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| Thought you all might like some winter in AK pics. I wish I took them, but it's too cold for me to stand out there. However, they're all from right around where we live and sights we see often. Come to AK, you'll love it and we miss you all! |
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| Here's the newspaper article that accompanied the pics..... |
When Warren Gammel needs to unwind, he grabs his camera and takes a drive. His most recent journey was a 14-hour epic trip down the Parks Highway in sub-zero temperatures on Jan. 14.
“The frigid weather certainly creates excellent photography conditions, making trips this time of year challenging and memorable,” he said via e-mail. “I was itching to take a nice drive out of town. ... (I) was off work for a few days and a spur of the moment decision turned into a 14-hour 400-mile drive.”
Gammel, a registered nurse at Denali Center (Thats where I work!), left about 9 a.m. in hopes of catching the sunrise at Mount McKinley. His primary destination was the abandoned Igloo Hotel southwest of Cantwell, about 175 miles from Fairbanks. It is the closest point to Fairbanks on the Parks Highway that offers good views of Mount McKinley.
“Conditions for unobstructed views of Mount McKinley were perfect,” he explained, with an exceptionally high pressure mass of frigid arctic air over central Interior Alaska creating clear conditions.
“The weathermen often say that Mount McKinley creates its own weather. I believe it. There was not a cloud to be seen anywhere else for miles and miles, but hovering right above McKinley was a round lenticular cloud.”
From Gammel’s position at the Igloo Hotel, which was built in the 1970s but never opened, Mount McKinley stands about 50 miles away.
“All I could think about was Lonnie Dupre from Minnesota, presently doing a January solo ascent to the top,” Gammel wrote. “I was freezing while taking these photos.”
Gammel tried to imagine the cold endured by Dupre. “They say that 180-degree below wind-chill temperatures are not uncommon. Is he crazy?” he asked.
Gammel also turned his camera to other sights along the Parks, capturing some of the unusual conditions brought on by cold, such as ice fog and spectacular lighting effects. Gammel shoots with a Canon 7D and a 18-200mm lens.
Gammel returned to Fairbanks about 1 a.m. discovering the aurora in full swing, which, naturally, he also photographed.
“The long drive was worth it,” he said. “It was extremely cold, but incredibly beautiful.”
Ok Here's a real picture scott took today when he was out hunting....Yep its a cold one out there, but you should still come....
