Christmas & Tolovana Trip

Christmas was a little strange again this year. In some ways the being away from friends and family back in new Zealand was no different to other times of the year, and was probably not worse because it just didn't feel like Christmas. A White Christmas is some kind of ideal that we've been fed even in the Southern Hemisphere - and its cool alright - but the seasonal triggers just aren't there: no progressive build up from cut grass in the spring, the start of the cricket season, first chilly days at the beach, the Wellington November winds, slowly increasing temperatures and promise of those two weeks spanning Christmas and New Years where the whole country seems to just shift down a gear. Without those associations, which tie one Christmas with those nostalgic ones of years gone by - when the summers were always longer and hotter - there is undeniably something missing at a time of tradition.

I split the day between a midday ski with a bunch of friends and the afternoon and evening with Anna and Andy Roberts, who I'd been staying with I first arrived. We had a little antipodean bonding, all being so far from home, and the phone/skype lines were busy. Andy was being really knocked around by his chemo drugs; but it was really nice to spend time with these guys who have been so good to me in such trying times and become good friends. It was neat to open my gifts from home on Christmas Day with Lisa on the phone. Her arrival in two weeks will be a second Christmas

On Boxing Day I took off with the Christmas day skiing crowd for a three day trip to Tolovana Hot Springs. It was a 2 hour drive and 3.5 hour ski to get into the cabin. The drop into the valley was bloody steep for my skis and inexperience, but the slog up hill was rewarded with spectacular views of the Alaska range and painted sky to the south, and massive hoar frost crystals twinkling all around.

At the cabins we rented at the private hot springs, we fired up the stoves, ate well, and lounged in the tub. On Tuesday we skied about to somewhat justify more indulgences. Trivial pursuits went to the wire and fun was had by all.

Left to right: Lars, Phil, Ed, (Dart), Andy, Ellie, Anthony, and Leslie enjoying a dinner of salmon (in foil), lentil salad and couscous, night two in the cabin.

Here's the view looking west on the ski out on Wednesday. Lars, up on an abandoned water tank, is looking south towards Denali which was prominent on the horizon in such good, clear conditions. With about 4 hours each way, this was about as long as is comfortable with the current daylight conditions. We stopped at the HillTop truck stop for fries and hot chocolate/coffee and were back in town by 7pm.

A great trip with great people, that, I suppose layed a little ground work for this time next year really feeling more 'like Christmas'.

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is an American holiday involving excessive consumption of food with family and friends, giving thanks, and reflective recriminations about the poor treatment of the Native Amercans. The event was reestablished by Lincoln to commemorate and thank the contribution of the Native Americans to the early pilgrims. Nowadays at least, it is recalled with post-colonial guilt that this was repayed with mass slaughter and land confiscation. For a Kiwi it feels like Christmas and Waitangi Day in New Zealand rolled into one, minus the presents.

I had thanksgiving dinner at the cabin of my friend Adam. Further to traditional Turkey, cranberry sauce, beans, sweet potatoes and stuffing, we had salmon quiche, salads, and even rice and dahl provided by some Indian (as in Hyderabad) friends. With 3 Indians, a German, a Canadian and me out of 11 it was a pretty diverse bunch, and a very enjoyable evening. Adam's big atlas provided the starting point for lots of conversation.

From the left, here are Holly, Jay, Lisa (from Alaska), Adam and Praveen.

And here from the left are Frank and Lalida, Rakesh, and Bridge. The red tanks bottom left are for water not fuel!

Adam and Frank (see Interior Ice blog) are good friends I met at the climbing wall. This Thursday we ate, drank and talked nonsense; as opposed to most Thursdays when we go to the climbing wall, and lay about on the mats talking nonsense. Somehow Adam's girlfriend Elena eluded the camera. Praveen, Rakesh and Bridge are classmates of her. The university is such a small place though - I knew Praveen and Bridge from playing indoor cricket with the Indian engineering contingent at the UAF Student Recreation Center.

Freed somewhat from the Native American question as a foreigner, I like thanksgiving: its a chance to get together, reflect on and acknowledge who and what you are thankful for in your life, and to eat good food with your friends.

Our Chena Ridge Cabin

Update: After giving Lise the hard sell, we are going to move into this cabin! It's owned by a friend of my friend Jeremy who took me out there with our friend Anna as Lisa's representative (for the woman's view of the access drive and interior conditions). much to my reflief Anna loved it, and I am sure that Lisa will too.

It's about 9km from campus and has great views out to the south, sitting about 10 C degrees warmer than town and above the ice fog that forms in Tanana Valley in the winter. Plenty, OK not plenty, but room enough for visitors looking for the real Alaskan experience (bears not included).

Above is Jeremy in the living area. Post renovations, there wil be a couch where the work bench is.

And here, between Holland (US Marshall Sands to you) and me, is the newly installed bathroom. Plenty of cabins up here have no running water - to avoid pipe-freezing probelms - but this palce is luxuriously appointed with a 5000 litre tank, flush toilet and shower.

First Ascent

Dad recently sent me this old picture that I don't remember seeing before. That's me and him and Ben, our wonderful labrador, at the top of Mt. Holdsworth in the Wairarapa, May 1987. Dad's got ahold of Ben because he was spooked by explosives being used in the installation of a repeater station nearby.

That was my first ascent of anything bigger than a good sized tree. I daren't say I imagined then that I would be in Alaska 18 years later. I wonder where I'll be in 18 more years? And if on seeing pictures from now I will also wonder if I really looked like that!

Interior ice

Interior ice is what grows inside your window if the insulation is bad. But it's also the collective term for ice that is good enough to climb in the Alaskan 'interior'; the best ice climbing is down near the coast at Valdez where its a bit warmer and wetter.

I sampled a little interior ice of the second kind on Sunday with my friend Frank. We left Fairbanks at 5am, and arrived at the trail head on the Glen highway at 8:30am. After some setting up gear and me worrying about the cold (it was -14 C) we took off up Boulder Creek. After one and a half hours of stumbling up snow covered river bed - being careful not to break through the sometimes thin ice cover of the steram - we found some ice that was 'in'.

We climbed two water seeps, one was a slab and the other was more like a pinnacle with some cool-looking chandalier icicles (top picture), that finished up a little snow gully. Frank led and I toproped and seconded.

15 hours round trip is a long day out! But it was great weather, company and fun, and especially great to be out exploring and enjoying the Alaskan wilds so soon after getting up here.

Frank abseiling off the first route, and leading the second formation.

Fly my pretties

Just before I left Lisa got me the Fly my pretties CD recorded live at Bats theatre in Wellington. Fronted by Barnaby Weir from the Black Seeds, Fly My Pretties is a mixture of Wellington musicians with some chilled-out really beautiful songs from Barnaby and guests. And some more rollicking ones too. Barnaby Weir writes some absolutely awesomely great songs, and I like his lyrics because they tend to be about real-life happenings and people. Genuine, often touching and frequently pretty uplifting and thankful.

Funnily enough, this album has songs on family, love, giving thanks to friends, and leaving Wellington for overseas. Many are striking a chord right now.

Daylight savings up here tomorrow, but we're losing 6 minutes of daylight a day at the moment so it won't be long until the hour of light we gain in the morning is lost again!

Setting up!

Well I have been back up here in Fairbanks for a week now, and finally got around to setting this up. We'll see how it goes, but I thought it might be a good way for me and Lise to drop stuff on to let friends and family know what we are up to up here in big Alaska.

I have been staying with friends Andy and Anna Roberts. Despite being Austrlian :p they are really great and decent people, who we met up here last year. It's been neat running into friends up here. It feels a bit like i didn't leave. Or, as I arrived at the same time last year, maybe it feels like I've somehow pressed 'reset'! Weird having just gone through something similar settling in back in NZ after the time up here and trip to Europe.

Anyway, its so far so good. Ice climbing this weekend, so maybe a few good pictures to add, though hopefully nothing too dramatic to report.

Here's a pic from our time in Italy, in the area where we got engaged.
ciao.