White Mountains traverse

Over "spring break" (not really spring...) Inari and I joined some friends on a 4-day ski trip through the White Mountains. The Whites are about 50-100 miles north of Fairbanks; I've visited them several times before, but mostly in summer (here and here) and never made it so far from the road. This time we got to see some terrain that I'd been wanting to see for several years.

It was a tough trip: we averaged about 8 hours of skiing each day and had just enough energy to eat dinner before crashing each night. We were thankful to have good company and cabins to sleep in - otherwise this trip may have been a death march like my solo trip in 2007.

It was a really nice, diverse trail. Skied over a couple of "high" passes and through some open swamp land, crossed Beaver Creek a couple of times, and had to navigate a 2 mile long section of frozen overflow (imagine a giant hockey rink tilted at a slight angle).

The trip had its moments. There were times when I questioned my sanity, but at other times - especially when the sun was shining - I didn't want to be anywhere else. I guess that's why we do these trips! (Plus the pain makes you feel alive...)

Some moments along the way.

First view of the mountains on Day 1:

Barely enough snow for skiing:
Cache Mountain Pass:
Anja and Penny eat lunch on Day 2:
Windy Gap Cabin:
Inari happy to be on top of Windy Gap:
View from Windy Gap:
Strong winds near Colorado Creek Cabin:

Skiing weekend

The last weekend in January has been a good one.

Friday: Late evening moonlight skiing, followed by a cup of chai.

Saturday: Breakfast at LuLu's bagels. Skijoring on the Tanana River in the bright sunlight with Cooper and Saphira.

Sunday: Downhill skiing at Moose Mountain with a bunch of friends. To be followed by a hot sauna.

Winter in Fairbanks is so much nicer when it is reasonably warm and sunny!

What will the groundhog do?

Another month has gone by without a blog post. Where does the time go?

The last few weeks have been pretty cold - not unbearably cold, but cold enough to keep us indoors most of the time. We're starting to get a bit stir crazy and anxious for longer days and slightly warmer temperatures. Almost there. Just another week and the furry groundhog will tell us how much more winter we have!

We pass our time by going to shows and reading. I've already read 2.5 books this month and am about to start on another. Its nice to be this close to my defense (March 18) and not be too stressed about writing, yet... Speaking of which, last week I turned in my "Application for graduation" and reserved a room for my defense. Its really starting to feel like my days as a student are numbered. Kind of strange and exciting. We're not sure yet what happens next, but it probably involves moving to a large city in a distant land.