Tag Archives: snow

Caribou feeding in winter snow

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A caribou cow digging under snow for food, feeding on lichens and grasses, in winter, Wrangell-St. Elias National Park, Alaska.

Hey Folks,

Normally I wouldn’t post a photo of an animal with its head buried under the snow. But, for caribou, this is winter life. Caribou feed on lichens and grasses, and those lie buried, often deep beneath snow’s crust for the long winter months.

Caribou have a few options to eke out their winter, and a heavy snow pack in the winter can be a tough gig for them; finding food is a mission and avoiding predators, namely, the wolf, an equally difficult, if not critical, task. So they’ll typically seek high ground, Continue reading →

Cold Feet

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Hiker, barefoot, in winter, frozen lake, Mt. Sanford, Wrangell-St. Elias National Park, Alaska.

Hey Folks,

Life has a way, all too often, of providing us with little (or large) lessons on what we need to work on. Communication is something that all of us frequently do poorly, and here’s a good example of that, and how it can mess up your day. I’m usually pretty good about seeking advice from those who know better than me (my father will disagree, I’m sure). So when I first came to AK, I asked my good and trusted friend Ron Niebrugge for some advice. Continue reading →

Test

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Lynx trap set, compact disc hanging from branch, winter, Wrangell St. Elias National park, Alaska.

Hey Folks,

OK, here’s a test; What’s going on in this photo? This is a boreal spruce forest setting, winter, and there’s some flagging hanging from the branches, and a Compact Disc is hanging in between the flagging. In the middle of the woods, Wrangell-St. Elias National Park, Alaska. Anyone?

Here’s a closer look.

Lynx trap set, compact disc hanging from branch, winter, Wrangell St. Elias National park, Alaska.

Cheers

Carl

Sunset over Kennicott River

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Sunset over Kennicott River, Wrangell-St. Elias, winter, Alaska.

Hey Folks,

A sunset over the Kennicott River. This photo was taken probably  less than 100 yards from the shaq. The day had been cloudy and not too promising, and as I was returning from a ski down the river, the clouds started to break up. So I motored on home, grabbed my camera and headed back over to this spot for the photo.

This is right at the edge of the boreal forest and open riverbed, making a nice blend for the view.

The mountains to the south are the eastern end of the Chugach Mountains.

Winter is simply another world in the park – way too cool.

Cheers

Carl

Mt Porphyry, Wrangell-St. Elias, winter

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Mt. Porphyry at sunset, wintertime, Wrangell-St. Elias National Park, Alaska.

Hey Folks,

This photo was taken from the Kennicott River. The mountain is Mt. Porphyry, the backdrop for the small town of McCarthy in Wrangell-St. Elias National Park. This cold winter afternoon I skied up the river, waited for sunset, and shot images of the snow covered boulders in the riverbed, as the mountain wrapped itself in the evening alpenglow. The peak creeping into the frame on the right, behind Porphyry, is Sourdough Peak. Soon after this photo was taken, the light faded and I skied back to the shack, stoked up the fire and enjoyed a tasty pasta supper. A nice end to a simple day.

Cheers

Carl

Lance Mackey – Iditarod Champion

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Iditarod Champion, Lance Mackey, racing off at the start of Iditarod 2009

Hey Folks,

It’s that crazy time of the year again – Iditarod 2009. The ceremonial start of the race was held this morning, downtown Anchorage, and the weather was perfect – perfect for me, not so perfect for the dogs. The dogs like it colder than I do, strangely enough – but they’re probably working harder. This photo is Lance Mackey, winner of the last 2 Iditarod races, and a favorite for this year as well. Unfortunately I’ll be in the backcountry and not following the race too closely, but I’ll try to check in and see how the race shape up. It’d be way cool if Lance makes it 3 in a row.

Cheers

Carl

UPDATE: Lance passed in Sep 2022. RIP to the great man.

Yin Yang

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Black and white abstract winter photo, Wrangel - St. Elias National Park, Alaska.

Hey Folks,

Here’s another photo of some snow patterns on the mountain side. I liked the yin yang thing going on here. Converting to black and white gave me a little more flexibility with playing with the tone, etc, and accentuated the pattern.

Who said there are no polar bears in Wrangell-St. Elias National Park? 🙂

Cheers

Carl

Before Sunup

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A snow covered hillside in Wrangell-St. Elias national Park, Alaska.

Hey Folks,

One of the beauties about the Alaskan winter is it’s easy to catch that sweet dawn light – and earlier. This one was taken before the sun came around the mountain side. I had a great shoot in this spot, for several hours, and got a number of cool abstract images – once the sun slipped out from hiding beyond the distant mountain top everything changed, and a myriad new scenes appeared. A magical morning, for sure.

I really like the sweeping ridge lines here, and the cool blue light of the predawn sky – I shouldn’t really say predawn, because it was, like, about noon.

Cheers

Carl

Kennicott Glacier

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kennicott glacier in winterq

Hey Folks

Sorry it’s been a while. Not much to tell, I suppose. I have been shooting a bit, but the weather’s been lousy, so don’t have much. I’ll try to get some images downloaded to the computer so I can post something soon.

This one is from late last year. Looking across the Kennicott Glacier towards some unnamed mountains.

Still haven’t found me a wolverine, but I sure been looking.

Cheers

Carl