Alaskagold.com Alaskan Forum :: View topic - St. Augustine Volcano erupts!

Alaskagold.com Alaskan Forum :: View topic - St. Augustine Volcano erupts!: "St. Augustine Volcano erupts!"

adn.com | alaska : Avalanche claims backcountry skier

adn.com | alaska : Avalanche claims backcountry skier: "Avalanche claims backcountry skier

GIRDWOOD: Joel Schihl died, a friend was not injured descending Raggedtop.

By MEGAN HOLLAND
Anchorage Daily News

Published: January 4, 2006


An avalanche near Girdwood killed one experienced backcountry skier while his partner escaped uninjured Tuesday afternoon, Alaska State Troopers said.

Joel Schihl, 30, died when a sheet of snow 100 feet across collapsed under his skis, tumbling him 1,600 feet down Raggedtop Mountain and burying him in 5 feet of snow. Friend Bradley Cosgrove, 28, was able to avoid getting trapped and was not injured, troopers said."

I'm saddened to hear this news. I worked with Joel in McCarthy in the Summer of '98. And I saw him on occasion when we both lived in Anchorage. It's a tragic story.


from his hometown paper:

Joel Schihl grew up in the Charlestown Lakes section of Virginia Beach and graduated from Tallwood High School.

He attended the University of Alaska Anchorage where he met his wife, Jeannie. They got married this summer, and were expecting their first child.

Joel Schihl cooked in a restaurant owned by his wife’s family in Anchorage, but his father said he spent as much time as possible outdoors.

“He would go skiing in the morning, then go work in the restaurant,’’ Schihl said. “He died doing what he loved.’’

Here is a picture of the avalanche.
From the Chugach National Forest Avalanche Information Center

Alaskan Edge - Surfing in Yakutat

Alaskan Edge: "Alaskan Edge
by
Jake Howard

1778 was a busy year for Captain James Cook. Early on in the year the English explorer became the first European to discover the paradise that is Hawaii, and his shipmates were the first to write about the thriving surf culture that already existed there. What’s lesser known, however, is that from there Cook and crew sailed north, where they spent the better part of a year mapping the coast of Alaska. Two very different places in most regards (although some native Alaskan tribes believe their ancestors migrated from Hawaii) but there’s one thing the two very unique states have in common: the spirit of aloha. Back in 1993 Alaska was featured on the cover of SURFER magazine. In Dave Parmenter’s acclaimed piece, The Land Duke Forgot we learned that while Duke may have passed this place up on his whirlwind tours, his spirit most assuredly has taken residence. Granted, the stereotypical surf image is a bit skewed up in the northern reaches, but the stoke is the same."

Also check out the Yakutat surf shop - for all your Alaskan Surfing needs.