The trail

Assorted sights on the Anchorage trail system

Smartly cloudy

As the light slowly returns to 60 degrees north (we've more than 7 hrs./day now) and the weather patterns shift a bit, the clouds that fill the Anchorage Bowl begin to put on a show. Perhaps the convergence of weather that crosses over the Chugach Mountains to the east with the warmer air sitting above Cook Inlet to the southwest is a factor in the area's picturesque cloud formation. Although never quite as spectacular as some of the clouds found in other parts of the world, the Alaska clouds are remarkable in their own way. During most weekdays I can watch the sun rise from my office window as it pitches light against the clouds. (the first photo is from my desk chair; photos two and three are from Meg and Nicole's visit to Denali this summer).

Birthday up on Hatcher Pass

This weekend we joined a few friends to celebrate the 30th birthday of Leslie, a good friend whom Meghan met while in law school. The party was a surprise and all celebrants had to sneak up to the Hatcher Pass Lodge undetected. Although the Alaskan winter sun had set hours before, the drive up the pass to the Lodge was white and serene as fresh snow blanketed the area. We enjoyed hot drinks, halibut, a delicious cake, and shared a few laughs before heading back toward Anchorage. On the return trip down the Pass, Meghan used her headlamp to "shine," then tried to call in a bull moose crossing the road to no avail.

The Lodge at night

Leslie's husband Harry presents the piece de resistance

Harry provides levity for the bar-weary Meghan

Skiing fast slowly

Ice floats to the sea in Knik Arm

A good friend passed on a word of advice after a training ski this week. He quoted Olympic great Gunde Svan, a Swede with four cross country golds, who said that one should 'ski fast slowly.' In other words, it's much better to relax and be patient with each stride to maintain maximum efficiency. Much of the Big Race in March involves long efficient strides, so I skied 20 km of the course slowly, building speed by concentrating on each kick and glide. Along the way I stopped to watch the flowing tide carry ice down the Knik Arm to the Gulf of Alaska.

Russian gray whale defecting?

Deb and I with Kodiak Gray Whale Project Coordinator Stacy Studebaker

Remember when Sean Connery, playing a Russian nuclear submarine captain in The Hunt for Red October, threatened to defect to the US ? Well, a western gray whale might be doing just that. The whale, originally from a population residing in the waters off the coast of Russia, has been making a beeline for the Alaska coast since October. Oregon State's Marine Mammal Institute is tracking "Flex" the whale:

Flex departed the Kamchatka coast on 3 January. and took one week to cross most of the Bering Sea before arriving at the slope edge of the eastern Bering Sea shelf on 9 January. Since 3 January, he has covered 1,689 km in 238 hours for an average of 7.09 km/hr. Since attaining the slope edge, he has trended to the south, toward the Pribilof islands. During the last several days we have obtained individual transmissions during several orbits, so we know the tag is still attached and functioning, but not enough transmissions to obtain reliable locations. Some of this may be due to regional bad weather.

This great swim is quite remarkable for a western gray - once thought to be extinct - especially considering the difficulty of crossing the Bering during the depths of winter.

Ice cold

We experienced the coldest weather of the season over the weekend as temps dropped to -25 at night and warmed to -10 during the day in areas of the Anchorage Bowl. Fearing the snow on the ski trails would be slow and sticky I decided to try a pair of nordic skates as an alternative to skiing this weekend. Nordic skates are simply straight blades attached to a boot using ski bindings, making it easy to switch from skis to skates. I skied from the house down to the Lagoon, stepped off the skis and onto the nordic skates. After a few laps on the freshly hot-mopped big loop I soon got the hang of it and could feel the similarities between skiing and skating. The nordic skates are less forgiving than nordic skis and provided instant feedback (skidding) when I didn't transfer my weight smoothly from a glide to a kick. Though not as fast as a traditional speed skate, I really enjoyed the way the nordic skates felt like freestyle nordic skiing. And like barefoot running, the nordic skates provide self coaching - it only feels right when using the correct form.

Frost in the doldrums

It seems that the "January Doldrums" have kicked in. For the past couple of weeks, we've been under clear, cold skies with nary a flake of snow. Although the darkness up north seems to exacerbate the month's toil, a quick Google search for the term yields several results of bloggers elsewhere dealing with feelings of boredom and ways to shake the torpor. I, for one, am quite impressed with the local nordic ski association's impeccable trail grooming which has turned ice into snow and provided great skiing conditions. The forecast suggests several more days of cold, dry air in the future - better increase the vitamin D intake.

Study escape

This weekend Meg and I left Reb with a friendly boarder and spent two nights at a B&B in Girdwood - home of Alyeska Ski Resort. Meghan was able to catch up on some much-needed sleep and study in peace while I hit the slopes with some friends. The rental property was nice and quiet and featured an outdoor hot tub. Saturday offered as much sunshine as 60 degrees north latitude allows in mid-January. And the skiing - er, snowboarding was great. Nursing a nagging knee injury, I decided to take it easy and rent a board. It's been over 12 years since I was on a single plank and, for most of the day, I felt like a kid again - until the next morning's soreness arrived.

Data Viz

Soon before the blog took a 6 month sabbatical I added a few sites to the blogroll on the right. And you, the reader, might ask, "what are these blogs and why are they there?" Well, I maintain a bit of a fascination with data visualization - using thoughtful representations of information to tell an interesting story. More than just a colorful pie chart or nifty scatterplot, data visualization, or data viz, done right can distill large sets of data and provide an elegant view of patterns and trends. Some even argue that journalists will need to become more adept at narrating with data. As it happens, I get to do a bit of data viz in my job. It's quite a rewarding process. Here's part of a data viz project from work. And don't forget to check out the sites to the right.

New Year Chinook

Valley of the Moon Park

Downtown Anchorage under a southeasterly flow

A New Year Chinook blew in over the weekend bringing 40+ degree temps and unsettled air aloft. Although it's nice to head outside and leave the gloves and heavy coat at home, I hope the warm southern air blows through soon. The longer the warm weather sticks around, the worse the skiing becomes. Last winter we were the envy of our friends in Kodiak who got hit every few weeks with strong Chinooks that bypassed the Anchorage Bowl. We enjoyed monthlong stretches of crisp winter days and soft white snow, while Kodiak experienced a very cloudy and rainy winter.