A sweet pink dawn rivaling those clear sunsets of last week, and day two of frost. Above is a view over the Alyeska Resort toward Raven and Eagle glaciers. If you are wondering what it all looks like from the air, today would be a great day for a flightseeing trip. Visit Alpine Air Alaska’s website. They are located right here in Girdwood. Alpine also has a facebook page where you can see the latest awesome photos of recent flights. The most experienced helicopter pilots around will take you on a smooth trip to see the fresh snow cover, icy creeks and the big blue sky.
Today would be an exceptional day as there is virtually no wind. A perfect day for flightseeing or back country skiing, no wind crowns! And since there has been no wind, the snow is holding fast to the trees making for that beautiful winter wonderland experience. Should be a great drive out for pass holders tomorrow and opening day at the resort on Thursday!
Here is a view of Penguin at 9:30 with Raggedtop visible through the trees to the right. Its day two of frost and the forecast if for several more days, at least through Saturday of the same.
Last night on our drive back from Anchorage, my husband and I stopped to look at the stars. The moon is just about half so it was not too bright. The milky way was visible overhead. The pleiades (containing the little dipper) were plainly visible and the large star to the left is Jupiter. Hyades are also visible. While the aurora forecast is low, go out and look at the stars! For those of us who miss Jack Horkheimer’s Star Gazer forecast, here is good news. Sky & Telescope Magazine’s Associate Editor Tony Flanders has filled the space void left by Jack’s passing. Mr. Flanders can be seen on PBS weekly with the SkyWeek observations. You can see this week’s SkyWeek on their website here. Yea!
Max’s is clear as a bell here, sun glowing from behind. I don’t know about you, but I feel like winter is going to pass quick this year. At 9:30 this morning it was 9° with a surprising 91% relative humidity, 70% at the top of the mountain.
While you are getting your gear prepped, keep this in mind if you find your skis are worn out or did not serve you well last year with all the powder days. Will Spears, one of the ski tuners at Alyeska Resort, has started his own business, Chugach Snow Tools. He is building custom skis for the Chugach mountain conditions. They are made with all U.S. materials and local wood. Stephen Shortridge has started Chugach Flyer Snowboards, also made with all U.S. products. You can see an article about them in the Turnagain Times here.
No comments:
Post a Comment