Good snow

I picked up Ross Baldwin at his parents house on Tuesday morning and we met up with Ted at the Tincan parking lot. Ross is finishing up Med school this summer (as is Ted) down in Seattle and rarely stays in one place long so it was good to meet up with him for a good day on the snow. After Ross finishes up in June, he will head off for a five year surgical residency; he has yet to pick a location although he seems to be favoring California. The snow was terrible down low, but perfect above 2000 feet, we did a few laps, then headed into Girdwood to visit with Ross' sister at her house.
Hope all is well,
Josh

Merry Christmas!

Here is a photo of my Christmas eve dinner Alaska style. Red salmon, steak, and smoked salmon twice baked potatoes. The other is from flying today, Thats the feeling most of my passengers express during our flights, haha.
Merry Christmas,
Josh

Tincan Attack

We use skiing as an excuse to train for Mt Hunter this spring. It's a real bummer when your training schedule includes back country skiing on crisp bluebird days. We made it up to the pass and skiid Tincan on Thursday, Friday and Saturday night. The night runs were great, but we needed headlamps toward the bottom. All in all conditions were great. We would ski during the day, then hit the rock gym that night. Really makes a guy want to live in anchorage part time, at least for the winter....

Hope all is well, Hunter is close!

Josh

John Svenson

Working the magic

Rolling the Hot glass into a marble shape

Filler Sticks

Jenty sitting in on a session

After we said thank you and goodbye to Tom, we were off to visit John Svenson. John and his wife, both artists with colorful pasts, create a myriad of stunning work ranging from wood block prints, to Glass work. John's latest kick has been on the glass side of things and Jenty and I caught him in the middle of a session. John was encasing a gold nugget in an amazing marble of color and swirls. You really have to see, it, my words won't do it justice. Jenty and I had the chance to hop on the torch and work with a bit of the glass. 5 minutes were enough to show me that this glass bending business is a little tricky. Jenty has a steady hand and kicked out some nice beads. If you get a chance, swing by Johns and check out his stuff, The gallery alone is amazing! take a look here.

Tom Morphet

The Lende Cabin
Tom and Jenty on the way to Rutzebeck Lake
The entrance to Camp Weasel
Tom's Cabin and cozy interior below!

I had the chance to meet Tom Morphet at the Lighting of the Library event in Haines. As Jenty describes him, "he's the guy you would always want to sit next to in school". It's true, Tom is easy to get along with, and is sure to fill blank space with colorful stories and a seemingly endless knowledge stream. At the lighting Tom had invited us up to his cabin by Rutzebeck Lake (AKA Camp Weasel) the next day for a visit and a tour. I had first read about Tom's place in Heather Lende's book, (more about her later) and it was great to get a tour. Tom's personality has manifested itself in his residence. The main lodging is small but full of character, and the outbuildings hold what extra is needed for convincing a wife to live in a remote cabin that is not accessible year round by car. During our visit Tom took us on a tour of Rutzebeck lake and the local neighborhood. One of his closest neighbors is Heather and Chip Lende and their beautiful "weekend" cabin directly on the lake. Tom took us on a tour of the cabin (he knows where the hide-a-key is)and gave us the lowdown on the rest of the lake neighbors. Tom is an editor and contributor to the Chilkat Valley News and has spent time at other jobs throughout southeast Alaska, if you run into him in Haines ask him how Camp Weasel got it's name. More Haines posts to come!
Josh

Lighting of the Library

Haines has a beautiful library that won an award in 2005 for "The Best Small Library in America" an award co-sponsored by the Library Journal and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Each year, tradition is to have a lighting ceremony which involves a silent auction, refreshments, presentations and of course a huge Christmas tree. Jenty helped decorate this year so we had a little insight into the work that it takes to get this whole thing prepared. Local do-it-all volunteer Frankie Jones coordinated the decorating and as you can see, she did a great job with the help of all her volunteers. More pictures to follow, sorry for the delay but I'll be in Anchorage for a bit skiing, climbing etc...
Cheers,
Josh

Haines Teaser

Here are a few pictures from the Haines trip. It was a trip that really made me feel good about Alaska and the great people that make up this state. We are such a diverse group, living in a state that has so many contrasting climates and landscapes. The first photo is of the shoreline of Rutzebeck lake during a snow storm, second is at the Lighting the Library get together at the beautiful Haines public library, and the the third is of the highway along the Canadian border.
More stories and pictures to come.
Josh