Recent posts

15Jan 202621 Jan 2026

100-mile Ice Skate in Katmai National Park

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nXqoUVId6lk Alaska experienced a sustained cold spell throughout December, which froze many lakes without snow cover. I tracked satellite imagery…

7Aug 20258 Aug 2025

Western Brooks Range to Point Lay, Alaska

Another passenger on the flight to Kotzebue stopped at my row and introduced himself as Colin Arisman. Colin is an…

13Jan 202517 Jan 2025

Bad Date Ideas in Boston

I met Amy on the subway from Boston’s Logan Airport. I struck up a conversation with her son (6 years…

A battle between great tapes … who will be the last one standing?

1 Mar 202322 Mar 2023

A battle of epic proportions! During my first long cross-country ski of the winter, I ended up using both of the MVP tapes in my repair kit. I was skiing…

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…

Navigating Pressure Ridges at Skilak Lake

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…

One Boot for All: Backcountry Ski Boots For … Everything

2 Feb 202310 Nov 2023

I wear backcountry ski boots in places where folks don't expect to see them—cross-country ski trails, ice skating, and ice climbing. "What's the deal with those big boots?" The deal…

Cosmic support: Pavement, Lofoten, 1999.

23 Jan 202326 Jan 2023

A participant in the Start & End at Home course drew a very creative multisport route (hike, packraft, paraglide, climb) through Lofoten, Norway. The route passes through the region where…

Dead rabbit saves the day!

The wild ice skating season is filled with ephemeral goals—evenings spent monitoring weather forecasts and satellite imagery hoping to catch days on good ice. Days like this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qlR_Z0iPafc Grewingk Lake…

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…

Good Walking and Clear Water in the Baird Mountains

24 Jul 202225 Jul 2022

https://youtu.be/b5kQZs5gWoY In August of 2015, Sarah and I traveled to the villages of Noatak and Kivalina, northwestern Alaska, as part of the Skiku / NanaNordic volunteer program. These programs provide…

2022 Alaska Mountain Wilderness Classic Report and Results

21 Jul 202224 Jul 2022

This report from the 2022 course is provided by Matt Kupilik. For information regarding the Alaska Mountain Wilderness Classic, email Matt at akwildernessclassic@gmail.com. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fzPUd_o0TwE Video by Nick Treinen The 41st…