ANWR Ranks #6 in 50 Best American Adventures

National Geographic Adventure Magazine

Where Beasts Take Refuge

- Exploring ANWR

http://adventure.nationalgeographic.com/2009/04/50-best-american-adventures/top-10-text/6

Pack Rafts make headlines in NY Times Online

River Craft Lite: Floats Great, Less Filling

By STEPHEN REGENOLD

Published: October 16, 2009

http://travel.nytimes.com/2009/10/16/travel/16packraft.html

Wilderness Cuisine

11 years ago, Alaska Alpine Adventures began exploring the wilderness of Lake Clark National Park. While taking guests into the backcountry was somewhat new to founders Dan Oberlatz and Derek Nelson, eating gourmet cooking was not. Derek had quite the culinary resume under his belt by the time he first served up fresh Pad Thai on the shores of Turquoise Lake in the heart of the park. From there, his passion for delicious wilderness cuisine turned into a full fledged obsession to create a menu complete with filling breakfast burritos, fresh deli sandwiches and dinners typically found in your favorite downtown restaurants. And no dinner was complete without dessert, where Derek rounded off the menu with items such as the Mountain Cookie, named as much for a passion for the mountains as the sheer size of this tasty treat.

With the help of our vendors as well as the expertise of the kitchen staff at Snow City Cafe, we provide what we feel is the most amazing backcountry cuisine ever created. Here's a sample of a typical day. If this wets your appetite, you might have to head up to Alaska this summer to taste what we have in store!

Breakfast: Berry Pancakes

What goes better with a morning cup of coffee while watching the sun crest the ridge above camp than pancakes hot off the griddle?

Take your standard pancake mix (or make your own from scratch) and some organic freeze dried berries from Just Tomatoes. Add pure mountain water from your local stream and mix to a slightly lumpy consistency. Cook on a buttered griddle until golden brown! Top your delicious cakes with pure maple syrup (rehydrated of course) from Alpine Aire and enjoy!

Lunch: Italian Club Sandwich

Take 2 generous slices of Focaccia bread, add Pesto, Prosciutto, fresh Buffalo Mozzarella and julienned Roasted Red Peppers. Combine to make a hearty, delicious sandwich!

Dinner: Pad Thai

After a long day exploring the wilderness, a delicious meal is all that will quell the hunger inside. The perfect prescription for this backcountry ailment is a full, piping hot bowl of Pad Thai! Here's how we do it:

While your rice noodles are soaking, rehydrate your Alpine Aire freeze dried eggs and chicken, and organic freeze dried veggies from Just Tomatoes. Fry up a little scrambled egg; stir fry your veggies and chicken, add a little pad thai sauce (we use our AAA secret recipe here) and rice noodles. Fry in your pan until slightly browned and serve hot. You won't go to bed hungry after this meal!

Dessert: The Mountain Cookie

Need I say more. It's a cookie named the Mountain Cookie. This could possibly be the most action packed cookie in the Alaska wilderness. Here are a few of the ingredients, I'm betting you can imagine how it comes together: Peanut Butter, Rolled Oats, Chocolate Chips, Raisins and Brown sugar. This monster will keep you warm at night and energized throughout the next day. I could live on these things in the mountains.

After years of wilderness adventures eating a mix of mac and cheese, ramen noodles and peanut butter & jelly, I experienced my first Alaska Alpine Adventures meal in Katmai National Park. Surrounded by the austere landscape of the Valley of 10,000 Smokes, the wilderness experience was finally complete: Amazing scenery, great friends and unbelievable cuisine - I've haven't been the same since.

Back from New York!

I'm back from New York city and what turned out to be a successful presentation at the Explorers Club! I had a turn-out of roughly 60 people to enjoy my multi-media show on Lake Clark National Park highlighting a big traverse that I completed in 2007 with Mark Stevens. Of course, this finished with a lively discussion on the proposed Pebble Mine and the threat it poses to Lake Clark NP. I ended the show by playing the trailer for the outstanding film RED GOLD, which was very well received!

I'd like to thank the Explorers Club and good friends Nik & Liza for their generous hospitality. New York is a wilderness all its own, and they proved to be outstanding guides!

Looking Back, Looking Ahead

Unbelievably it's October 2009 already. The snowfall is slowly creeping down the hillside as a constant reminder that summer is over, and fall's end is not far behind. Alaska is about to settle into winter. Goodbye long days, hello darkness!

The arrival of winter is not necessarily a bad thing. There are an amazing amount of things to do in the winter, and the adventurer in all of us is sure not to stand still. I can't help but think of all the winter activities within minutes of our office! Nordic skiing on the miles of lighted trails within the Anchorage city limits, unlimited backcountry skiing just outside of the city, and world class ice climbing to top it all off. But we are not there yet. Soon enough, soon enough. We are keeping our fingers crossed for deep snow, cold temps and as many "Work Outings" we can muster. Ah Fridays!

As for the summer of 2009; Alaska Alpine Adventures celebrates another successful season leading trips to all reaches Alaska, to recap: Our multisport, road based adventures took guests to some of the most amazing road accessible parks in the state, often proving to be the best introduction to Alaska one could ask for. Our backcountry trips took us deep into Alaska's National Parks including Twin and Turquoise Lakes in Lake Clark National Park, The Goat Trail in Wrangell St. Elias National Park, and The Valley of 10,000 Smokes in Katmai National Park. We also ventured into new country this year, here is a brief look at our 2009 exploratory adventures!

Arctic National Wildlife Refuge - Mt. Chamberlain and the Hulahula River - In June, owner Dan Oberlatz and AMGA guide Joe Stock lead a group of five bold adventurers to the far north on a combined mountaineering / rafting adventure. They succeeded in climbing Mt. Chamberlain as well as floating the Hulahula to the Beaufort Sea, with a pick up at the small native village of Kaktovic on Barter Island. Reports from Dan described vast, beautiful landscapes, fantastic climbing, and a river that ran fast and cold. It was a true Alaska Alpine Adventure and we hope to further our exploration into the miles of seldom visited terrain that is ANWR.

Aniakchak National Monument and Preserve - Aniakchak River - Also in June, Guide Seth Plunkett and I lead a returning couple on their second Alaska Alpine Adventure. On a quest to visit every National Park Unit, their last trip with us was an exploratory rafting trip down the Charley River in the Yukon-Charley Rivers National Preserve. This year, it was the Aniakchak River in the Aniakchak National Monument and Preserve.

Promising adventure, Aniakchak is the least visited of the National Park units, and we were among the 30 or so people that visited this summer. The Caldera was like visiting another planet; a 2500' deep, 6 mile wide volcanic crater whose desolate landscape is a result of numerous eruptions that shaped the Aleutian Chain. The Aniakchak River, flowing fast to the Pacific Ocean, was exciting and kept us on our toes from start to finish.

This seldom visited preserve is definitely a hidden gem within the National Park system!

Wrangell St. Elias National Park - The North Wrangells - Dan was again able to explore new terrain with a trip to the North Wrangells with 2 clients on their 4th Alaska Alpine Adventure. Traveling into this new country required a trip to Nebesna, and a half hour super cub flight to a remote strip on Tumble Creek. Under the watchful eye of Mt. Jarvis, the threesome explored countless valleys, ridges and mountain peaks. It was such an amazing place that we have launched a new trip, EXPLORING THE NORTH WRANGELLS - WRANGELL-ST. ELIAS NP , a worthy adventure for 2010!

Lake Clark National Park - Neacola Mountains Exploratory Traverse - Veteran guide Andy Heath led two adventurous brothers deep into the Neacola mountains in search of unexplored valleys, high mountain passes and unclimbed peaks. Over the course of their trip, they traveled from Telaquana Lake south to Upper Twin Lake via an unexplored mountain route. Given the tired smiles on their faces, I would say that the adventure was a success! The Neacola Mountains in Lake Clark National Park continue to be one of our favorite places to explore in Alaska!

Alaska Range - Revelation Mountains Traverse - The Revelation Mountains are at the western tip of the Alaska Range, and make up Lake Clark NP's northern border. Dan scoured the maps for a route that would challenge him and veteran Alaska Alpine Adventures' client Mark Steven's, taking them to new country that was sure to leave them both speechless. This year, it was the Revelation Mountains. All I can say is, 13 days and countless passes, rivers and mountains later, Mark and Dan emerged from the wilderness with an expression that comes only from seeing the unbelievable, from experiencing the unimaginable. The Revelations are true wilderness.

Although we have closed up our summer base in Lake Clark, we are busy in the office here in Anchorage planning for 2010. Call us anytime, we are always looking forward to discussing the next adventure in your future and ours!

Katmai Coast

It's unbelievable to think that we are nearing the end of another season here in Alaska.  As we come into the final weeks of the summer and I look through pictures of another Alaska Alpine Adventure, I still can't believe how fortunate we are to spend our summers this way.  Whether it be completing amazing new backpacking routes, exploring new rivers or paddling coastline few people have ever seen, we always seem to embrace the explorer in all of us.  Sharing this unexplored wilderness is our passion. 

 

The Hulahula River and Mt. Chamberlain

I was looking through some of Dan's photos of his ANWR trip with a successful ascent of Mt. Chamberlain and a successful descent of the Hulahula River.  I'll let the photo speak for itself for now, and let Dan tell the story in a later post!

Lake Clark National Park featured in National Geographic Adventure Magazine

Pick up a copy of the June/July 2009 National Geographic Adventure Magazine and flip to page 55!  You won't see our smiling mugs (although the boater in the photo looks pretty happy), but you get a chance to read about our favorite park in Alaska, Lake Clark National Park.  Featured as one of the "Best of the Great Parks," Lake Clark was catagorized as the Ultimate Wilderness.  Not a bad place to hang out.

Alaska Alpine Adventures received a mention as the go to guides for the park.

It's a great issue, make sure to grab a copy!

 

Exploratory Adventures

Almost every year, we are fortunate enough to have the opportunity as a company to explore new remote places in Alaska.  From amazing backpacking traverses to paddling new water, it broadens our horizons and furthers our love for the Alaskan wilderness.

Earlier this week, Dan and I returned from exploratory adventures, on opposite sides of the state.  In ANWR, Dan and co-guide Joe Stock led a stout group of explorers up Mount Chamberlain (the highest peak in the Brooks Range) and floated to the top of the continent on the HulaHula River. Seth Plunkett and I traveled to the Alaska Peninsula with 2 returning adventurers to hike and paddle in the Aniakchak National Monument (the least visited unit in the National Park system), floating out through the Aleutian Range to the Pacific Ocean.

What are exploratory trips at Alaska Alpine Adventures?  For 10 years, we have been taking guests to the far reaches of Alaska's National Park's, visiting places seen by few people.  Places where there are no trails, no footprints, no people.  

On both trips, along with our clients, we experienced real wilderness, real Alaska.  

2009 Begins

Well it's here! 2009 has been kicked off and our first group of the year is enjoying perfect weather, few bugs, and incredible solitude as they hike and explore Turquoise Lake. Aaron is holding down the show in Anchorage and I'm out at Lake Clark gearing up, packing food for trips, and generally taking in the beauty of this magical place - a place I never tire of. Lake Clark continues to astound me, and each time I fly through the "pass" memories of adventures gone by flood my consciousness. We are truly fortunate to be able to work and play in such a magnificent place! Let the season begin.