Winter Coastal Storm & Weather

I awoke at some point in the early hours of today by the bashing winds howling by our place.  The storm was said to arrive this morning and low and behold it arrived!  I am a morning person as many of you know and I just love the peaceful start to a day.  Even if like today we have a lot of sound effects tossed our way thanks to Mother Nature.

Just like yesterday, we had a noon ski practice but it ended up being too cold for the elementary skiers.  Wind chill was -25ºF.

Our old skiers who are on the Race Team were able to ski at 2:00 P.M. as the breeze was gone.  We went out at -9ºF and skied up to Picnic Hill all on classic gear. Cold temperatures make for slooooow skiing and this is when we go for a tour on our classic gear.  We had a great group and off we went.

This is so typical for us the temperatures drop and a slight breeze picks up.  The warm temperatures drop to -18ºF and the wind picks up just a tad which throws us right into -34ºF wind chill!

Above was yesterday ski temperatures during our ski practice. The first column is air temp, next is dew point, relative humidity, the purple is wind chill, mph, and wind speed.

In the distance, you may notice the village and then the sea ice heading west.  This hill is traveled by snowmachines all winter.  People heading out to their cabins, trapline, or going ice fishing access the river on this trail.
 One of the things I love about the winter sky at this time of the year is the color.  It seems impossible to capture the light of the northern latitudes but it is stunningly blue, and cold, with various hues of pinks, purples, yellows, and reddy-oranges.

We were all covered in Mother Nature's collection of makeup know as frost!  Everything was painted in frosty shimmering white crystals. Beautifully done in fine detail!

Sun is starting to set about 3:00 now and it takes a long time to get below the horizon.  This is the time of loooong shadows! I never ever get tired of the light and shadows up here in the north.

Once home we realized how much the temps had dropped on us.  The breeze was at our backs so you didn't notice just how cold it had really gotten during our ski tour. I am a frosty skier. Warm as toast at home after always skiing within the "Rudy Principle" which was told to us years ago by one of the guys that helped our school district with skiing out here for years!  The Rudy Principle is "Never ever head out of the village with the wind at your back as you will never get home!"

Back to today's storm winds are now blowing solidly at 40 mph and visibility is down to .25 of a mile which I think is rather generous distance!

As I close this post winds are now gusting over +50 mph!

Beginning of the 2016 & 2017 Ski Season

First Day on skis this year (2016_17 ski season) was November 19th. We still don't have much snow here on the tundra.  I am have become used to skiing on very limited snow coverage.  The tundra is actually rather forgiving as it is not too rocky. 

 

My favorite type of ski, if I could only have one pair, would be a metal edge, waxless touring skis.  I have two pairs, this narrow Rossignol pair and a wider pair of Fischers.

Christian setting up snow fences on top of Picnic Hill.  We use these palettes to build snow drifts to cover areas that get scoured from our high winds.  This is what a certain physics teacher figures out in his free time---it works great!

We are always happy when  we are back on snow!

A ski is not complete without a tea break!

Sadie laying on my insulate pad warming up her toes.  I carry a pad to sit or stand on, plus the dogs can rest on the pad to warm up a bit.

Heading home after our first ski of the season.

Late afternoon cooler colors.

My Sadie decked out in her Ruffwear Jacket and Harness.  Traditional dog mushing booties with cross-country ski straps holding them in place.

Break time

Ah so pretty--my girl Sadie!

Little Miss Tally who never ever gets worn out, and will chase a stick forever!

Thanksgiving Day ski over on the Dragon's Back.  It looks like the Dragon is back but still in ill health.  Sven will need the skiers to bring him back healthy and strong!
(This is part of my story I tell--that should be made into a book!)

Nulato Hills to the south

The northern setting sun about 3:00 p.m. I love this time of year as we move into the darkness of the winter solstice.

Sadie the lap dog at 80 pounds warming me up during tea time.

Bliss is being back on skis . . . long northern shadows, darkness creeping in more and more each day, the return of winter!

Winters Approach

October's full moon setting over Norton Sound about 7:00 a.m. last weekend. Our daylight is slipping away and darkness is returning to the north. I actually really enjoy the approach of our long nights.  I find the whole cycle of the seasons in the northern latitudes very comforting. 

Last Sunday's walk out of the village to the tundra was just what I needed.  I was a bit shocked to see how fast the slough had transformed itself from flowing water to ice.  Boats were being hauled out rather fast as this sudden change in weather was a surprise to us all.

My beloved tundra has now shed all of its glorious color.  Browns, rusts, and grays have replaced all the bright festive fall colors.

An imagine I always in joy starring at is a rich blue sky through the bows of an evergreen.  The only thing better would be these branches cover in snow.

The ice arrived over-night as the temperatures consistently dropped.  People were busy chipping and hauling their boats out of the slough.

For those of you who follow the Iditarod dog sled race, this photo is looking down towards the check-point.  Several boats in this photo are now out of the ice and tucked away for winter.

Looking down into the village of Unalakleet with ice taking over the river and the slough.  Norton Sound in the distance with sea ice forming.

1st day of Skiing for the 2013/2014 Ski Season

I have always loved winter and snow!  It amazes me that there are people out there that don't love winter.  I don't know why I love this season so much.  I am not sure if it is the silence, the tidiness that fresh snow brings to the world, or the coziness I feel from a world wrapped in white.   

Many of you are looking at this photo and thinking that looks like a lot of grass you are skiing on there!  We have skied on more grass than this before and I am sure we will again!  I have learned living in rural Alaska one is not nearly as pick as when you are in the lower 48.   The other added bonus is skis slide well on tundra plants that are sticking up through the snow.  It is a case of the cup is half  full or half empty.  

Living where we live enables us to be able to ski a LOT!  I mean a LOT!  Since being here, I have skied at least 100 days a ski season.  Last year, I was able to get in 130 days on skis!  I would like to break that personal record this year if possible.  Skiing isn't about the amount of days one skis and I know this.  So why do I keep track of my ski days:  I keep track of my skiing so days off don't take over.  This way I get out the door as much as possible and why I try to encourage others to get out the door!  Being outside is simply a wonderful way to forget about daily issues and to be healthy! 

Gliding along on my skis over the tundra or through the woods is something I simply love to do! 

In the end, to ski is to travel fast and free - free over untouched snow country. To be bound to one slope, even one mountain,  by a lift may be convenient but it robs us of the greatest pleasure  that skiing can give, that is to travel through the wide wintery  country; to follow the lure of peaks which tempt on the horizon and  to be alone for a few days or even hours in clear, mysterious surroundings.

(Hans Gmoser)