risk management… Evacuation Insurance 26 Aug 20247 Dec 2024 Hello Luc: Thought you might have an answer to a quick question about who pays for a helicopter evacuation. This is a common point of concern and confusion for backcountry…
ice skating… The Glide: Rapidly Thinning Ice at Skilak Lake 20 Dec 2023 December, 2021. Sarah and I rented the Lower Russian Lake USFS cabin on the Kenai Peninsula Christmas day. We planned to ski to the cabin, knowing that there was a…
instruction… The Avalanche Factor—the Modern Era of Avalanche Education 28 Nov 202328 Nov 2023 This is meant to be a book review of The Avalanche Factor by Joe Stock (2023). But the real value of Joe's book is that it captures changes in avalanche…
ice skating… Lake Clark Skate Date 4 Apr 20235 Apr 2023 Lake Clark, and Lake Clark National Park, is a precious pocket of Alaska bound by the Chigmit, Neacola, and Alaska Ranges. The tallest mountains rise 10,000 feet from rugged beaches,…
ice skating… Trusting Tustumena 20 Mar 202324 Mar 2023 Tustumena is the largest lake in the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge (and one of the ten largest in Alaska), three hours south of Anchorage. The Dena'ina name is reported as…
instruction… Remote Weather History via visualcrossing.com 13 Feb 202321 Feb 2023 My preparation for outings benefits from knowing the recent weather history of remote locations. Remote forecasts are easy, but what actually happened? This time of year, I'm most interested in…
ice skating… Navigating Pressure Ridges at Skilak Lake 5 Feb 2023 We caught a brief window of skating on Skilak Lake last week. The prominent hazards turned out to be pressure ridges—zones of cracked ice under compression. This post contains: The…
blog… So that’s what varsity trip planning looks like! 19 Oct 202219 Oct 2022 I want to share a highlight from last year’s Start and End at Home trip planning course. Christian Appel sent a report after a paddling trip he planned during the…
blog… Risk Assessment for Rivers and Avalanches 15 Jan 202116 Jan 2021 Disclaimer: This discussion is based on my personal experience, collaborators' feedback on The Packraft Handbook, and publications (see references at bottom). This discussion benefited from the feedback of Trip Kinney,…
