Outdoor Explorer - Alaska Public Media

Dave Johnson and family camping on Curry Ridge, Denali State Park. Photo courtesy of Pete Robinson. Adventure Journal Art Dave Johnston has had many firsts: the first winter ascent of Denali, the first winter ascent of Mt Foraker, and the first Denali State Park Ranger being just three. He also has climbed or visited the 50 highest peaks in the U.S. with his family, and in the winter. He and his w...

Hannah Halvorsen (r) accepts the Trajan Langdon Award from Nina Kemppel (l), photo courtesy Alaska Sports Hall of Fame. Beth Bragg accepts the Joe Floyd Award, photo courtesy Alaska Sports Hall of Fame. Jeremy Lane and supporters, photo courtesy Alaska Sports Hall of Fame. Scott Patterson accepts the Pride of Alaska Award, photo courtesy Alaska Sports Hall of Fame. Lydia Jacoby accepts the Pride o...

A bar-tailed godwit. Photo courtesy of Steve Maslowski. Dan Ruthrauff Bird migration is one of the natural wonders of the world. Every spring millions of birds stream into Alaska from all over the globe to feed, mate, and raise their young. Their stories include a hummingbird’s journey to Florida and back, a whimbrel’s commute to and from Chile, and the northern wheatear trip from Africa. Their ab...

There’s a lot less sea ice in the Arctic, and only 1% of it is old ice, which is thicker and more resilient. (Image: NOAA Climate.gov) In this Sunday, Sept. 19, 2021, file photo, flames burn up a giant tree as part of the Windy Fire in the Trail of 100 Giants grove in Sequoia National Forest, Calif. California firefighters battled fast-growing forest fires threatening giant sequoias and small comm...

Millett Keller on Mount Marathon, photo courtesy Lisa Keller. Millett Scissorhands Keller article, courtesy Lisa Keller. Millett Keller, far left, viewing perfect tracks in the Cariboo Mountains, photo courtesy Lisa Keller. This is the second of two interviews with Millett Keller, Lisa’s dad. Pat and Millet Keller arrived in Anchorage in 1963 from Palo Alto, California. They stayed for 30 years an...

Millett Keller, screenshot from the interview. Pat and Millett Keller with baby Lisa, in their Turnagain neighborhood one year after the 1964 earthquake, photo courtesy Lisa Keller. Millett Keller, with his grandchildren at Lake Tahoe in 2008, photo by Lisa Keller. Our guest for this show is Millett Keller, Lisa’s dad. Pat and Millet Keller arrived in Anchorage in 1963 from Palo Alto, California....

Amy Bushatz, photo courtesy Amy Bushatz. Heather Helzer, photo by Andre Horton. The Humans Outside medal, photo courtesy of Amy Bushatz Turnagain Training kids’ duathlon start, photo courtesy Heather Helzer. Virtual Race Across Alaska Winter Challenge, image courtesy Heather Helzer On this Outdoor Explorer, we’ll have two guests who are inspiring people to get out and move. Heather Helzer, the fou...

Karina Movement Class Photo: Paul Twardock Yukon Classroom by Paul Twardock Snow Science by Paul Twardock Sea Kayaking by Paul Twardock Map Reading PWS by Paul Twardock. Alaska has a number of high-quality university outdoor degree programs that benefit from the great experiential learning Alaska’s mountains, oceans, rivers, and history and cultures have to offer. Starting in the ’60s and ’70s wit...

Mary Goddard, Regional Catalyst for Regenerative Tourism with the Sustainable Southeast Partnership, photo courtesy Mary Goddard. Lee Hart, Executive Director of Alaska Outdoor Alliance, photo courtesy Alaska Outdoor Alliance, photo courtesy Lee Hart. Sarah Leonard, President & CEO, Alaska Travel Industry Association. Last fall when Lisa was interviewing Lee Hart, Founder and Executive Directo...

March is prime time for winter sports in Alaska. The light is back, the snow is good, and Alaskans are ready to enjoy it all. Dog mushing has been part of Alaska as long as people have been in Alaska. In March the sport has its best-known event the Iditarod, along with Anchorage’s Fur Rondy Open World Championship Sled Dog Race. On this show, we visit Ineka Kennels and the Forto family to learn a...

Alli Harvey finishing the 2021 Equinox Marathon in Fairbanks, photo courtesy of Alli Harvey. Alli Harvey, photo courtesy of Alli Harvey. “Hiking Anchorage” currently on display at Stephan Fine Arts Gallery, photo courtesy of Alli Harvey. Our guest for this show is Alli Harvey, outdoor columnist for the Anchorage Daily News. Alli grew up on the East Coast but fell in love with Alaska at a young age...

Team doctor for the 1971 International Everest Expedition. Peter Steel in his home in Whitehorse, from early 2022. Photo: Adam Verrier. Peter Steele in Bhutan, with his family, in the 1960’s. With his wife Sarah, and children Adam and Judith. On this Outdoor Explorer, we’ll go to Whitehorse, Yukon Territory, to visit with doctor, mountaineer, and author Peter Steele. Introduced to rock climbing an...

John Morton The Winter Olympics begin this week in Beijing, China. To mark the occasion, this week’s guest on Outdoor Explorer will be biathlete, author, and former Alaskan John Morton, who’s participated in ten Olympics: two as an athlete, five more as a coach and team leader, one as Chief of Course for the Salt Lake City Olympics in 2002 and, finally, two more as a spectator. He’s got plenty of...

Seth Kantner’s new book A Thousand Trails Home: Living With Caribou details his life where caribou, hunting, and subsistence are the center of everything. Seth joins host Paul Twardock to discuss his life growing up on the Kobuk River with his parents and brother in a sod house. Living miles from the nearest village and learning to live with what the land provided Seth experiences rich in nature a...

Service High School cross country running team in 1972. Tom Corbin in 1969. Tom Corbin today. Tom Corbin’s hand-drawn map of the Hillside Ski Trails from the 1970’s. The Anchorage Hillside Ski Trail System is 50 years old this year. The first five-kilometer ski loop was cut by Service High School families and coaches in 1971. Over time, the trail system has gradually expanded to its current 24 kil...

Daniel Lieberman at home with his dog, Echo, photo courtesy Daniel Lieberman. Exercised book jacket, photo courtesy Daniel Lieberman. If you have read the book “Born to Run” by Christopher McDougal, you are familiar with the name Daniel Lieberman. Along with his colleague, Dennis Bramble, his research has been used to support the thesis that human beings owe some of our evolutionary success to our...

A tree seen at the Solstice Tree Tour at Kincais park. Photo by Paull Twardock. An illuminited van at the Alaska Botanical Garden. Photo by Paul Twardock. A tree lit up at the Alaska Botanical Garden. Photo by Paul Twardock. Illuminated ice candles at the Alaska Botanical Garden. Photo by Paul Twardock. The Solstice Tree Tour map from the NSAA. As the year 2021 comes to a close we feature two trad...

Mask by Joe Senungetuk Mask by Joe Senungetuk James Tempte Joe and Martha Senungetuk Artwork by Joe Senungetuk Alaska Natives have been creating art influenced by nature and culture for thousands of years. The clothing, tools, kayaks, weapons, baskets, and other items of everyday life and ceremony were, and are, functional and artistic. During the 1960s young Native artists like Joe Senungetuk sta...

Aaron Ramirez and Lisa Keller at the Lavaman Triathlon, photo courtesy Lisa Keller. Alisa Carroll, photo courtesy Alisa Carroll. Dr. Kim Harmon, photo courtesy Kim Harmon. At the beginning of this summer, our host Lisa had several trips planned to support her friend Aaron Ramirez at Ironman races. It looked to be a fun summer and fall, back to our usual activities of traveling and racing. Of cours...

Luc Mehl. Photo with permission from the owner. Luc Mehl. Photo with permission from the owner. Luc Mehl packrafting the Matanuska River. Luc Mehl backcountry skating in Katmai. Photo courtesy Luc Mehl. Trip planning and risk analysis are keys to safe and successful outings, whether it is a day hike or an extended trip far from medical help. Alaska’s vast expanse, large and cold rivers, challengin...

Kikkan and Breck riding to school, photo courtesy Kikkan Randall. Former NSAA Junior Nordic skier Kikkan Randall, photo courtesy Kikkan Randall. NSAA Executive Director Kikkan Randall, photo courtesy Kikkan Randall. Our guest for this episode of Outdoor Explorer is Kikkan Randall, one of Alaska’s most popular and well-known athletes. In the 2018 Winter Olympics, Kikkan and Jessie Diggins became th...

Kayaks at the NOLS headquarters. John Gans, former NOLS Alaska director and NOLS President Ashley Wise, NOLS Alaska Program Manager The NOLS Red Barn in Palmer. NOLS, formerly known as the National Outdoor Leadership School, has been educating and inspiring students in Alaska since 1971. Though not the first wilderness education program in Alaska, it is one of the most successful based on its long...

Crow Pass Trail, photo courtesy Max Romey Debris found on the beach, photo courtesy Max Romey Max Romey sketching Raven Glacier at Crow Pass, photo courtesy Max Romey. Our guest this week is Max Romey. Max is a watercolor artist and filmmaker from Anchorage. He has joined us before to tell us about his creative style of using watercolors in his films focusing on the outdoors. Storytelling using pi...

Much of Alaska’s landmass is covered in water. During the winter when those lakes and rivers freeze solid, and if the snow isn’t deeper than an inch or so, all that frozen water makes for great ice skating! Around the world, people have been ice skating for a very long time. But recent advances in skate and binding technology, including the popularity of “nordic skates”, have made recreational ska...

Economic impact of outdoor activities, image courtesy Alaska Outdoor Alliance. Lee Hart, Executive Director of Alaska Outdoor Alliance, photo courtesy Alaska Outdoor Alliance. The guest for this show is Lee Hart, Executive Director of Alaska Outdoor Alliance. The Alliance’s mission is to build the best outdoor economy in the world. The outdoor economy is an under-recognized yet important economic...