Kenai Fjord’s National Park

 

On Sunday morning I drove south to Seward for a full day aboard the M/V Mariah, one of the smaller boats of the Kenai Fjord’s fleet. I’ve done trips with Mariah Charter’s in the past – they continue to offer a peerless experience with superbly knowledgable crews, and unequaled sights. The vessels are always clean and well maintained and the service – well, it’s like being on a mini cruise ship with the worlds greatest itinerary. These are the boats that we at Sixtyone North will be chartering for our tours, and we’re really looking forward to this partnership. We started out by meeting our Captain and deck hand, Steve and Ellen respectively. These two were great as usual, highly informative and it was obvious that they have an intimate knowledge of the area and it’s wildlife. We were lucky to have them. They gave us the standard safety briefing, mixing in humor to ease the minds of the more apprehensive clients. It’s obvious that safety is their primary concern, both for our sakes and the wildlife/environment. Soon we were motoring out of the Seward small boat harbor and into Resurrection Bay. Almost immediately, we spotted a playful sea otter who was quite content to just float there and put on a show for us. Once we had our fill, we moved out of Resurrection Bay and met up with a large pod (actually 2 pods that had joined) of orca (Orcinus orca), or killer whales. 

At first they paralleled our path, our boat maintaining the legal distance. Then, they dove for several minutes, only to resurface just aft and to our starboard side. The captain immediately stopped our engines and allowed us to drift, and the orca to dictate the distance. It was a beautiful site, with a few large males, and several females and young swimming together with pristine wilderness as a background. I was torn with getting images for my portfolio and capturing video for our website – I ended up with a compromise of both. Once the killer whales moved on, we headed towards Northwestern Fjord and Glacier. Along the way, we happened upon an inquisitive pair of humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae). They surfaced near our boat, we cut our engines again, and they circled us lazily for several minutes only a few yards away… amazing! They kept turning and coming back towards us, obviously un-threatened… what a morning!
We made our way into Harris Bay, and then into the ice-choked Northwestern Lagoon. We passed dozens of seals resting with their young on icebergs floating in the lagoon.
We kept our distance as to not disturb them. Soon we were in front of the Northwestern Glacier, actively calving into the water. This is a very dramatic landscape, with glaciers falling diving over the mountain tops and ridgelines high above. Several calving events occurred, the crack and boom of faulting ice, followed by the rush of the falling debris finally striking the water. We spent some time in front of the glacier, the silence only shattered by the sharp cracks of ice falling, the light “seltzer” of fizzing ice all around us – releasing air thousands of years old, and the sharp intakes of breath by the passengers of the boat every time a calving event happened.
Then, we made our way back to Seward, stopping at the Chiswell Islands to photograph stellar sea lions hauled out on the rocks. There were several pups present, and this was the largest amount of new births in several years. Unfortunately, the Steller sea lion population is still in decline. For some reason, many of the young are starving – despite a seemingly abundant food source. We also visited huge sea bird colonies: kittiwakes, cormorants, common murre, and the ever popular puffins (both tufted and horned). Further along, we happened upon a lone fin whale. The fin whale is the second largest mammal on the planet, second only in size to the blue whale – guessed to be up to 82 feet, and 154,000 pounds. That’s big! They can dive for over an hour at a time, and surface miles later – so our brief (yet brilliant) view – was lucky indeed, and very indicative of our superb day. The weather was beautiful, the crew superb, and fellow passengers a joy to be with. In particular, I met an extremely nice family from Ohio – the Gullett’s. They escaped the bad weather of the Mid-West for a trip to Alaska. They were a pleasure to be around and even invited me to dinner afterwards. They reminded me that adventure is not so much about the experience or the sights, but the people along the way.
Travel often, and travel well.

A Daytrip in Southcentral Alaska = Variety!

I spent much of today on the road and shooting at a couple of my favorite “easy drive” locations. Although, with gas prices as high as they are… “easy” may not be completely true. $5.26/gallon in Seward for diesel and $4.62/gallon for unleaded! Regardless, there is so much variety in Southcentral Alaska, all within less than a 3 hour drive. At Potter’s Marsh, I photographed Mallards, Scaup, Arctic Tern, Red-necked Grebe, and Canada Geese with a LOT of goslings (several families). Then I moved down to the Portage Valley, wanted to check and see if there were any icebergs in Portage Lake… the water was choked with them near the visitors center. On the drive down the Seward Hwy, I passed a family of 3 moose as they crossed the road. You can tell it’s tourist season up here, there was a moose jam almost immediately. At Tern Lake, I focused on the body of water’s namesake, the Arctic Tern. After a few hours of photographing these beautiful birds, I completed the drive to Seward to get some lunch. My hostess told me she had seen a mother grizzly and a young cub nearby. I followed her directions and immediately found them. Although it was a brief and distant encounter, it was still great. What great variety today, and it’s only Spring!

Ice Climbing on the Matanuska Glacier

Wow, what a Saturday! Tim and I spent the day out on the Matanuska Glacier with two other novice ice climbers (Mike and Nichole – both of the US Army). Our guide, also named Mike, was from MICA Guides. Thatsa lotta Mik-a’s (said with very poor Italian accent). We met at MICA’s headquarters above the glacier just after 9 am. After meeting our fellow climbers and guide, we geared up and drove out to the glacial terminus. For me, Matanuska Glacier has always been a special and awe-inspiring place. This is not just a river of ice, it is the mover of mountains, a carver of deep valleys, a shaper… in this land of extremes.
We hiked over the glacial silt covered landscape for a while, then put on our crampons once we reached the ice. Our guide led us on a hike towards an ice fall, one that I had hiked around a few times before… but never into. The icefall is always new, constantly evolving. As the glacier scrapes over a hidden cliff, the ice fractures into huge seracs, tumbling several hundred feet back onto itself and forming deep crevasses. Along the way, we passed deep moulins – vertical drainages tunnels reaching into the depths of the glacier, and melt pools – small ponds of crystal blue water, a color unmatched in nature.
Once we arrived at the base of the icefall, our guide free climbed a section of the wall and set to work affixing ice screws and anchors for our first ascent – he called it a descent warm up. I instantly wondered what I had gotten myself into. Where Tim has apparently no fear of heights or trusting equipment such as ropes, carabiners, and ice screws – I have no such fearlessness. For several years now, I have developed a keen fear heights… and falling. Today would test me as none before. When Mike asked who would like to make the first climb of the group, I decided that it would be better to man up, get it over with, and (Nike willing) just do it… so I went last. I watched the other 3 climbers ascend and descend with relative ease. Then it was my turn, Mike secured me to the safety rope (with which I would use to rappel from the top of the ice wall), then I began my climb. My plan was to ascend as rapidly as possible and not dwell at height. I climbed fast, but soon realized that I was enjoying myself. The rhythmic succession of kicking your crampon-clad toes into the ice, the crunch of each ice axe striking deep into the wall – it calmed me. I rappelled down from the top of the climb, sixty feet or so, actually catching myself looking down at what I had risen above.
We regrouped and hiked parallel to the icefall, gaining altitude steadily. We reached the next climbing section, a nearly vertical wall rising above several crevasses. Again, Mike scouted a way around and set up our climbing rigs so the rest of us could scale the wall. I again went last, but with much less trepidation this time. Again I climbed quickly, but with even greater enjoyment. It no longer seemed quite so unnatural to be perched on a wall of ice, with nothing but air beneath. Once we all summited the climb, we rested while Mike set up the anchors and ropes once again. This time we would rappel down into a nearby crevasse, nearly one-hundred feet down, some of which was beyond vertical. Tim and I were treated with a second anchor point and rope that would allow us to hang over the edge of the precipice to photograph the others as they dropped over the side and as they climbed back up again. I laid on my belly with my shoulders and head hanging over the cliff as Tim and the other Mike descended and climbed back out of the crevasse, one at a time. It was a thrill to shoot. Then, once again, it was my turn. There is one thing that scares me more than climbing and heights, its backing over the edge of a cliff into nothingness. But with our guide and my fellow climbers offering their support, over I went. I rappelled down, paused for a moment to gaze into the blue depths of the crevasse that now surrounded me, then began my climb out. I was quickly winded, working against a section of wall that was beyond vertical. It was amazingly difficult work and I stopped often to catch my breath and regain some strength, my sunglasses fogging with every exhale. It seemed to take an eternity, but I finally swung my arms over the top of the climb. At that point, I found it nearly impossible to continue to grip the ice axe in my left hand – my forearm and hand so fatigued. I actually swung my left arm several times, trying to strike the ice with an axe that was no longer in my hand, I was that fatigued. Somehow, I gathered what strength I had left, and pulled myself up and over the edge. I lay there for a while, too exhausted to move and too drained to stand.
The others went on to do another climb nearby, but I was content to photograph them. I didn’t have anything left in me. I knew I could rappel down, but I was sure I wouldn’t be able to climb back out again. This was a dream day, I can’t say that I conquered my fear of heights… but I did give it a swift kick in the teeth. An amazing experience. MICA Guides was excellent, our guide Mike was superb. Very professional and knowledgeable, and inspired us to conquer our fears. He also kept things lighthearted and extremely enjoyable. I highly recommend joining MICA Guides next time you are looking for a true adventure. They run an awesome service with highly trained guides. Sixtyone North (that’s us) will be working with MICA in the future to offer custom photography tours on Matanuska Glacier – it’s a partnership that we are really looking forward to.