My Brithday in Alaska

I spent my birthday in Alaska this year and it was a really good time. I actually got in two parties for the price of one birthday. On March 14th my friends Lili and Andy hosted a nice gathering of friends in their home in Anchorage for me, complete with cake, great food and home brewed beer. Then on the 15th (the day before my birthday) my buddy Dustin scored us a cabin in Girdwood and we had another party that night. He and Cecille brought their boys down and to the condo for the night. Their youngest crashed early but their oldest boy, Ian, was ready to party all night in the hot tub. Not bad for a four year old! Louie and Rachel came up from Moose Pass as well and my old friend John and his girlfriend Jenny drove down from Anchorage. Brad was in the house as well despite having to work the next morning. Here's a picture of all of us, after a few. Here's a shot of Dusting throwing a pizza crust. He's had a little practice in his time!

Backcountry Madness!!

I just finished a week of snowboarding in the backcountry and I am soo pumped! My good friends Louis and Rachel put me up at their place in Moose Pass and showed me the powder goods! Here are a few shots from those truly epic days.

Rachel spraying ridiculous amounts of powder on Mount Billy Mitchell. We started skinning up this peak from Louis and Rachel's driveway!! Although the trip up this peak was pretty long and tough, the 4,000 ft. of powder were well worth it.

Louis flying down a perfect powder shot up in Summit Pass. Despite the perfect conditions we saw a grand total of one other person making tracks the entire week!

This is my old friend Brad getting ready to drop in on almost 4,000 vertical feet of untracked, fluffy, hero powder snow. The moon hanging behind him added a nice touch to a perfect run.

Here's another one of Brad ripping right through the gut of the chute. It is always fun to get out with my old friends in the backcountry.

This is a new friend of mine by the name of Jon Turk. He skis with an effortlessness that is a pleasure to watch. This run was a celebration of sorts for Jon because just a few hours before this shot was taken he inked his latest book deal! He's a very talented writer and story-teller extrodinaire. Jon has a great website that can be accesses at www.jonturk.net

Fairbanks Visit

Well, my first stop on my whirlwind return to Alaska Tour is Fairbanks to visit friends. I've been staying with my buddy Martin for a few days and we have been out and about hanging out with friends, drinking good beer, and freaking out at the unseasonably warm weather. It hit 46 degrees here yesterday, which is just not right for Fairbanks in March!!! My friend Phil just finished the Yukon Quest sled dog race a few weeks ago and fortuantely he didn't run into too much weather like this on the trail. He did hit one spot where the temperature was BELOW -60F!! By the time he made it into Dawson, in the Yukon it warmed up to a high of +40F. That is a 100 degree temperature swing! Crazy.

Here's a shot of Martin's little bachelor cabin in Fairbanks. He shares it with his semi-hairless cat, Tupac. I'm sure the cat doesn't mind the 46 degree weather at all!!