Because of the snow depth and continuous below freezing temperatures, small snowshoes have very little value in Alaska if you go 'off trail.' The powder is too 'soft' to support your weight, and is often more than three feet deep in the mountains. This requires the large 'Alaskan' snowshoes. When you increase the area covered, you increase your support. The same thing is true of your knowledge of ...  Read More

When I was in the airborne infantry'glacier training' was mandatory. Imagine spending a 'training' day with the worst possible equipment and instructors who did their best, but were universally inexperienced on ice. We came as unskilled climbers and left the same way. Just a little farther up the road was the Army's Black Rapids Northern Warfare Training Center. THEY had excellent gear and highly ...  Read More

From the standpoint of personal fitness, my hunting partner, Dan Marshall, has always been far more disciplined than I am. He and his wife Jackie have climbed Mount Marathon hundreds of times and competed many times in the race. But beyond fitness, Dan is an excellent hunter because of his tenacity- his willingness to push forward in extreme conditions with a positive attitude. My old football coa...  Read More

It's been many years since Alaska's interior rivers had strong King Salmon runs, but I remember those times. In fact, it was common for me to be the only one fishing on one of those interior rivers- in the middle of the run- in the middle of the week. Because I prefer the flavor of Sockeye I typically kept just two Kings a year. But then- two 35 to 45 pound fish is still a LOT of fish! To this day...  Read More

The wind at my house yesterday roared like a freight train for almost eight hours. Trees are down all over, including a large one on my neighbor's roof, but we seem to be unscathed. Sometimes life hits us hard and then keeps hitting us hard. Each difficulty shouts in our ears, layer upon layer, until the time comes when the sweet sounds of joy are absent from our spirit- we only hear the crescendo...  Read More

Our power has been out all morning. This not only means no electricity, but it means no heat. I used my cellphone flashlight to guide me into the garage, where I pulled out two small camp lanterns and my Jetboil. I built a roaring fire in my fireplace and used a French press to make really good coffee. We still have over an hour of darkness and the wind is howling outside, but we have all that we ...  Read More

How big is Alaska? Well, let me put it this way: I've hunted caribou 1,200 miles south of Anchorage and 800 miles north of Anchorage- all in Alaska. That's BIG. In fact, Alaska has more coastline than the lower 48 states COMBINED! That's BIG! If you cut Alaska in half, Texas would become the 3rd largest state. And yet, our population is one of the lowest in all of America. How can that be? More th...  Read More

There is something special about climbing in the dark and making it to the top of a mountain for sunrise. Somehow the experience of darkness makes the light not only more welcome, but more 'alive'- more invigorating. It's as though God gives us a daily reminder that we were once living in darkness, but now can see. Isaiah 9:2 says, "On those living in the land of deep darkness, a light has dawned....  Read More

To truly see nature- to truly experience the wild places- you need to get out of your comfort zone. Roads and trails are great for getting places quickly. They are great for getting a general view of the country. But you miss a great deal more than you actually see. In some respects always staying on familiar ground is like walking in a deep rut. Walking in a rut is safe. It's familiar. You don't ...  Read More

For years I spent several mornings (or more) a week climbing with my partners Roger Denny and Tom Devine. If I ranked the blessings that this was to my life, I would say 1) Friendship, 2) Fitness, and, 3) Accountability. Men generally have a harder time 'going deep' when it comes to friendship. That's just how we are wired. Our conversations aren't best over the phone or even over a cup of coffee....  Read More

My climbing partner, Ed (and his wife Christine) maintain an excellent level of fitness in spite of Alaska's extreme challenges. How? They ski, hike, climb, run and bike all winter. While the right clothing and equipment is essential, those things are secondary. The most critical element is MOTIVATION. So many of the things that are good for us carry with them a degree of suffering- of hard work a...  Read More

Living high on a mountain has advantages and disadvantages. We have a beautiful view and can walk from our house into millions of acres of public land. But in a region with 6 months of winter, we get a full extra month of snow- pushing winter even longer. At my house it snowed 7 days in May, we got 4 inches on the last day of August and 4 inches again the last day of September. Those snows all mel...  Read More