Kite skiing and kite boarding on Portage Lake’s frozen, slushy surface.

Alaska is known as a land of opportunity for outdoor sporting types, make-up-your-own-sport, and adventure seekers. I live along the Turnagain Arm in Southcentral Alaska. The Turnagain Arm (part of Cook Inlet) is known for having the second highest tide change in North America. The tide differential can be up to 36 feet, although averages of 32 feet are more common. (This June, 2013, one of the 36 foot tide changes is predicted.) This tide differential combined with the knowledge that the water is quite cold since it is supplied by numerous snow melt sources, may be part of the thrill for the kite-surfers. 

Many times over the summer, drivers on the Seward Highway witness the kite-surfers in the Turnagain and stop to marvel and take photos. The surfers are usually seen toward what can be considered an Alaskan sunset in the summer, the sun far north creating a warm glow and a rich backlight to the colorful kites. If you happen to be driving the Seward when you see the surfers out, please lower your speed limit and watch for crazy people parking all over the road side to get out and watch. One thing the Seward Highway is in need of is more safe turnouts (which actually the DOT should be working on this summer.) If you are a kite surfer and plan to get out on the water this summer, I would like to ask that you please park in one of the larger pull-outs. In the summer of 2012, I passed the sporty crew many times in one of the small single wide car turnouts. I am just concerned for everyone’s safety on the highway.

Anyway, I digress, what I really want to showcase is the adaptability of the kite surfers to kite skiing and kite boarding on Portage Lake while the lake is still frozen. Feel free to oogle these photos as long as you like, they are rather spectacular. I have been driving to Portage often this late winter and imagine my surprise as I approached the Begich Boggs visitor center and saw these kites floating in the air against a bright blue sky. The vision of these kites in the sky over stark white mountain tops was magnificent. Seeing the kites also indicated there was a manageable breeze over the lake, not the gales for which Portage is known. 

After parking is the clearest spot available near the visitor center, I scrambled for my ever present camera and crept quietly toward the walled overlook. Once I stopped walking, I could hear them, the skis and snowboards cutting and racing over the crispy frost covered surface of snow. You have to understand how stark the sound of skis scouring over days old frost can be so distinct, because Portage and Bear Valley are very, very quiet. At this time of day, at this time of year, before the tour busses, before the cruise ships, before the school groups, it is extremely quiet in Portage. If you sit still by the moraine there are sounds to be heard, ravens of course, squirrels scurrying, occasional magpies, and redpolls. There can be coyotes, but we have not heard them yet this year. In the summer the sound most commonly heard is the lapping and splashing of the lake water on the shore, thrown around by the gale force wind. 

Today, no one is talking, no motors are running, no winds are howling. Today there is just energy of movement. The movement of a waxed six foot long, lacquered, pressed wood board bearing a 200 pound mass that is lifted by just enough wind held in a brilliantly colored silken tapestry. The waxed boards slicing back and forth, yawing and pitching over the frozen liquid that no one has told, is frozen. 

On Mirror Pond, or, reflections on Turnagain Arm Alaska

Occasionally there are days when the wind does not blow through Turnagain Arm. Hard to believe because most folks who drive the Seward Highway are not on it everyday. So odds are, the few times they are out and about, the wind is blowing somewhere. As evidenced by these photos, I am offering proof that on this one day, the wind was not blowing gales through the passes. 

These images are from the pit of the Turnagain Arm between Girdwood and Portage Valleys. The view is across the Arm toward the Kenai Mountains around Hope, Alaska. This was a really frosty morning, so once the car engine warmed up, it was a cozy calm drive on the Highway. 

I encourage everyone with a little spare time to take a nice road trip this week or next weekend (the 27th & 28th) before the Highway becomes too crowded. Remember, the Portage Glacier Daylodge is open on the weekend from 10a to 5pm with fresh baked goods and sandwiches. After the Portage stop, cross over the highway to the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center, the animals will appreciate your visit. Leave Anchorage or the Valley by 9a, it does not even have to be super early, and enjoy the mountains, the water, the eagles and all the other feathered migrants passing through south central Alaska. 

Thanks for reading and viewing! 

The view on the Seward Highway, unique everyday

Everyday the drive on the Seward Highway is a different experience. This is a brief view traveling from Anchorage back to Girdwood, Alaska. 

A constant object of interest for me is the ice on the water in the Turnagain Arm. The sea ice can be thin or up to feet thick. It builds up in layers much like the sediment is layered down on the sea bed. Chunks of ice can be as big as a car. Even so, the ice still moves and breaks, and floats like cream puffs on the incoming and outgoing tide. When the tide goes out, the ice is left resting on the mud flats, heavy and solid. 

Vast swaths of mud and ice looks like a foreign planet. Some day I will brave stepping over the guardrail timing the tide just right in order to get down with the ice a photograph the bizarre landscape. 

Meanwhile, back in Girdwood, The deep end of Penguin ridge rises over the park.

Heavy spring blizzard lays it down on Girdwood

Well, how about a little spring blizzard to shake up the town! Wow! When we went to bed Sunday night it was quiet, cold and a little snow falling, enough but quiet. When we woke up Monday morning, BAM 10 inches of fresh powder! This is how the weather prediction goes for Girdwood. When there is snow predicted for an accumulation of 3-4 inches, that usually means 4-6 to 8 inches for Girdwood. When there is a blizzard warning with accumulations predicted of 4-6 inches, there is no limit for Girdwood. This early spring blizzard is a classic example of how difficult it is to predict weather when mountains collide with oceans and jet streams. 

At 9 am there was 10 inches of fresh snow at the T in Girdwood as seen in the photo of my foot on my driveway. Visibility in Glacier valley was low, I could see a quarter mile down the road but good visibility was only one eighth of a mile. Above is a photo of a car turning onto a road that is literally one house-lot away from my driveway. Usually I can see all the way to Crow Creek Road. This morning I cannot even see the bridge over Glacier Creek. Below is a photo taken from the front of the Daylodge toward Alyeska’s live christmas tree near the wooden sign. We are talking white out conditions. 

As for the skiers and riders, those who loved powder were in for a treat. By the time they made it back up to the top on the lift, the snow had already filled in tracks from the previous run, instant refills they call it! Cute. The fat skis were out en masse today!

Looking down Arlberg Avenue at 9 am, the Jade Shop is on the right past the green sign.  Below you can see the snow stacking up on snow.

The large solid wood sign marking your arrival to Alyeska Resort (this is the back) is my favorite part of the resort. It is heavy, strong, does not change and will not let you down.

Here is one of our few front end loaders clearing a back road. It is about 4 pm in this photo, still near white out conditions. Alyeska ski patrol had to close the upper bowl for fear of avalanche danger. I can’t wait to hear the counts of snow feet on the upper mountain! As for my house, by time I returned home after 4 pm, another 10 inches of snow had fallen. Thankfully, our driveway was cleared for a second time. Below is the afternoon view down the Alyeska Highway, very close to the same location of the first photo in this post, just from the other side of the road. Glacier Valley and probably all of the Turnagain Arm was experiencing this white out view.

The snowfall was relentless, heavier at times than others but never letting up until nightfall. The flakes were small too, not big fat ones. Usually when flakes are small they are wet but these were just falling so quick they did not have time to build up extra rings of crystals. Never-the-less, they were powder-riffic indeed! the piles of snow were soo sooo soft and fluffy. Below is one last view looking back toward Max''s Mountain, its there somewhere, really!

Fleeting spots of alpenglow pastels brighten the valley

I can never be tired of alpenglow. Alpenglow is especially rewarding during the winter months in my very snowy home of Girdwood. In the winter, Girdwood can receive around 600 inches of snow (mostly on the mountains, about 200 inches at the base). With so much snow covering everything, the environment tends to be black and white, or dark green and white, or maybe a little blue shows up in the sky with white and dark green. When the temperatures are above freezing, all that snow turns to slush or is mixed with road gravel to turn grey. In other words, when the ground is covered in snow, there is not much color from vegetation to decorate the landscape. Skis, snowboards, and puffy jackets are good accents however. In evenings or mornings when Glacier Valley is free of clouds or fog, alpenglow shines to bring a burst of color to the day. The warm pink, fading red, even salmon shades are invigorating to my eyes. Above is looking up glacier valley toward Eagle and Raven glaciers.

Alpenglow is derived from a German term, obvious to some of us. Alpen from alps, or mountains as Americans know them; and glühen which translates to glow. (Merriam-Webster Dictionary). Contrary to what our brains what to believe, the sun is not shining directly on the mountains to create the pink wash. The sun is near or below the horizon and the light scattering in the atmosphere reflects onto the snow covered mountains. (Wikipedia) Above is a view toward Raggedtop Mountain.

This is Max's Mountain at the Alyeska ski resort standing watch over the Girdwood Fire and Rescue building. Being surrounded by the Chugach Mountains in Girdwood gives me great opportunities to enjoy alpenglow, both in the evening and in the morning. The pastel colors are quite pleasing to my eye, pink and blue just play off each other so well. Nature always seems to mix colors in complementary patterns. 

Looking up Glacier Creek the setting sun highlighted the snow covering the gravel bars.

What was giving Girdwood the warm glow this evening? Here is the lovely sunset I saw while walking down the path toward "downtown" Girdwood. This evening there was a soft glow over the sun created by moisture in the air over Turnagain arm. 

The sun setting behind the Kenai Mountains across the Turnagain Arm from Glacier Valley.

Nice powder snow in the valley today

The bitter cold broke the spell of the warm rain, and now the snow has briefly broken the spell of the bitter cold. Briefly. Last night Girdwood received 3 inches of snow, powdery, white, fluffy snow! Not wet, not mixed with rain. It was a lovely sight out the windows this morning. 

I had to drive into Anchorage and it was a blustery Tuesday along the Turnagain Arm. No white-out, not much snow falling at all. However, snow was blowing all over the highway. There were snow dunes on the shoulder along Potter Marsh, pretty. 

Though the weather forecast was for temperatures to rise, expected when there is cloud cover, the temperature stayed around 10° in the city. Upon return to Glacier Valley this afternoon, I came into a temperature of 25°, much more pleasant that the recent single digits. We could still use some more snow. Below is a picture of my favorite snow gauge, the picnic table at the Girdwood Fire Department. The photo with the bluer sky was taken in November. Since then we have had three warm spells when the snow has melted. There have been three small snow showers since, including last night. Notice the picnic table looks about the same as in November. By this time of year, the table is usually a snow mound. The lack of snow is a bit disconcerting. Not only for weather watchers and those concerned with the environment, but for the Resort and their ski mountain as well. I hope we will be blessed with our usual February dump of snow starting this weekend!

 January 29, 2013

November 17, 2012

Hark, clouds!

What a beautiful day to document! There was a hint of a slight chance of a possibility of snow in the air! Clouds thinly floating overhead obscured my–what has become normal–blue sky over the Glacier Valley. Yesterday the weather forecast predicted a chance of snow this coming Thursday, but as of this morning, that chance was removed. Below the light clouds are also seen over the heavily man-made snow at the base of the ski area behind the Daylodge.

Too bad I was not able to really sit still for many of these photos, well I did kind of. My husband needed to make a run into Anchorage and I was able to leave work early to go with him. I was the passenger so I had the opportunity to snap some pics along the Seward. Here is Penguin Ridge three days after I posted the picture of Penguin when the temperature at the top of the ridge was warmer than below. As a result of that condition the fog had created a grey frost layer at the base. The photo directly below shows frost is now coating the entire mountain. Below this single photo is a side-by-side of the two days, December 3 on the left and November 30 on the right. There has been three days without fog indicating the temperatures are moderating all the way up. In fact it has not been above 10° in Glacier valley for four days. 

Dec 3 Nov 30

The low fog/inversion was not just an event on our side of the arm, it covered the entire arm. Here we see across the Turnagain Arm to the Hope side and the layer of frost at the base. 

After a rather quick trip all around the south side of town, we returned to Girdwood in time for sunset. Here is a view down Glacier Creek from the bridge. What a difference a few clouds can make. We haven’t been totally without color in the evenings, the alpenglow has been just as lovely. 

Here we see across downtown over the new town square park with its one lonely tree left by the bizarre park plan.