The Strongest man in the World

This is Patrick, Strongest man in the world.
Actually when this snow gets formed and stays in the cold for a long time
it is really light.

Aurora from Wiesman #2

Here is another picture of the Aurora from Wiesman

It wasn`t really bright this day,
but we lucked out in seeing it just after we had given up.

This was taken at 2:30 AM.
The Aurora kept on going and peaked at 3:00AM.
After that it filled the sky until 4AM.

An avid hiker in Coldfoot

Here is Ken.

Ken is a strange guy in the fact that
he is heated purely by muscular friction.

I have stood next to Ken
and realized he has no fat for retaining body heat.
That is why this picture is so rare,
he isn`t moving!

I caught Ken in between
his constant squat and lung repetitions.
This break only lasted 5 seconds due to his boies rapid cooling.

In fact
the green lights over his head are not the Aurora but his escaping heat.

I have shown this picture to his Co-workers and Friends in Coldfoot
and they believe it is more likely that I was just wearing his coat.

Ken`s choice to work in Coldfoot is quite strange given his heat retention issues.
Coldfoot has a temperature range similar to Fairbanks.
Winters in the -40s summers in the 80s.
Nonetheless Ken is thriving in the cold,
and now has legs strong enough to crush walnuts, kick through steel,
and hold up his thigh-high leather boots.

Ken is actually an avid hiker in Coldfoot, which is 260 miles North of Fairbanks.
It is a good thing he likes to hike, since that is one thing Coldfoot can offer.
Coldfoot is surrounded by the foot hills of the Brooks moountain range.
All around the camp where he works there are hills about 1000ft high.

He works as a guide there,
and comes to Fairbanks to try and drink all the towns beer.
Thankfully he only comes to town once a month!!

Grapefruit Rocks

Rob, Rob the encyclopedic man.
Rob is the foremost talker on most aspects of Alaska.
Actually he is just a talker. More than willing to gossip .

Rob is also responsible for most of my stories of Alaska's Arctic.
One of my Favorites is of Grapefruit Rocks.

Grapefruit Rocks is a local rock climbing site.
A while ago on guy fell while climbing and became paralyzed.
Well that`s not the story.
The story is just how a rock face comes about the name Grapefruit.
The place does not look like grapefruit, Grapefruits are not grown in Alaska,
in fact long ago you could not even find them here.

The story starts about a hundred years ago.
An old miner was out looking for a new claim site.
He and his donkey were wondering the area
when he decides to climb the rocks in order to get a better view.
The miner was looking for a creek, where gold might be present.
His donkey and he climbed to the top and they were exhausted.
The miner stopped to rest and whilst in mid drink
he heard a loud rumble and took cover fearing a rock slide.
The miner quickly got up realizing he was at the top of the rocks and had nothing to fear.

Looking around for the source of the noise,
he noticed his beloved Donkey had fallen off the rocks.
Saddened he decided to dedicate the rocks to his dead friend.

From then on it has always been known as Grapefruit Rocks,
Now if someone could just find out why his donkey was named Grapefruit....

Aurora in Wiesman, Alaska

This picture was taken in Wiesman, Alaska.
For my Job I go North of Fairbanks on the Dalton Highway.
About 290mi North is Wiesman.

With this picture I have applied a filter which has made it a little cartoon-like.
The lights on this night were active, but the color was not so intense.

Wiesman is a great place to go to see the Aurora.
It lies right under the Aurora Circle.
The Aurora circle is a circle that the Aurora travels/stays on the Earths atmosphere.

What it means to you and me is this;
the closer you are to the circle the better your chance of seeing the Aurora.

In Wiesman any day the Aurora is out you can see it, as long as it is not cloudy.
If you are in Fairbanks you have an 80% chance to see it.
Anchorage has a 40% chance.

Almost every clear night People can see the Aurora in Wiesman.
It is not always bright or very active, but almost always visible.
In the Summer though it is too bright to see the Aurora.

This winter I have seen the Aurora every night I have been in Wiesman.
The weather has been very good and I have been very lucky.
On the 26th of Feburary I saw the most active Aurora yet.

I cannot wait to see it in March since that is the peak time of year to see the Aurora.
I`ll keep you all updated.