Tag Archives: mccarthy

Winter in McCarthy

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2 Winters in McCarthy from an Aussie Photographer

Spending winter in McCarthy is a study in both extreme beauty and quiet endurance. Life in Wrangell St. Elias National Park during the coldest months revolves around the simple mechanics of survival, like hauling wood for the shack or coaxing a frozen snowmachine to life.

While most people only see this landscape in the green of summer, the true character of the backcountry emerges when the crowds vanish and the mercury drops toward minus fifty. The mountains seem to pull closer in the crisp air, and the vast silence is only broken by the occasional crunch of skis on fresh powder.

The following collection of images and stories comes from my time poking around the frozen Kennecott River and the Lakina drainage.

Whether it is chasing the magenta alpenglow on Mt. Porphyry or hunting for abstract patterns in the snow covered glacial moraines, winter photography here is a constant battle against the elements. Everything from sticking tripod legs to fogged viewfinders makes each frame a hard earned reward. It is a slow, cold way of living, but catching that soft noon light on an unnamed peak makes every subzero mile worth the effort.

Livin in the a Little Shack Down by the River

A cabin in the woods in winter, Wrangell-St. Elias National Park, Alaska.

My humble abode. This is after I shovelled all the snow off the roof. There’s about another 6-9 inches of snow on the roof already!

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Snowshoeing Wrangell-St. Elias National Park, winter

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Winter snowshoeing in Wrangell St. Elias national Park, Alaska.

Another winter in McCarthy, Wrangell-St. Elias National Park

“Oh, break up is early”, they said. “Spring’s here!” they cried. “Summer’s on the way”, they projected. Well, it was about 15 degrees Fahrenheit this morning, and that didn’t factor in the wind chill. Winds in the vicinity of, oh, I dunno, say around 200mph, blowing straight out from under the polar ice cap, I’m led to believe. And here’s me trying to snowshoe across one of the great lakes to take some pictures!

Well, fool me once, for about 5 minutes, but I’m not THAT stupid. Uh uh, no sir, not me. This little vegemite turned tail, and scampered back to the veritable safety (i.e., warm, heated and still running) of my van, turned that baby around and beared to’ard the ole cabin. Full steam ahead. (NB: given the road conditions, and the wildly lunging, out of control nature of said van in such conditions, ‘full steam’ consisted of about 15mph – or, 185mph slower than the aforementioned wind).

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The North Face – and the last supper

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The north face of Mt. Bona, in the University Range, Wrangell-St. Elias National Park, Alaska. Black and white photo of Mt. Bona..

Hey Folks,

And so, with little to no ado, I bid adieu, for the time being. I’m hitting the road in the morning, and I’m not sure when I’ll have internet access again – hopefully it’ll be no more than a few days between swigs.

I’m heading out in the morning to Wrangell-St. Elias National Park, to live in a cabin named “Shacky”. I’ll be there a couple of weeks or so at a time, then make a run to Anchorage for some groceries and a little warming up, then back to Shacky. If all goes as planned. If all does not go as planned, I’ll spend a few nights there, say something like ‘this is C-R-A-Z-E-E-E!!!’ and boogie on back to the relative comfort of Anchor-ville.

I’ve too little pride to tolerate discomfort long.

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The McCarthy Road, Wrangell-St. Elias National Park

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Sign warning of danger, dangerous weather and road conditions on the McCarthy Road, in winter, Wrangell-St. Elias, Alaska.

Hey Folks

Well, I’ve not got a lot to tell you, unfortunately. For various reasons, none to exciting, I’m in Anchorage until after the holiday. Around the first of the year I’ll be heading to McCarthy. Not for a trip, but for the winter. Update (actually it was 2 awesome winters).

That’s right, I’ll be staying just outside a town that has about 5 people in it during the winter. I’m not sure how often I’ll get internet access, but hopefully I can work that out and stay in touch. For those of you who don’t know much about McCarthy, the photo posted here gives you a little idea.

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Alpenglow on Stairway Icefall, Wrangell St. Elias National Park, Alaska

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Alpenglow on Stairway Icefall, Wrangell St. Elias National Park, Alaska.

Hey Folks

Well, this one will be the last of my current winter in McCarthy series.

This is another photo of the Wrangell Mountains in Wrangell-St. Elias National Park. Donoho Peak, and the moraine at the toe of Kennicott Glacier and Root Glacier. You can clearly see from the snow that this is wintertime. No disputing that!

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Kennicott Glacier, Wrangell St. Elias National Park, Alaska

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Kennicott Glacier, Wrangell St. Elias National Park, Alaska.

Hey Folks,

Here’s another photo from my recent trip to the Wrangells. This is a photo of a couple of chunks of ice. I spent quite a bit of time right around this little area, watching the light – it’s amazing how much it changes in a very short time in the winter here.

I found some great pieces of ice and chunks and walls and all kinds of cool stuff. If it had been summer, I wouldn’t have been able to cross the river and lake to get to this part of the glacier.

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