August 2010

Geza Sholtz and I will attempt to be the first to kiteboard across the Bering Strait from Alaska to Russia.  Click here for the official Maurice Lacroix Bering Strait Expedition website.   Check back here for regular updates.

Currently, Geza and the Swiss support team are in Anchorage making final preparations. Departure for Wales, Alaska is set for Saturday, August 7th.

 Bering Strait kiteboarding team in Alaska preparing to go north.

Geza and the support team get a lesson in Zodiak assembly 101. 

July 2010

The close of July found me ramping up experiences in the water in preparation and anticipation of the Bering Strait expedition. Namely,

36 miles and over 7 hours on a SUP(StandUp) board from the Knik River to the Port of Anchorage.

And an amazing 30.6 mile down winder with the kite from Twenty Mile River to Bird Creek.

Playing in 69 miles per hour wind gusts kiting on Turnagain Arm.(yeah this was sorta wild and I have the stitches to prove it!)

                                                                                                                                     photo courtesy of Tom Schmid

A strong southeast wind found me on Turnagain Arm and Eklutna lake training for the Bering Strait crossing in August.  Epic strong winds but beautiful days.

Kiteboarding Eklutna Lake, Alaska.  July 2010.           Photo: Troy Henkels

June 2010

The Miracle Mile.  It really doesn't get any better than this.

Finally the rivers are high enough for some packrafting!  See the Youtube page for the latest videos.

May 2010

Summer has shown up with a vengance.  Epic warm and sunny weather has not allowed much time indoors.  There has been some great days out paragliding and kiteboarding. 

Kiteboarding 'Weedwhacker' on Turnagain Arm, Alaska. Spring 2010.

April 2010

The North Bound Quest team has returned from the ice!!

Click here for the latest video by Beeldharing Production House.

Click here for Doug in the news in Oklahoma.

Click here to visit the website.

Click here for pictures from the expedition.

Click here for video clips from the expedition.

Click here for the full report.

North Bound Quest team on the Arctic ocean.  April 2009.

March 2010

Departure for the North Bound Quest Expedition is just around the corner. To get the proper muscles into shape requires specific training.  The best way to do that is to drag an old spare tire around.  This is taxing on the body in similar ways to a sled, both physically and mentally.  And fresh snow and it can be down right grueling!

For the past 15 years I've been helping my friend Jeff King at the start of the Iditarod. This year was no different, except Jeff announced that this is his last year running competively.  With any luck he'll pull off a fifth win!!  See my 'YouTube' page for video clips of the start and restart.

February 2010

Some great weather in Alaska found me up at the base of Blacktail rocks in the mountains above Eagle River.  With a nice east wind blowing, I put up the 11meter kite and had a great session.

Snowkiting above Knik Arm, Blacktail Rocks, Eagle River, AK.

January 2010   

With a stretch of nice weather the paragliding has been fantastic.

December 2009         

Finally got up to Arctic Valley and figured out how to use the speed wing that a friend is letting me use for the winter.  See the video on

my 'YouTube' page in the news section.                                             

Finally we have snow and wind.  With that, I spent the weekend in Turnagain Pass snowkiting and it was nothing short of amazing.

November 2010

On a recent flight to work I snapped this of the setting sun over Cook Inlet,

near Tyonek Village.  It was a good day out.

October 2009

There is nothing quite like a full moon over the Alaska Range.

September 2009

With snow in the mountains and an Alaska fall coming to a close, a group of friends and I hiked up Bear Mountain for one last paraglider flight of the season.  No better word for it than spectacular!(see the photo gallery for more from this flight and the video's page!)

With fall quickly coming to a close I was fortunate to be able to spend a long weekend deep in the heart of Denali National Park, exploring some backcountry. With perfect weather for three days straght, it's hard to imagine a more stunning place on earth..

Denali from Wonder Lake.

August 2009

On a recent trip to Cordova in the midst of a weekend of torrential rain I packrafted a section of the Copper River past the Million Dollar Bridge and Childs glacier.  It was pretty wild to say the least.  The picture below gives you an idea of the scale of this glacier!(I'm in the raft in the center of the picture)

With icebergs all around, calved off from the Miles glacier upstream, I hoped on one and floated underneath the Million Dollar Bridge with my packraft in tow.

In Whittier ferry terminal I came across this poster for Chugach National Forest of me standing on an iceberg in front of a glacier in Prince William Sound.  Surpised to see this image as I'd never seen it on this poster for the national forest before.

July25th 2009

After eyeing a ridgeline that runs deep into the Chugach Range, for several years I finally got around to hiking it.  After 14 hours on the trail I crossed over Peters Creek Valley and began the long climb over two mountain passes to cross back to Eagle River Valley.  It was a long, but good day out.

June/July 2009

With unbelievable warm tempeartures and endless sunshine it has been hard to sit still this summer. The paragliding and kiteboarding have been out of control.  Kiteboarding on Turnagain Arm, though challening, offers some spectacular conditions and scenery.

Paragliding at Aleyska is equally enjoyable.

June 2009

The rivers have been running somewhat high this year and the packrafting has been really great.  A long day hiking in and rafting out Peters Creek, which proved to be challenging Class III, IV, and nearly V rapids.  This river the North Fork of Eagle River was running fast but pretty mellow. Such a great way to see the countryside.

May/June 2009

5600 miles on the BMW motorbike across the Trans-Labrador highway and New Foundland.  Sometimes it is difficult to keep the thing upright!

May 2009

Water temperatures are finally warming up and the kiteboarding communtiy is showing up on Turnagain Arm. Nik(pictured), Jeff and I had a nice session on Turnagain Arm on Sunday.

The weather and paragliding have been excellent in Alaska the past few weeks. Here's a sequesce of pictures my friend Kjell took and pieced together of me launching off Mt. Baldy in Eagle River. 

Although the image is blurry, it was taken by a friend of the first kiteboarding session in Alaska this spring. There was plenty of wind and it was somewhat chilly, but the kiting was quite amazing.  The really interesting part are all the ice slabs stacked up on shore.....it was even more interesting trying to avoid the ice chunks in the water.  That's just how kiting in Alaska in April tends to be.

April 2009

Springtime in Alaska is one of my favorite times of year.  It's getting warmer and the daylight hours are longer.  The Snowkiting and Paragliding have been spectacular this year.

Paragliding above the Chugach Range.

Snowkiting in front of Portage Glacier.

Paragliding high over Eagle River.

Iceland/March 2009:

Dixie and I spent 10 days in Isafjordur, Iceland guiding a group of Belgians who are ambitious about skiing to the North Pole in 2010.  We did a 50-60 mile traverse of the Drangajokull Icecap.  The weather proved to be challenging at times with high winds, blowing snow, and even driving rain.  Much of the trip was in whiteout conditions. The group proved to be impecable and all are looking forward to their quest to reach the North Pole in April of next year.

Iditarod 2009:

The first Saturday March is the start of the Last Great Race, Iditarod.  For the past 15 years I have helped my friend Jeff King at the start of the race and several years at the finish in Nome.   This year was no different.  Under beautiful skies, Jeff, pictured here left Anchorage at the Ceremonial start on his way to Nome.

March 2009:

Alaska in March is fabulous.  The daylight hours are longer and temperatures warmer.We started the month with fresh snow and some interesting and intense kiting conditions in the Portage Valley area.  Kiting in front of Portage Glacier proper was unbelievable.  The next day with favorable winds, we were able to climb off of the Lake and into the mountains to some amazing terrain lined by snow capped peaks and blue skies.  It really doesn't get any better than this during springtime in Alaska.

February 2009:

It is not to many times in the middle of winter, in Alaska that the lakes are good for ice skating.  Typically there is to much snow.  This winter presented some very warm temperatures and the opportunity for some Kiteskating on Eklutna Lake.  Imagine a large kite pulling you around a large lake at high speed.  Great fun and it does have the tendancy to be somewhat precarious.  After a great session with the kite, a friend and I skated the length of the lake and back...about a 15 mile round trip.  It was a good day out!!

January 2009:

The past week in Alaska found temperatures in the 40s and even 50s. With the snow melting and city streets flooding, some friends noticed that Eagle River was flowing strong with minimal ice jamming.  January in Alaska, can there be a better time for running rivers??  With temperatures above 30F and partly sunny skies, I grabbed my packraft and myself and two friends paddled for three hours down the main section of Eagle River.  Spectacular trip and mostly done on TOP of the ice that is still lining the river bottom. 

December 2008:

With the wind howling in Palmer and Wasilla a few friends and I decided to see how it would be for snowkiting.  It's one of the few times I've been out that my smallest Kite was too big!  The wind was gusting in excess of 40mph and it was 5 degrees F, WITHOUT the windchill. When big gusts came, we'd be kiting in whitout conditions.  It was pretty wild and very fun. My friend Dave described it as ballistic! Oddly enough, we were right out in front of Sarah Palin's house.....she did not come out and join us.

November 2008:

Prepartions are coming together for the upcoming guiding expedition to Isafjodur, Iceland in March with Dixie.  We will not only be training a determined group of guys that we'll take to the North Pole next year but also testing gear for an upcoming Antarctic expedition.

October 2008:

I was finally able to kite the epic Bore tide/wave on Alaska's notorious Turnagain Arm.  See the 'In Action' gallery for images and the news section for the latest articles in Kiteboarding magazine.

Photo courtesy of Ron Niebrugge/www.wildnatureimages.com