Celebrating Yup'ik Culture

This time of year is full of celebrations and cultural events here in the Yukon Delta. Last weekend was Cama-i (pronounced Cha – my) in Bethel. Cama-i is a huge event that attracts people from around the world. This year, Cama-I hosted the magnificent Te Wananga Maori warriors. The Maori warriors are very enthusiastic and somewhat intimidating with their big tongues sticking out and the warrior like designs on their faces and bodies. They made the front page of the Delta Discovery our regional newspaper.

This weekend, it was Toksooks turn to host a dance festival, the Yup’ik Dance Festival. Although not quite as big, there were about 8 villages that braved the weather and snow machined or flew to Toksook to take part in the festivities. Held in the Nelson Islanders Gymnasium, you couldn’t buy a seat for $20. All right, maybe for $20, but it wouldn’t be a very good seat. Just joking, there weren’t any admission fees, but the place was packed.

This picture should give you an idea of how many people attended and drove their snow machines from their village. Some villages are 30 – 50 miles away over frozen waters and deep snow packed tundra. This is the closest Toksook Bay comes to filling a mall parking lot. There are another 20 snow machines behind me in this picture.

I attended the celebration a couple of times over the weekend, but I was also interested in the mounds of fresh powdery snow that we got in the area almost all weekend. I hit the backcountry everyday (sometimes twice) and got to make some turns on my x-country skis. Everyday there is fresh snow after April 1st is a gift. It will be interesting to see how much snow is left here when it is time to leave for the summer. Don’t forget we are on the coast at an elevation of about 80 feet. I have thoroughly enjoyed this winter.

The Powder Bowl

This blog post has been on my mind for a couple of weeks now and I just haven't taken the time to get it posted. Well, here it is. Thanks for your patience.

Let me explain the powder bowl and why it is such a great place to ski here in Toksook. The winds either blow from the North or the South around here. The Powder Bowl sits facing Southwest and Northeast, so as the wind blows snow either North or South, it gets dropped right in the valley that makes up the bowl. In other words, it collects a lot of powder and makes for very fun downhill ski conditions. More importantly, it makes the skiing managable. Most other places consist of icy, lumpy, irregular conditions. This is a picture of the top of the bowl. I know it doesn't look like much of a bowl, but it is a slope that is pretty fun on x-country skis.

Here are a couple of pics showing you the powder bowl at its finest, which was a couple of weeks ago by now. Since then, the weather has warmed up, making the snow very heavy and slushy. It is the first week of April and we just got a new snow storm that is still kicking in fresh snow. Old Man Winter just doesn't want to let go of Toksook Bay this winter.




Notice the beautiful "S" carves coming down the bowl. I'm proud to say that I made those on w-country skis. Katja found a bone and just laid at the bottom of the bowl chewing on her bone and watching me ski down and climb back up and ski down and climb back up, etc, etc. Then I hook her up to the towline and skijor back. It's quite a workout by the time we're finished.

But I have the feeling that spring is on the way and soon the powder will turn to heavy slushy snow that it no fun. Yet another reason to look forward to next year.

I hope that some of you are able to get out and make some turns of your own. Spring skiing is the best. Thanks for reading.

Dirk and Katja

Coastal Weather

I'm not sure if it is Murphy's Law or just my bad Mojo, but every time I want to travel out of the village to do something fun, it turns nasty outside and I can't fly out. When I have to fly out for work purposes, conferences, workshops, etc. , it usually works out. Figures! I just wanted to go into Bethel over my long weekend break for a little skijoring with some friends and perhaps a cold brewsky or two. Here is what the weather turned to 5 hours before I was ready to fly. Now you might ask, "what was the weather like before today?" You will notice blue skies in this short video. Now take away the wind and blowing snow and that is what it was like the morning I was supposed to fly out. Then this kicked in.




We have had quite a winter here this year. We have had more snow that many people can remember, which is fine with me. I love snow and I haven't had a really solid winter since I was out in Utah, over 10 years ago. But the winds have got to go. All of the snow that we do get, just blows away or gets turned into frozen concrete through wind pack. Either way, it doesn't make for good skiing.

Anyway, I hope everyone else is enjoying a pleasant winter where ever you are. Hope you enjoyed the video.
Happy trails,
Dirk and Katja

More fun on skis

Katja and I have been busy exploring the winter wonderland of Bush Alaska as much as the blizzard filled month of February will allow. We have had 3 serious storms in Feb. already. One of the storms we delayed school for two hours, because you couldn’t see past your hand and the temps were 45 – 50 below zero. The wind has been unrelenting, which in turn transforms all the snow we have into a giant hard packed ruffles potato chip. It makes the skiing extremely difficult.

Today was the first powdery day that we have had in the month of Feb. so far. Katja and I left the house around 8: 15 am and made it to the top of the mountain by 9 am, just as the sun was rising. The weather has warmed up this weekend, so I was able to stand up on the hill and take a couple of photos without getting cold.

The contrast between the sky and the snow is virtually indistinguishable, so when it comes to getting back down the hill, it is almost impossible to see dips, bumps, drop offs, etc. In other words, I spend a lot of time brushing snow off myself after wiping out. If the powder is good, it is totally worth it and I usually end up going back up to the top for another run.

If you look carefully at the second picture, you may be able to see the power lines far off in the distance (towards the middle of the picture). That is my guide for getting down. I follow the power lines toward the right, back to the village. The other power lines going off toward the far hill go to Nightmute (another village about 16 miles away).

Katja, as always, is barking, growling, and encouraging me to go faster and faster. I appreciate her enthusiasm. She appreciates my efforts.

Thanks for following our adventures.
Until next time,
Keep exploring!

Dirk and Katja

Trip to Tununak

This weekend offered another unique opportunity, which I grabbed for a number of reasons. The varsity basketball team was traveling over or around the hill, depending on the route you wish to take, to Tununak for a basketball tournament. The team was just going to take snow machines (snow mobiles for those readers in the lower 48). I agreed to go along for technical support. I also got out of the Friday staff meeting, which is okay to miss every now and again. Because I don’t have a snow machine of my own, I was stuck using our old school snow machine, a true dinosaur of the snow machine world. A Ski-Doo Tundra II. I felt like I was riding one of those “old school” bikes with a banana seat, coaster brakes and tassels on the handlebars. Everyone else was sporting their newest Yamaha speed machines. To put it in perspective, their snow machines could easily top out at 80 – 90 mph, while I would be lucky if I could hit 40 mph. No one got above 40 mph thankfully, because I would have been left in the snow dust. Needless to say, Katja had to stay home for this adventure. She was sad.

I ended up traveling over and back three times with Marty our Athletic director and NYO coach. Marty has a pretty fast machine, although it is a few years old, and was hitting all the jumps along the way, flying several feet into the air on occasion. I was just putting along, trying to keep from tipping over. We covered the 7 miles in about 15 minutes, which was moving plenty fast for me.

The basketball team stayed over night in Tununak because they were playing both Friday and Saturday morning. Marty and I went home on Friday night around 10:00 pm with a couple of other friends from Toksook. It was very dark out and neither Marty or I had head lights on our machines, but we had head lamps. Anyway, it was quite an experience riding in between the two machines with lights. Occasionally I couldn’t see the trail ahead of me at all for a few seconds, then it would appear dimly again as I used the lights of the machine behind me. When we returned on Saturday, it was starting to storm, so we decided to follow the power lines to keep from getting lost. Here is a picture of what I was wearing when I was outside. Notice the new malaggai (seal skin hat). I didn’t feel any wind or cold at all. I highly recommend getting one if you are going to be out in sub zero temperatures for extended periods of time.

Until next time, don’t let old man winter bite.

Dirk

Finicky weather

Last year, I seem to remember a steady harsh winter, except for a few days that were a little warmer (30 - 35 degrees), sunny, with a blue bird sky and I was okay with that. This year has been a little different. Last week, our temperatures stayed above freezing for 3 - 4 days and it rained and sleeted, which melted more than half of our snow base. Bummer! Katja and I got in some wet hikes, but it wasn't much fun being outside. I guess we can attribute this to global warming. I'm sure there are some polar bears and bearded seals farther north that have it rougher than we do.
Now, the weather has turned again. The winds are blowing out of the North and Northwest, the temps have plummetted again and the snow is drifting something fierce. Yesterday, Katja and I went out for a long ski. I left Katja run free from the towline for a while and I climbed up to the top of the hill. It was a long strenuous workout, but it was worth the ride back down. My skis were a little sluggish in the snow for some reason. I finally realize why there are so many different types of wax for skiing in different temperatures, although I don't use any wax on my skis, I just slug along. I hooked Katja back up for our trip down the hill again and she was able to keep me moving pretty good. Sorry, no video this time. I was able to help keep us moving on the flats and slight uphills because I wasn't holding a silly camera.
By the time we got back down, Katja and I both had pretty wicked ice beards as you can plainly see. You can probably also see that Katja is recovering well and healing from her encounter with a gun earlier this year. I think she might have some permenant bald spots under her neck from the scars. Hopefully her fur will grow back and cover that so that it doesn't get frost bitten.
Speaking of frost bite, I'm not sure if we will get out today or tomorrow for that matter. The storms are really cranking right now and the drift is growing up to my window sill in my kitchen. It's goggle weather outside right now and since Katja doesn't have goggles, she prefers short trips outside to go to the bathroom and that's about it. Yeah, I know. She is a fair weather dog. I'm trying to toughen her up though.
Anyway, thanks for staying tuned. Until next time,
Happy trails!

Dirk and Katja

Skijoring with Katja

Hi all,
Welcome back! Since my return on Jan. 4th, Katja and I have been tearing up the frozen tundra with the skis. It has been a little shocking to readjust to the harsh climate of the region, but we are managing pretty well. Here is a little video to prove it. Enjoy!