With that in mind, here are my goals.

1. Come back alive 
2. Come back with all body parts intact
3. Finish the race
4. Finish the race in less than six days
5. Have fun

Recently, I was starting to feel optimistic about the race.  After my post about the mental battle of a race like this, I got an email from a friend who is an expert on this type of adventure.  He said,  ”the hardest part of long ski trips is getting to the point where you take the first stride.  From there on it’s usually just plain fun.”  That helped a lot.  My fear was giving way to excitement and anticipation.  But then Craig Medred had to go and write this article: The loneliness of the long-distance winter race.

The hardest race to run is the one waged in your mind, and it is for this reason the Iditarod Trail Invitational is the hardest race in the world.

Sweet.  Just what I wanted to hear.  

But I am still excited and optimistic.  I believe Tim.  He’s usually right.  It has been much harder than I expected to get to this point. For months, every minute of my time that hasn’t been spent with work or family has been spent on this race.  I am ready to move on to the actual adventure.  I am looking forward to taking my first stride.

It got me thinking about the increasing daylight and my favorite times of the year in Alaska, and I felt compelled to make a list.  Here’s how I rank the months.

1. July – Nothing beats summer in Alaska.  Packrafting, peakbagging, anything in the mountains.
2. June – Summer ramps up.  Just like July except the vegetation hasn’t grown up (good) and there is still a lot of snow in the mountains (good for corn skiing, good and bad for hiking).  Orienteering season going strong.
3. April – Crust skiing, crust skiing, crust skiing. And if we are really lucky, more crust skiing.  If crust ski conditions weren’t so hit-or miss, April would be an easy #1.
4. March – The best month for skiing of the non-crust variety.  Usually mid-winter snow conditions, but with actual daylight and slightly warmer temperatures.
5. August – Still lots of great summer options, but the weather starts to get wetter and cooler. Packrafting, hiking, biking as the weather allows.
6. May – A little of everything.  Still some crust skiing to be had.  Orienteering, road biking and trail running get started.  A great time to go skiing or kayaking in Prince William Sound.
7. February – Skiing is usually good and the days are getting noticably longer.
8. September – Cool and often wet, with an occasional window of summer weather.  I focus on running and cyclocross races to stay motivated.
9. January – Cold and dark, with an inevitable meltdown thrown in somewhere.  January would be at the bottom if I didn’t love skiing so much.
10. November – Activities depend on whether the snow has come or not.  Ice skating can be fantastic, skiing, mountain biking, trail running are other options.
11. December – The darkest part of winter.  Skiing improves as the base of snow accumulates.
12. October – Cold and rainy, maybe with a bit of snow.  At least I’ve got cyclocross and Tuesday Night Runs, and skiing at Hatcher Pass.

You’ll notice that we are currently in the month ranked #7. And the next six months? They are all ranked in the top six!  Sweet spot here we come!  The stretch of time from March through August is clearly Alaska’s better half.  There is nowhere else in the world I’d rather be for this half of the year. 

I feel like a kid on the verge of summer vacation.  If only I could figure out a way to make summer vacation last six months.

This morning our week of perfect crust skiing weather took a turn for the cloudy, rainy, and snowy. So probably no epic crust this weekend.  Instead I must feed my addiction by recalling past crust cruising glory.   This was a tough list to create, because if I was ranking my favorite outdoor experiences of all-time, every crust ski would be near the top.   So here is my best attempt to whittle the list to my five favorite crust skis of all time (so far!).

1. Around Bard Peak This ski had everything: perfect crust, sun, glaciers, powder, Prince William Sound, great company, and a trecherous decent into Whittier on rotting snow!
2. Center Creek I’ve done this one three times now and its always one of the best skis of the season
3. Broad Pass The skiing on this one was a little bumpy, but the scenery was great and it was a really fun road trip.
4. Around Avalanche Mountain – My first real Alaskan crust ski adventure, although I wouldn’t do it again.  Skiing up an avalanche chute was dumb, dropping down over Powerline Pass on skinny skis was dumber.
5. Carmen Lake and Twentymile Glacier – An early season (February) treat from the crust ski gods.