alaska

Alaska, A Place Known for Massive Snow Totals, Records Snowiest January in Recorded History

Alaska, America’s most northern state, is no stranger to snow. In fact, the state records more snow totals than any other state by a large margin. By those standards, it would take a massive amount of snow to cause any disruption in a place known for the fluffy white stuff. Unfortunately (or fortunately for ski and snowboard enthusiast) for residents […]
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Avatar photo Joseph Kaufmann |
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Rare Inbounds Avalanche Occurrs at Alyeska Resort, AK

Northstar Couloir from Cody Townsend's The Fifty+

A rare inbound avalanche occurred today and impacted the lower-mountain chairlift at Alyeska Resort, Alaska, forcing the lift to close. The avalanche closed Chair 4, Ted’s Express, which takes skiers and snowboarders from the base to mid-mountain. Alyeska posted on its website:  Change Of Plans… Due to unsafe conditions on the upper mountain, lift operations will be limited to Chair […]
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Avatar photo Gregg Frantz |
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Anchorage, AK, Shatters January Snowfall Record After Relentless Winter Storms

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Anchorage has officially logged the snowiest January in its recorded history after another powerful winter storm pushed monthly snowfall totals past a long-standing record, according to data from the National Weather Service reported by Alaska Public Media and The Associated Press. As of 3 p.m. on January 27, the National Weather Service office in West Anchorage measured 39.7 inches of […]
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Martin Kuprianowicz |
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[VIDEO] Juneau, AK, City Officials Issue Evacuation Advisory After Multiple Small Avalanches

Juneau, Alaska, is facing a major emergency due to record-breaking snowfall in December and widespread avalanche and flooding risks. Governor Mike Dunleavy declared a state disaster on Wednesday, January 7, one day after Juneau officials announced an emergency disaster declaration, requesting state assistance. Related: Heaby Snowfall in Juneau, AK, Sinks Boats, Buries Homes and Causes Avalanche Danger Juneau saw record […]
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Avatar photo Gregg Frantz |
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Why Does Alaska Gets So Much Snow?

Every year, as Spring dawns on North American ski resorts and the snow begins to melt, it happens: the pros ship it up to the Last Frontier. Easily the largest state in the US, Alaska is 663,298 square miles – and could comfortably fit the next three largest states inside its borders. Alaska not only has the country’s highest point (Denali at 20,320 feet), but also the coldest temperature on record (-80 F in Prospect Creek, 1971).
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ameliatraynor |
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Wyoming Skier Teton Brown Finds Renewal in New Film “Clean Slate”

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For Wyoming skier Teton Brown, Clean Slate began as a simple desire to do things differently. After years of filming in the familiar sidecountry around Jackson Hole, Brown said he felt the creative walls closing in. The terrain he loved and skied so often had become too well-known to him, too mapped, too documented. He needed to break pattern. “I’m […]
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Martin Kuprianowicz |
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Freeride World Tour Announces Return to Haines, Alaska, and Inaugural World Championships

Some of the best freeride athletes in the world will assemble in the Catalan Pyrenees in mid-January to kick off the 2026 edition of the Freeride World Tour. The world-renowned freeride competition will feature six different stops including a return to Haines, Alaska, after a nine-year hiatus. Related:GoFundMe Helps Athletes and Para Athletes Make The Olympic Dream A Reality Known […]
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Zach Armstrong |
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[VIDEO] “DIG:” An Alaskan Snowboard Film Where Ryland Bell Rides “The Line of His Life”—A 3,200-Foot Spine

haines spines Alaska

“It was hands down, unequivocally, the line of my life.” – Ryland Bell Ryland Bell has always been a dark horse. Born in Alaska and based year-round in Haines, the notoriously hardcore snowboarder and lifelong commercial fisherman spends his winters quietly hiking world-class spines from his backyard. In April of 2025, he headed deep into his home mountains in search […]
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Martin Kuprianowicz |
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[PHOTOS] Skier Escapes Unharmed After Being Carried 1,000 Feet by Large Avalanche in Chugach State Park, AK

Avalanche in Chugach State Park, AK. | Photo: CNFAIC

A skier-triggered slab avalanche occurred in Chugach State Park, Alaska, on November 17, running about 1,000 feet down a northwest-facing slope on Peak 3. The slide originated just below Bail Out Rock, a prominent ridgeline feature, and was triggered on a wind slab that had formed on faceted snow buried a day earlier. “While skinning up the upper face of […]
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AvyBrains |
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Comparing North America’s Highest Peaks, Denali vs. Mount St. Elias—Goliaths of the North

High above Alaska’s sweeping, expansive wilderness, Mount McKinley (also known as Denali) and Mount St. Elias rise with a presence rarely found anywhere else on Earth that commands both attention and a deep respect. Both are awe-inspiring in their own stature—Denali, tucked deep within the continent’s interior, and St. Elias, towering abruptly from sea to summit in just a matter […]
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Matthew Oliphant |
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Adrift in Turnagain Pass: Printmaker Captures Alaska’s Ski Soul with New Film “Carving Lines”

This article was written by guest author Dmitry Surnin Turnagain is a special place for me. One of my first backcountry experiences happened there—back when I had snowshoes, cotton sweaters, and too much excitement. Fast forward fourteen years, and I still can’t get enough of how magical this area is. Countless memories and long adventures with incredible people will forever […]
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[VIDEO] Skiers Dorian Densmore and Mya Akins Chase Alaska’s Steepest Lines in Black Diamond’s Latest Ski Movie “Slope Ascenders”

ak spines alaska Chugach

Black Diamond’s latest short film, Slope Ascenders, follows professional skiers Dorian Densmore and Mya Akins through another winter of chasing gravity, weather windows, and soul in the mountains of Alaska. Filmed by Greg Stafford (stills and drone) and Jordan Pockrus (FPV), the project drops viewers into the raw pulse of Alaskan freeride skiing—the deep turns, the cold bivies, and the […]
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Martin Kuprianowicz |
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Ski for Free When Flying Alaska Airlines at These Destination Resorts

Alaska Airlines, the premier Seattle-based carrier serving the Pacific Northwest and beyond, has partnered with a list of well-known ski resorts to offer free lift passes when flying into select airports. The airline will provide free or discounted tickets at a variety of ski areas, from local ski areas to mega resorts and everything in between. States and provinces with […]
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Avatar photo Joseph Kaufmann |
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[TRAILER] Clean Slate: Chasing Pow and New Lines from Wyoming to Alaska with Teton Brown

Hey ski bums, Clean Slate is my latest project with Zag Skis, a short film capturing last season’s hunt for gnarly zones and fresh pow in Western Wyoming and Alaska’s Chugach Mountains. Most of the winter was spent ripping around Wyoming on my sled, scoping out new zones and dropping in on steep, technical terrain. Conditions were tough overall for filming […]
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Martin Kuprianowicz |
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Trump Approves 211-Mile Mining Road Through Gates Of The Arctic National Park

The Trump Administration recently announced approval for the Ambler Road, a 211-mile road connecting the Dalton Highway to the Ambler Mining District, located in the remote Alaskan interior. The gravel road, open only to mining operations and not the public, will cut through pristine Alaskan wilderness at the foothills of the Brooks Range. Vast amount of caribou habitat will be […]
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Zach Armstrong |
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Whittier, AK: The Town That Lives Almost Completely in a Single Apartment Building

Tucked away deep in the Chugach Mountains, about 60 miles from Alaska’s largest city of Anchorage, is the unbelievable town of Whittier. Originally a secret military installation created by the U.S. military, Whittier saw its heyday during World War II and the Cold War due to its strategic location near by both Japan and Russia. After the Cold War, the […]
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Avatar photo Joseph Kaufmann |
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Months After Avalanche in Alaska’s Chugach, Recovery of 3 Heli-Skiers Remains Impossible

More than six months after a devastating avalanche in Alaska’s Chugach Mountains claimed the lives of three heli-skiers, recovery teams have been unable to bring their bodies home. The slide struck March 4 near the west fork of the Twentymile River outside Girdwood, burying three longtime friends beneath an estimated 40 to 100 feet of snow. The victims were identified […]
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Martin Kuprianowicz |
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