There's a Place for Wild Spaces

Taking a break while backpacking through Wrangell-St. Elias National Park, Alaska.

I’m back!!! The past two months have been so busy that I haven’t been able to pick up my camera much or even get outside and enjoy the mountains as I normally do. But now the smoke is finally clearing and I am gearing up for Spring and Summer travels. As my excitement is brewing I thought I would start by spotlighting Alaska since it has been such an integral part of my life for the last decade.

As I am planning my next Alaska adventure I realized I have only revealed a handful of my photos from last summer. So I am going to start finally showing off the many reasons why I think that 1) Alaska is one of the most special and incredible places on planet Earth and 2) why I think that you should visit Alaska at least once in your lifetime.

To accomplish this task I will be publishing new photos every week and highlighting different yet unique features of Alaska. It is truly one of the most wild places you could imagine. Although it’s becoming more and more difficult to find “true wilderness” for various reasons, mighty Alaska is a bastion of freedom in the form of places so remote that you can go for days or weeks without seeing another person. These places are so beautiful and hostile that they will take your breath away and force you to confront the thoughts and feelings stirring in the deepest confines of your primitive brain. Simply put, Alaska is the place where you WILL lose yourself and find yourself at the same time.

We as human beings need wild places like this to exist. Join me over the next several weeks as I guide you through America’s Last Frontier and hopefully inspire you to finally buy that plane ticket to Alaska!!!

“Sunset” behind Mt. Blackburn as viewed from the Kennicott Glacier, Wrangell-St. Elias National Park, Alaska.

It's Always the Right Time

I can’t believe we almost didn’t go. My good friend Paige and I planned to go backcountry skiing today for our first outing of this new winter. Looking out the window this morning, I couldn’t even see the mountains. The sky was gray and cloudy, the air was cool and damp and the mountains were hiding behind a low fog that was sandwiched between the clouds above and the legendary Salt Lake inversion below.

After waiting until 9 am we decided to just go for it anyway. Conditions looked less than inspiring for a day in the mountains. Now you have to understand, we are spoiled. Yup, really spoiled when it comes to weather. Utah winters generally bless us with sunny days and several feet of dry, fluffy powder. Skiing here is like dancing on a cloud with the warm sun shining on your face. That’s why outdoorsy people like us move out here. That’s why we both moved here anyway.

Sooooooooo, we decided to just go anyway and enjoy our time in the mountains regardless of the conditions. We both just wanted to get outside in the fresh air and strap on our skis for the first time this season. And I have been traveling for the last month so we just wanted to hang out and catch up on life.

Barely two seconds into our day we knew that we made the right decision. We both felt noticeably out of “ski shape” but the gliding movement as we climbed up the mountain felt good, it felt right. As we settled into our rhythm of talking and climbing, climbing and talking, we suddenly found ourselves above the treeline and staring at the open slopes of the upper mountain. Much to our surprise and dismay, the snow just seemed to almost disappear. The feet of snow that we found from the parking lot all the way through the trees suddenly reduced to mere inches. Big scrubby bushes and long grasses replaced the glorious powder that we expected to find at the mountain top. The monster snow storm that ravaged much of the southwest last week was clearly no match for the punishing Wasatch winds. Nearly all of our blessed snow had literally been blown off the top of the mountain!

The funny thing is that neither of us even cared. We had had so much fun up to that point and were looking forward to finally turning around and seeing if our legs “remembered” how to ski from last year. And the scene was sort of eerie-looking so I was happy to have found some motivation to finally break out my camera. When I framed the shot I knew I had a photo that perfectly captured narrative of our day.

Although the snow conditions weren’t exactly perfect they were good enough to ski and have fun doing it. But most importantly, I was reminded of the reason that do ski in the first place. And it’s the same reason that take photographs. And it’s the same reason that I like to go into the outdoors. And it’s the same reason that I do anything in my life. Getting outside and enjoying nature, breathing fresh air and sharing my experiences with friends is the only reason that I will ever need.

My motivation as a photographer, illustrator, mountain guide, outdoor advocate, friend and human being is to explore and experience the beauty of the natural world and share it with all of you. I know that I am privileged to travel to remote and beautiful places of the world that may not be possible for many people. So my hope is that I can inspire you to get outside and explore this special place we call Earth more often. Conditions may not always be perfect but it’s always the right time get out there!