deep crevasse where mountain meets glacier. Often filled with snow and partially hidden, so skiers are advised to point over them without turning.
• Bluebird skies - the necessary clear conditions for flying helicopters in the treeless Chugach Mountains. Flat light prevents pilots from being able to land safely.
• Bombproof - snow conditions when nothing fresh has fallen in several days. In other words, it wouldn't avalanche even if you set off a bomb, which Alaskan outfits don't do because of the high cost of insurance for throwing explosives out of helicopters.
• Down days - when helicopters can't fly and skiers can't ski. Brace yourself for at least a few.
• Drink it blue - partying hard at night after several days of foul weather so that Murphy's Law will kick in, the skies will clear the next morning and you'll have to ski hung over.
• Heli-camp - Points North in Cordova offers a collegial, dorm-style experience in a remodeled cannery, complete with dining-hall-style meals and sea-kayaking and ice-climbing field trips on down days.
• LZ - landing zone for helicopters. They need to be almost perfectly flat, although they can be incredibly small, picnic-table-sized perches atop knife-edged peaks. They're marked for visibility by branches the guides carry, and you might be asked to help maintain them with shovels.
• No-fall zone - a steep pitch where falling might mean tumbling the length of the mountain to the glacier below.
• PZ - pickup zone. Same as an LZ, only lower down on the glaciers, where sometimes hungry mosquitoes and brown bears emerging from hibernation can be a problem.
• Safe zones - expect to ski one skier at time and sometimes the whole length of a slope without stopping (to minimize slide risks). Areas below rock outcroppings and on high points above gullies are considered safe zones.
• Ski cutting - testing a slope's stability by slowly traversing out across the top and sometimes carefully stomping up and down to see if it will slide.
• Slough - loose snow that's kicked up with each turn on steep, powdery slopes. It's not quite a slide, but enough of it (6 inches or more) can knock you off your skis and carry you down the slope.
• Slough management - pulling out of the fall line after a few turns to let your slough pass you by.
posted by Slim Pickens @ 5:06 PM
1 Comments:
At 10:30 AM, Slim Pickens said...
What a fool you are!
Post a Comment
<< Home
About Me
Name:Slim Pickens
Location:San Luis Obispo, CA
View my complete profile
Previous Posts
Powered by Blogger
"
The Crooked and the Straight: It's pronounced "val-DEEZ"
The Crooked and the Straight: It's pronounced "val-DEEZ": "I got back today from a ten-day trip to Alaska. My cousin Allison and I flew up to Fairbanks to visit our cousin Mike. I can't begin to tell about the wonderful time we all had all at once. I did keep a rudimentary journal, and we took many, many photographs.
A few things I learned while away:
1. Alaska is big. Really, really big. If you think you know how big it is, you're wrong. It's not only really, really big, it's also almost entirely devoid of people and buildings. For example: Mike lives outside of Fairbanks on the 900 block of Richardson Highway. We stayed at an inn outside of Valdez on the 1600 block of Richardson Highway. The distance from Mike's place to the inn is roughly 320 miles.
2. You know how people from Michigan make a mitten shape with their right hand, point to it and say 'I'm from here'? People from Alaska have a similar trick: Make a pistol shape with your right hand and turn it so your thumb is pointing down and the back of your hand is facing you. That's Alaska.
3. It never gets dark in the summer. Never. But it's much easier to get used to than you'd think. Drinking a lot helps.
4. They're not 'snowmobiles'. They're 'snow machines'. Saying it wrong might get you shot.
5. I flew 2800 miles, drove 750 miles, kayaked 16 miles and hiked 3 miles, and you know what? Not one igloo.
6. There are 3,000 rivers and 3,000,000 lakes in Alaska. At least two of the rivers are named 'Clear Creek' and at least one lake is named 'Dick Lake'.
7. The winds out on the Fox islands can reach upwards of 120 miles per hour. One of the islands has a wind vane comprised of a car chained to a metal pole. Yes, a car.
8. By law, every business in the North Pole, AK city limits must incorporate some kind of holiday-themed decoration on their building and/or signage. For example, the McDonalds sign is candycane-striped.
9. Moose are also very, very big. The bulls can weigh 1600 pounds or more. To put that in perspective, hitting a bull moose with your car is like getting into a head-on collision with a Geo Metro packed full of meat.
10. Glaciers are totally kick-ass awesome."
A few things I learned while away:
1. Alaska is big. Really, really big. If you think you know how big it is, you're wrong. It's not only really, really big, it's also almost entirely devoid of people and buildings. For example: Mike lives outside of Fairbanks on the 900 block of Richardson Highway. We stayed at an inn outside of Valdez on the 1600 block of Richardson Highway. The distance from Mike's place to the inn is roughly 320 miles.
2. You know how people from Michigan make a mitten shape with their right hand, point to it and say 'I'm from here'? People from Alaska have a similar trick: Make a pistol shape with your right hand and turn it so your thumb is pointing down and the back of your hand is facing you. That's Alaska.
3. It never gets dark in the summer. Never. But it's much easier to get used to than you'd think. Drinking a lot helps.
4. They're not 'snowmobiles'. They're 'snow machines'. Saying it wrong might get you shot.
5. I flew 2800 miles, drove 750 miles, kayaked 16 miles and hiked 3 miles, and you know what? Not one igloo.
6. There are 3,000 rivers and 3,000,000 lakes in Alaska. At least two of the rivers are named 'Clear Creek' and at least one lake is named 'Dick Lake'.
7. The winds out on the Fox islands can reach upwards of 120 miles per hour. One of the islands has a wind vane comprised of a car chained to a metal pole. Yes, a car.
8. By law, every business in the North Pole, AK city limits must incorporate some kind of holiday-themed decoration on their building and/or signage. For example, the McDonalds sign is candycane-striped.
9. Moose are also very, very big. The bulls can weigh 1600 pounds or more. To put that in perspective, hitting a bull moose with your car is like getting into a head-on collision with a Geo Metro packed full of meat.
10. Glaciers are totally kick-ass awesome."
what about the plastic animals?: Valdez Food
what about the plastic animals?: Valdez Food
Vacation posts about Valdez. I love to hear how other people ... encounter Valdez. It's so ... freakin out there. This person has posts on Valdez Food, Buildings, Piles of Snow, and the Pet Memorial Garden. It's great... go check it out!
Vacation posts about Valdez. I love to hear how other people ... encounter Valdez. It's so ... freakin out there. This person has posts on Valdez Food, Buildings, Piles of Snow, and the Pet Memorial Garden. It's great... go check it out!
Monday, August 01, 2005
Flickr: jamie in alaska's photos tagged with nobles
Flickr: jamie in alaska's photos tagged with nobles
Nobles diner in Mountain View looks to be a nice spot with great art. I like the bathroom shot. I think a photo essay on restaurant bathrooms would be good see. Some are really cool and some are not.
Nobles diner in Mountain View looks to be a nice spot with great art. I like the bathroom shot. I think a photo essay on restaurant bathrooms would be good see. Some are really cool and some are not.
Now that's a whopper! on Flickr - Photo Sharing!
Now that's a whopper! on Flickr - Photo Sharing!: "Jonathon is 6, that King salmon is about the same age. They're about the same height and just a little bit different in the weight department (the salmon weighs 45 pounds). Taken in Kenai, Alaska."
A great photo from AKDave on Flickr.
A great photo from AKDave on Flickr.
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