Outdoor Explorer

Alli Harvey finishing the 2021 Equinox Marathon in Fairbanks, photo courtesy of Alli Harvey.Alli Harvey, photo courtesy of Alli Harvey.“Hiking Anchorage” currently on display at Stephan Fine Arts Gallery, photo courtesy of Alli Harvey.Our guest for this show is Alli Harvey, outdoor columnist for the Anchorage Daily News. Alli grew up on the East Coast but fell in love with Alaska at a young age when she first learned about the Aurora. As a teenager, she made her first visit to the state. She kept figuring out ways to return, and she was eventually able to move to Anchorage with an internship that became her first professional job with the Alaska Center for the Environment. Although her degree is in Urban Studies, she had also been writing and painting since a young age. Her blog about her adventures eventually led to an offer from the Anchorage Daily News, where she now writes a weekly column that explores the connection between happiness and outdoor adventure. She is also a professional landscape artist and

Team doctor for the 1971 International Everest Expedition.Peter Steel in his home in Whitehorse, from early 2022. Photo: Adam Verrier.Peter Steele in Bhutan, with his family, in the 1960’s. With his wife Sarah, and children Adam and Judith.On this Outdoor Explorer, we’ll go to Whitehorse, Yukon Territory, to visit with doctor, mountaineer, and author Peter Steele. Introduced to rock climbing and outdoorsmanship in the 1950s at the Outward Bound school in England, Peter Steele eventually found his way to the Pyrenees, the Alps, and the Himalayas before finding his way, with his family, to the Yukon Territory. As a medical doctor, he walked the length of Bhutan with his family over the course of five and a half months in the 1960s, conducting a goiter study at the invitation of the King – likely the first European to do so. He became friends with Eric Shipton, the most active and well-known European explorer of the Himalayas in the 1930’s and 40’s. And he was the team doctor for the 1971 International Everest E

John MortonThe Winter Olympics begin this week in Beijing, China. To mark the occasion, this week’s guest on Outdoor Explorer will be biathlete, author, and former Alaskan John Morton, who’s participated in ten Olympics: two as an athlete, five more as a coach and team leader, one as Chief of Course for the Salt Lake City Olympics in 2002 and, finally, two more as a spectator. He’s got plenty of stories to tell from 50 years’ worth of Olympic experiences and his time stationed at Fort Richardson in the 1960s and ‘70’s in the Army Biathlon program. We’ll discuss changes to the Olympic Games over the years, friendships made across political borders, the art of building ski trails, the power of international competition to bring people together, and Morton’s newest book, “Celebrate Winter”.HOST: Adam VerrierGUESTS:John Morton, Olympian and author of “Celebrate Winter”.LINKS:Morton Trails websiteJohn Morton’s latest book “Celebrate Winter: An Olympian’s Stories of a Life in Nordic Skiing”BROADCAST: Thursday, Febr

Seth Kantner’s new book A Thousand Trails Home: Living With Caribou details his life where caribou, hunting, and subsistence are the center of everything. Seth joins host Paul Twardock to discuss his life growing up on the Kobuk River with his parents and brother in a sod house. Living miles from the nearest village and learning to live with what the land provided Seth experiences rich in nature and culture. The changes to the arctic wrought by climate and cultural change have been rapid and incredibly challenging. Seth shares his experiences and insights as someone who has spent his entire life observing and living with those changes.HOST: Paul TwardockGUESTS:Seth Kantner, author of A Thousand Trails Home: Living with caribouLINKS:A Thousand Trails Home: Living with CaribouProposed Ambler Road PDFAlaska development authority signs land access agreement with Native corporation for Ambler Road projectEnvironmental Justice AtlasBROADCAST: Thursday, January 27th, 2022. 10:00 am – 11:00 a.m. AKTREPEAT BROADCAST:

Service High School cross country running team in 1972.Tom Corbin in 1969.Tom Corbin today.Tom Corbin’s hand-drawn map of the Hillside Ski Trails from the 1970’s.The Anchorage Hillside Ski Trail System is 50 years old this year. The first five-kilometer ski loop was cut by Service High School families and coaches in 1971. Over time, the trail system has gradually expanded to its current 24 kilometers, many of them lighted for night skiing. The ski trails at Hillside are used by hundreds, and sometimes thousands of people each day, for exercise, recreation and sometimes racing, and the trail system’s impact on the local community is difficult to overstate.This week on Outdoor Explorer, we’ll go out skiing with Tom Corbin around some of the original Hillside Ski Trails, and find out how they came to be where they are, and who was responsible for their creation. Corbin was straight out of college and had just been hired as a ski coach at Service High School in 1971 when the original five-kilometer loop was cut t

Daniel Lieberman at home with his dog, Echo, photo courtesy Daniel Lieberman.Exercised book jacket, photo courtesy Daniel Lieberman.If you have read the book “Born to Run” by Christopher McDougal, you are familiar with the name Daniel Lieberman. Along with his colleague, Dennis Bramble, his research has been used to support the thesis that human beings owe some of our evolutionary success to our ability to run efficiently. Dr. Lieberman is a paleoanthropologist and professor of human evolutionary biology at Harvard University who has authored books about the human body and the human head. His most recent book, “Exercised: Why Something We Never Evolved to Do is Healthy and Rewarding,” explores purposeful exercise as it relates to our evolution and why it is a rarity outside of the developed world.HOST: Lisa KellerSEGMENTS:Segment 1: Daniel Lieberman, professor of human evolutionary biology at Harvard University andauthor of “Exercised: Why Something We Never Evolved to Do is Healthy and Rewarding.”LINKS:Exerc

A tree seen at the Solstice Tree Tour at Kincais park. Photo by Paull Twardock.An illuminited van at the Alaska Botanical Garden. Photo by Paul Twardock.A tree lit up at the Alaska Botanical Garden. Photo by Paul Twardock.Illuminated ice candles at the Alaska Botanical Garden. Photo by Paul Twardock.The Solstice Tree Tour map from the NSAA.As the year 2021 comes to a close we feature two traditions in Anchorage: The Nordic Ski Association of Anchorage’s Solstice Tree Tour at Kincaid Park and the Alaska Botanical Garden’s Holiday Lights. Sara Miller with NSAA and Patrick Ryan with the Botanical Garden will explain their winter programs and how to get involved. Host Paul Twardock will take you on an audio postcard of NSAA’s 2020 Solstice Tree Tour. We’ll also have co-host Lisa Keller and a few college students elaborate on their holiday wishes, from wishes for a better world to ideas for stocking stuffers. HOST: Paul TwardockGUESTS:Sara Miller with the Nordic Ski Association of AnchoragePatrick Ryan with the Al

Mask by Joe SenungetukMask by Joe SenungetukJames TempteJoe and Martha SenungetukArtwork by Joe SenungetukAlaska Natives have been creating art influenced by nature and culture for thousands of years. The clothing, tools, kayaks, weapons, baskets, and other items of everyday life and ceremony were, and are, functional and artistic. During the 1960s young Native artists like Joe Senungetuk started creating Indigenous art that blended the traditional to more contemporary. They started including environmental and social issues into their art along with the influences of their upbringing in rural Alaska. Joe attended UAF, taught art at Mt. Edgecumbe in Sitka, attended the San Francisco Arts Institute (in 1968!), author of Give or Take A Century: An Eskimo Chronology, and was a columnist for the Anchorage Daily News, all while being a prolific artist. Martha was born in Cordova and is an established Native artist in her own right. This Outdoor Explorer welcomes Joe and Martha to discuss the influences that their l

Aaron Ramirez and Lisa Keller at the Lavaman Triathlon, photo courtesy Lisa Keller.Alisa Carroll, photo courtesy Alisa Carroll.Dr. Kim Harmon, photo courtesy Kim Harmon.At the beginning of this summer, our host Lisa had several trips planned to support her friend Aaron Ramirez at Ironman races. It looked to be a fun summer and fall, back to our usual activities of traveling and racing. Of course, you know what happened next. Alaska was hit hard by the Delta variant, and everything changed once again. Even though Aaron was vaccinated, he developed a breakthrough Covid infection. Training was impossible and races were quickly canceled. The long journey he is on, to be able to train as before and feel comfortable racing, inspired Lisa to put together this show. You’ll hear from Dr. Kim Harmon, the team physician for the University of Washington football team who has been researching the impacts of Covid on athletes, and Alisa Carroll, a physical therapist who helps people recover lung function after a Covid infe

Luc Mehl. Photo with permission from the owner.Luc Mehl. Photo with permission from the owner.Luc Mehl packrafting the Matanuska River.Luc Mehl backcountry skating in Katmai. Photo courtesy Luc Mehl.Trip planning and risk analysis are keys to safe and successful outings, whether it is a day hike or an extended trip far from medical help. Alaska’s vast expanse, large and cold rivers, challenging weather, wild animals, and scarcity of emergency response resources add to the need for responsible and thoughtful trip preparation and execution. On this Outdoor Explorer we look at near misses and accidents from this past summer of 2021, then look forward to trip planning for this coming winter and next summer. Our guest is Luc Mehl. Luc spent a significant part of his youth in McGrath, Alaska, and has traveled throughout Alaska in all seasons as an adventurer, wilderness athlete, scientist, and educator. Besides hosting a popular trip planning website he is the co-author of the new book The Packrafting Handbook and

Kikkan and Breck riding to school, photo courtesy Kikkan Randall.Former NSAA Junior Nordic skier Kikkan Randall, photo courtesy Kikkan Randall.NSAA Executive Director Kikkan Randall, photo courtesy Kikkan Randall.Our guest for this episode of Outdoor Explorer is Kikkan Randall, one of Alaska’s most popular and well-known athletes. In the 2018 Winter Olympics, Kikkan and Jessie Diggins became the first Americans to win a gold medal in Nordic skiing, in the team sprint freestyle race. Shortly after the Olympics, Randall was diagnosed with breast cancer and became an advocate for an active lifestyle while in treatment. She had been living in Canada, but now she’s back in Anchorage as the new executive director of the Nordic Ski Association of Anchorage.HOST: Lisa KellerSEGMENTS:Kikkan Randall, executive director of the Nordic Skiing Association of AnchorageLINKS:Nordic Ski Association of AnchorageActiv Against CancerKikkan Randall’s websiteBROADCAST: Thursday, November 4th, 2021. 10:00 am – 3:00 p.m. AKTREPEAT B

Kayaks at the NOLS headquarters.John Gans, former NOLS Alaska director and NOLS PresidentAshley Wise, NOLS Alaska Program ManagerThe NOLS Red Barn in Palmer.NOLS, formerly known as the National Outdoor Leadership School, has been educating and inspiring students in Alaska since 1971. Though not the first wilderness education program in Alaska, it is one of the most successful based on its longevity, number of alumni, and impact it has had on Alaska. Many of its alumni and instructors have lived and contributed to Alaska whether as educators, business people, authors, land managers, public servants, or just being active in the outdoor community. NOLS has also greatly influenced the outdoor industry’s risk management and Leave No Trace ethics, with its Alaska operations offering significant contributions. We welcome John Gans, former NOLS Alaska director, and NOLS President, and Ashley Wise, current NOLS Alaska Program Manager, to discuss NOLS’s history in Alaska, its influences, and its current status and futu

Crow Pass Trail, photo courtesy Max RomeyDebris found on the beach, photo courtesy Max RomeyMax Romey sketching Raven Glacier at Crow Pass, photo courtesy Max Romey.Our guest this week is Max Romey. Max is a watercolor artist and filmmaker from Anchorage. He has joined us before to tell us about his creative style of using watercolors in his films focusing on the outdoors. Storytelling using pictures instead of words was born from his life with dyslexia. The last time he visited us in the fall of 2020, he was developing a six-chapter project called “Trailbound Alaska.” Although the project has changed and evolved, he has finished one part of the film series, the journey from Seward to Eagle River. Another one of his films, “If You Give a Beach a Bottle,” is a story that took him many years to tell and is a finalist at this year’s Banff Mountain Film Festival at the end of this month. Max will also give us a preview of his next project, which is very close to home.HOST: Lisa KellerSEGMENTS:Max Romey, watercolo

Much of Alaska’s landmass is covered in water. During the winter when those lakes and rivers freeze solid, and if the snow isn’t deeper than an inch or so, all that frozen water makes for great ice skating! Around the world, people have been ice skating for a very long time. But recent advances in skate and binding technology, including the popularity of “nordic skates”, have made recreational skating more comfortable and convenient than ever before. Skating on natural ice in Alaska allows access to places that can be difficult or inconvenient to reach when ice-free, like Portage Glacier, the far side of Eklutna Lake, or other remote lakes, rivers, and swampy areas all around the state. This week on Outdoor Explorer, we’ll be talking with Carl Oswald, President of the Anchorage Speedskating Club, and Paxson Woelber, a nordic skating enthusiast who has begun manufacturing his own line of nordic skates. We’ll discuss everything skating: equipment, safety, places to skate, “wild ice”, skating adventures, and ska

Economic impact of outdoor activities, image courtesy Alaska Outdoor Alliance.Lee Hart, Executive Director of Alaska Outdoor Alliance, photo courtesy Alaska Outdoor Alliance.The guest for this show is Lee Hart, Executive Director of Alaska Outdoor Alliance. The Alliance’s mission is to build the best outdoor economy in the world. The outdoor economy is an under-recognized yet important economic driver tocommunities across the Western United States. According to the Outdoor Industry Association, 81% of Alaskansparticipate in outdoor recreation each year and we have the 7th largest recreation economy in the United States. Thereis $3.2 billion spent by Alaskan consumers that can be tied to outdoor recreation, according to the State of Alaska Center for Economic Development. The Alliance is a critical player in advancing policy and promoting outdoor recreation and infrastructure in our state.HOST: Lisa KellerSEGMENTS: Lee Hart, Executive Director of Alaska Outdoor AllianceLINKS:Alaska Outdoor Alliance websiteAlas

Aaron Leggett, President of the Native Village of Eklutna, photo courtesy Aaron Leggett.This show is a follow-up to a show that aired in February of 2021 about Chugach State Park. We found a few paragraphs in the 2016 Management Plan about the First People to arrive in the Anchorage area intriguing. We will learn more about the seafaring First People who first discovered the Upper Cook Inlet and the Dena’ina Athabaskans who then moved into the area we now know as Anchorage and hunted and fished in the area we now know as Chugach State Park. Although Eklutna Inc. owns 10% of the land that Chugach State Park sits on and is the largest private landowner in the Anchorage Municipality, the Dena’ina have been called the “invisible people” because the stories of their ancestors have not been heard. Aaron Leggett, Senior Curator of Alaska History & Indigenous Culture at the Anchorage Museum and President of the Tribal Council of the Native Village of Eklutna, joins us to talk about the past, present, and future o

Heather CaldwellSarah HistandOn this show, our guests are Sarah Histand and Heather Caldwell. Sarah is a mental health professional as well as a fitness trainer and we talk about easing the transition of both your brain and your body from summer into winter. We cover some important areas of strength and fitness to focus on as you think about winter sports as well as how a less frantic summer can lead to a less abrupt change in energy with the season change. Heather is a psychotherapist, athlete, and outdoor lover. We take a deeper dive into using a connection to nature to ease our seasonal transitions as well as preparing our minds and bodies for the arrival of winter.HOST: Martha RosensteinGUEST:Sarah Histand – a mental health professional and a fitness trainerHeather Caldwell – a psychotherapist, althete and outdoor loverLINKS:Evolve in Nature, Heather’s siteSarah websiteSarah on InstagramBROADCAST: Thursday, September 23rd, 2021. 2:00 pm – 3:00 p.m. AKTREPEAT BROADCAST: Thursday, September 23rd, 2021. 8:0

The Teaming With Series, photo courtesy Jeff Lowenfels.Jeff Lowenfels, Lord of the Roots, photo courtesy Jeff LowenfelsDIY Autoflowering Cannabis book, photo courtesy Jeff Lowenfels.This show is about exploring your own backyard and who better to tell us all about what’s out there than my guest, Jeff Lowenfels. Jeff has written a weekly gardening column for the Anchorage Daily News since 1976, the longest-running gardening column in the United States. Along the way, he has documented our changing climate and has been at the forefront of advocating for an organic and sustainable yard and garden. He is the author of a series of books on organic gardening, with a new book coming out in the spring of 2022. Join Jeff and host Lisa Keller as we explore the changing scene of gardening in the 49th state.HOST: Lisa KellerSEGMENTS:Jeff Lowenfels– Author and ADN columnistLINKS:Jeff Lowenfels’ websiteThe New York Times Magazine articleBROADCAST: Thursday, September 16 th, 2021. 10:00 am – 3:00 p.m. AKTREPEAT BROADCAST:

Mike BranhamOn this show, our guest is Mike Branham. Mike is a financial planner with a passion for the outdoors. We talk about how you can fund your outdoor adventures and save for your future, why it’s important to find a balance between these things, as well as some ideas for maximizing your dollars when it comes to the gear and gadgets you need (or think you need) for your outdoor hobbies. Also, just a quick note that while Mike is an expert in the area of financial planning, our discussion is meant to be informational only and not to be considered professional advice.HOST: Martha RosensteinGUEST:Mike Branham – Financial planner and outdoor enthusiastBROADCAST: Thursday, September 9th, 2021. 2:00 pm – 3:00 p.m. AKTREPEAT BROADCAST: Thursday, May 13th, 2021. 8:00 – 9:00 p.m. AKTSUBSCRIBE: Receive Outdoor Explorer automatically every week via:iTunes EmailRSS FeedPodcast]]>

Tony Perelli and Becky King with morels_Photo: Tony PerelliMushroomsRaina picking blueberries.Understory.Highbush cranberries.Late summer and fall are the time for picking blueberries, hunting for mushrooms, and gettingready for winter. Gathering edible berries and plants has many benefits besides their greattaste. Jackie Qataliña, Tony Perelli, and Dana Diehl join host Paul Twardock to discuss whattheir favorite edible and medicinal plants and mushrooms are, their uses, the physical andemotional benefits of foraging, and ethical considerations.HOST: Paul TwardockGUESTS:Segment 1: Jackie Qataliña and Tony PerelliSegment 2: Dana DiehlLINKS:Store Outside Your Door webisodesAlaska Native Traditional Food GuideFree mushroom guide from the Forest ServiceMushrooms Book: All That The Rain Promises and More: A Hip Pocket Field GuideMushroom Workshops by Dr. Gary LaursenBROADCAST: Thursday, September 2nd, 2021. 10:00 am – 11:00 a.m. AKTREPEAT BROADCAST: Thursday, September 2nd, 2021. 8:00 – 9:00 p.m. AKTSUBSCRIBE: Re