For the first few years that I lived in Alaska, Scott was my go-to guy for outdoor fun. He was a serious ski racer at that time, but whenever I could distract him from rollerskiing, we’d go do long skis and runs in the mountains.  But in 2005, Scott decided he’d rather be an academic than a ski bum, and that he would rather not live 4,000 miles away from his soon-to-be-wife.   So he left Alaska.  I am fortunate that there are so many cool people to do outdoor adventures with here in Anchorage, but I still miss having Scott around.

Scott and Jess were back in town this past week, and he and I were both looking forward to getting back into the mountains together.  As it turned out, we didn’t have a lot of time. We had to squeeze in an afternoon hike during kiddo nap time on Sunday.  We went down to Girdwood and hiked up Crow Pass. Then we crossed over Clear Creek and poked around in some side valleys before it was time to head back down.

A short trip, but a great time, as always.

August 5: Linda, Scott and I did a hike up the new Winner Creek trail in Girdwood. From the pass we went down the other side and floated out the Twenty Mile River.

June 18: Linda and I have really been hitting the packrafting hard this summer. They really are the coolest things ever. With snow still in the montains, we’ve been doing a few short, road-accessible creeks to practice our skills. Still can’t figure out how to snap photos in the rafts without soaking the camera, so all I can show you are the maps.

On Saturday July 9, Tim Kelley, Scott and I went to Wells Bay in Prince William Sound to hike a couple of peaks.

After a week of 70 degree weather in Anchorage, we knew the end of the ski season was quickly approaching. We also knew that we needed one last good fix of the white stuff before we could move on to summer…So Bill, Scott and I loaded up the car and headed north to find crust at Broad Pass.

On Sunday April 17, Scott, Bill and I planned to explore the crust skiing in Center Creek. If only I could get us there…

On Saturday, April 9, Scott and I went searching for crust. I did a recon mission south of Anchorage yesterday and found no crust, so this time we headed north to Willow and the Hatcher Pass road.

On August 22, Scott, Brian and I finally tackled the Whittier Ridge Run that I have had my eye on for over a year.

Scott & I ran an 18 mile loop around Wolverine Peak, past Long Lake and Williwaw Lakes.

May 4. After a week of warm rainly weather, the crust is back! Today I went up to Glen Alps to put in my effort in the World Spring Skiing Championships of the World. There were quite a few other people up there doing the same thing.