Jun 15
We flew out and hiked around on the glacier today. It took a couple of Cub loads to get us all out to the ice, but it was well worth it. If you have never stood on the edge of a crevasse and thrown a rock down into the abyss then you need to put it on your bucket list. People always think that it's super dangerous to walk on glaciers. Truth is, it's only dangerous if the ice is covered with snow and therefor possibly hiding crevasses. When we go out hiking on the glaciers we stay on the ice so that the crevasses are obvious holes that need to be avoided. We carried my 2 month old daughter all over the glacier today and we took no risks. It was a great walk but the hot dogs at the end were my favorite part. Then we cooked some of those HUGE marshmallows and made S'mores.... it was a good day. For More info go here.
Jun 4
This picture is 2 hours old. I took it while en-route to check a landing site tonight. The turquoise water struck my eye as I was flying by, and the dense cloud cover seemed to enhance the colors. I love the reflection of the blue water in the window. I think this picture makes me happy, thanks for looking at it.
May 18
This time of year the water held on the surface of the glaciers is the most brilliant. It is stunning to see because the colors are so perfect. I took this on a short 30 minute sightseeing trip on Sunday. I had a young man on board who was celebrating his 11th birthday by going on an airplane ride. I thought it was a pretty awesome gift given by his Dad, and the day was utterly perfect.
May 6
I went in to pick up some guys off the glacier this afternoon. They called me on the sat-phone this morning and wanted to be picked up early because of a harrowing experience they had yesterday on the side of Marcus Baker. I asked them to write the story down and send some pictures so I could post them here on the blog. They agreed to share the experience and I am eagerly awaiting the report of their events.
May 3
I took this picture of Mike a few hours ago and this weather was not as nice as it looks. The wind was cranking and those clouds were just pouring over from Prince William Sound. I was at 9500' when I took this picture, and the performance of a fully loaded Super Cub at these altitudes is often less than desirable when dealing with powerful downdrafts. We were hauling in a couple of mountaineers who are going to attempt Marcus Baker.
May 1
Sometimes the view looking straight down is the best. These are my Fluidyne 2200 wheel skis. I have a hydraulic hand pump near my right leg that allows me to move the skis up or down depending on the desired application. They are worth about $10,000 and while the versatility is great they are heavy. I much prefer my Landis 3000's for the ski work but they just don't hold up on the asphalt :o) I run wheel skis on and off through July, they are a must-have for this line of work.
Apr 29
This is an amazing landscape when viewed from your tiny little computer screen. Imagine how much more impressive it is in real life. At times it is overwhelming, I wish I could take it with me in my pocket so I could show all my friends. All I can do is digitally capture it onto an electronic chip and then, minimize it, compress it, label it, and upload it. Something is lost in the process, but I hope it gives you a taste of the vastness of this unfathomable creation.
Apr 26
I took this yesterday as I was crossing the Chugach Range at 9700'. I mentioned yesterday that the wind was blowing about 25 knots and you can see the snow kicking up off the ice in the picture above. This is the South Western Flank of Mt. Marcus Baker which is loaded with snow ice and horrible weather 12 months out of the year. Days like this are few and far between for this region. Every time I fly by I am impressed by it's shear size and nastiness. This is a mere glimpse of the thousands of square miles of rock and ice found in the Chugach Range. I heart the Chugach.
