April 2012
Kiteboarding season has begun in earnest with some really great days at McHugh Creek on Turnagain Arm.
Photo copyright Troy Henkels. 2012.
Photo copyright Troy Henkels. 2012.
Photo copyright Troy Henkels. 2012.
Photo copyright Troy Henkels. 2012.
Paragliding season is underway!
Paragliding Mt. Baldy, Eagle River, Alaska. 2012.
Photo copyright Troy Henkels. 2012.
High over Knik Arm, Alask. Photo copyright Troy Henkels. 2012.
A great view of "Sleeping Lady/Mt. Susitna.
Photo copyright Troy Henkels. 2012.
Rick Young checking out the Chugach Range, Alaska.
Photo copyright Troy Henkels, 2012.
March 2012
The last day of the month, myself and two buddies made an unprecedented appearance kiting on Turnagain Arm. This is the earliest in the season anyone has been out on the water in Alaska. With favorable winds, tide, and a nice channel we were able to pull it off in 38F temperatures.
Late winter, early spring kiting at Roadside Attraction,
Turnagain Arm, Alaska. Photo copyright Tom Schmid, 2012.
Turnagain Arm, Alaska. March 31st, 2012.
Photo copyright Dave Calkins, 2012.
Early sunset on the Arm. Photo copyright Dave Calkins, 2012.
Back in Alaska for my favorite time of year. It's not so cold anymore and the longer days are a bonus. The unbelieveable snowpack this year has made for some epic days of kiting.
Kiting near the big stuff, Portage Glacier.Photo copyright Troy Henkels 2012.
Catching air at Twenty Mile. Photo copyright Tom Schmid. 2012.
Just hanging around at Twenty Mile. Photo copyright Marc Whizdorf. 2012.
Cruising the flats at Twenty Mile. Photo copyright Troy Henkels. 2012.
There have been several nights with spectacular Aurora Borealis. These were taken one morning at 4am.
Photo copyright Troy Henkels. 2012.
Photo copyright Troy Henkels. 2012.
Photo copyright Troy Henkels. 2012.
Photo copyright Troy Henkels. 2012.
February 2012
Several light wind days have provided some of the most pleasant and epic kiting I've had in Australia.
Catching air at Point Cook at sunset. Photo copyright Troy Henkels.
Keeping it in the air at Point Cook, Victoria.
Photo copyright Troy Henkels. 2012.
Torquay Photos copyright Troy Henkels
The kiting in Torquay is the best I've had with the most
unbelievable waves to date. An old sponsor and friend from
Stonker, Alex, was kind enough to show me around.
A bit south of Torquay I spent a day kiting at Guvvo's beach. Endless waves and spectacular kiting.
Yarram
The weekend was spent in a small country town called Yarram. Ten minutes away is the famed 90 mile beach. It's incredible!!! Sandy beautiful beach for as far as you can see! I was itching
to kitesurf here, but as luck has it, no wind. And for the
record, the beach is actually 93 miles long.
Driving around the backroads of Yarram we came across some country Cricket. A bunch of guys playing Cricket out in the middle of nowhere. Looked pretty fun for a Saturday afternoon.
And in town, outdoor bowls. Considered an old persons sport, I've been wanting to give this a try since 1996 when I first came across it in New Zealand. It's sorta like shuffle board, but with balls. I still have yet to give it a go.
The entire reason for the weekend in the country was my brother
Terry had a basketball tournament. I got recruited to play and
we had 5 games in two days. We lost in the championship by 1 point. Great games and good fun.
The local kiting has been unreal. The locals have been saying
it's the windiest summer they can remember. Kiting daily is something I never experience in Alaska.
Photo copyright Troy Henkels. 2012.
January 2012
Time spent Down Under has been nothing short of amazing.
Hanging out upside down, down under. Photo copyright Terry Henkels
Hanging with the locals at Point Cook.photo copyright Troy Henkels. 2012.
Kitesurfing the Homestead with Melbourne in the background.
Photo copyright Troy Henkels, 2012.
Courtside, the Australian Open, Photo copyright Troy Henkels, 2012.
Photo copyright Troy Henkels, 2012.
Skiing for a week in the Wasatch Mountains was a great way to ring in the New Year....and it wouldn't be complete without one night in Vegas.
Sunrise over the Wasatch. Photo copyright Troy Henkels 2012.
Full moon rising over the Lexor in Las Vegas.
Photo copyright Troy Henkels, 2012.
Las Vegas. Photo copyright Troy Henkels, 2012.
December 2011
Solstice in Alaska. Dark, snowy, and cold.
Photo copyright Troy Henkels.
November 2011
One special Sunday found the perfect wind for ridge soaring Kincaid Bluffs. An absolute epic day of flying.
Paragliding Kincaid Bluffs. November 2011.
photo copyright Troy Henkels
Ridge soaring the Bluffs. Photocopyright Troy Henkels. 2011.
Winter has slammed into Alaska with full force. Strong winds, snow, chilly temps, and storm after storm have been the norm. None the less, there have been a few breaks in the weather to test the ice on the lake for skating(it's not ready yet, trust me, I know) and some cold, but epic paragliding in the Chugach Range.
Paragliding in the Chugach Range, Alaska.Photo copyright Troy Henkels
Paragliding in the Chugach. Photo copyright Troy Henkels, 2011.
October 2011
Nice October weather and no snow on the ground. With a few last sunny days before winter, the little bit of heat left from the sun has provided some great paragliding conditions.
Launching off Bear Mountain, Alaska. Photo copyright Matt Bonney.
Rick Young flying off Bear Mountain. Photo copyright Troy Henkels.
September 2011
Kiteboarding Turnagain Arm
There has been no shortage of wind in Alaska this month. The kiting sessions on Turnagain Arm have been nothing short of spectacular!!
Photo copyright Steve Conger.
Photo copyright Steve Conger.
Northern Lights - Denali Park
Another weekend in Denali Park, at 2am, and the northern lights were on fire!
Photo copyright Troy Henkels.
Photo copyright Troy Henkels.
Spencer Glacier/Placer River
One perfect weekend before the train stops running for the winter found me boarding for a whistlestop at Spencer Glacier. After a mile hike, the inflatable Stand Up(SUP) came out and the fun began. Spencer lake allows easy, and perfect, access to paddle right up to the glacier. A spectacular place. Afterwards, several hours paddling down the Placer River. A day in Alaska doesn't get much better than this!
SUP near the Spencer Glacier. Photo copyright Troy Henkels collection.
SUP on the Placer River. Photo copyright Troy Henkels collection.
Jack
Hello to my friend Jack Clemens in Peosta, Iowa.
He asked me to say HI to Mrs. Mulerts second grade class
at Seton Elementary. Check out my photos/gallery page for some pictures of my time spent in Antarctica.
August 2011
Alot of rain this month made for some great pack rafting. Peters Creek out to the ocean is always a treat, but Glacier Creek in Girdwood was running wild after a day and night of an absolute downpour.
Packrafting Glacier Creek. Photo copyright Troy Henkels Collection.
Packrafting Glacier Creek. Photo copyright Troy Henkels collection.
With fall rapidly approaching in Alaska we have been
treated to some amazing storms and fantastic sunsets.
Sunset over Mt. Foraker, Mt. Hunter, and Denali, 2011.
photos copyright Troy Henkels
July 2011
The big news this month is that a team of two Russians successfully crossed the Bering Strait kitesurfing. I was following the two expeditions to the Strait this season very closely. Geza was back for a month with a new team making several unsuccessful attempts to get across. The great news is, my friend from last year Gene, aka:the Honey Bucket man, is doing well and has new glasses!
Geza Scholtz, Gene
Angnaboogok, and Bjorn Detre in
Wales, Alaska. 2011. photo copyright Bjorn Detre
Gene
Angnaboogok, 2010. phtoto copyright Troy Henkels
June 2011
With epic storm fronts out of the east this summer the kiting has been really, really good. I finally pulled off a complete crossing of Turnagain Arm. Although somewhat risky, everything lined up to make it happen. Even though short on distance, 10 miles round trip, the crossing did offer up plenty of excitement.
Photo copyright Troy Henkels collection, 2011.
May 2011
Stormy weather provided some great wind early in the month and the kiteboarding on Turnagain Arm has been nothing short of epic!
Photo copyright Troy Henkels collection.,
Photo copyright Troy Henkels collection.
Photo copyright Troy Henkels collection,
Photo copyright Troy Henkels collection.
April 2011
Some great days paragliding resulted in the local Eagle River newspaper, the Alaska Star, doing a feature article. Click here to see the article and video.
Troy flying off Baldy in front of Mt. Susitna.
Photo courtesy of
Melissa DeVaughn, copyright Alaska Star, April 2011.
Josh launching off Baldy, with Troy soaring out front.
Photo courtesy of
Melissa DeVaughn, copyright Alaska Star, April 2011.
Over the weekend SuperDave called to see if I wanted to fly into the mountains to paraglide and ski. He had access to a PA12, so we grabbed Jason and loaded up the plane with our gear and flew to a spectacular spot in the Chugach Range. An unbelievable day of paragliding, speed flying, skiing, sheep burgers, and Jason even got some kiting in. Nothing short of epic!! Check out the videos here.
 Dave in the PA12. Photo copyright Troy Henkels. 
Dave bringing the PA12 in for a landing.Photo copyright Troy Henkels
 Hanging out on the glacier with the ski hill directly in the
background. Photo copyright Troy Henkels 
Jason getting a kite session with his speedwing.
Photo copyright Troy Henkels.
The spring weather in Alaska has been unbelievable! As a result the paragliding has been out of control. My best flight this season sp far, I was able to cover about 15 miles and was in the air three hours. A couple views from flying in the mountains of the Chugach Range.
Photo copyright Troy Henkels
Looking back to Eagle River and launch.Photo copyright Troy Henkels
March 2011
Possibly the best kiting day of the season was late in the season, on Eklutna Lake. Perfect surface and perfect wind. It was so good that Jason and I were even able to make it twelve miles to the far end of the lake, where the weather was a bit daunting.
Photo Copyright Troy Henkels
Photo copyright Troy Henkels
Crisp, clear nights in Alaska have provided some great northern lights. This shot was taken from the deck where I live. Pretty good for how many other lights are in the area this time of year.
photo copyright Troy Henkels
February 2011
A photo of Laurent's from the Beglica expedition is being featured in the SF Oceans Festival. It's a great shot and that just happens to be me climbing ice in Antarctica. Click here for the official site.
January 2011
The weather has been warm and the wind fickle, but kites still
fly in Turnagain Pass.
Photo copyright Troy Henkels
December 2010
The weather has been cold and clear. None the less Christmas weekend did not disappoint.
Paragliding Baldy Mountain, Eagle River, Alaska. Photo: Troy Henkels
November 2010
Hunkered down in Alaska for the winter writing a book, which is due to the publisher by April 1st. Plenty to do to keep me inside these days. None the less, I get out when I can.
Photo copyright Troy Henkels.
October 2010
Check out the latest video trailer, it's a classic! See the blog for the rest of the story.
September 2010
Several epic long hikes in the mountains and some out of control paragliding lately have supplied plenty of excitement.
Paragliding Eagle River, with Denali in the background.
Photo copyright Troy Henkels.
Pioneer Peak to Twin Peaks/Eklutna Lake, Chugach Range.
A 15 mile, 9.5 hour, 12,000' elevation gain hiking odyssey.
Photo copyright Troy Henkels.
Paragliding Hatcher Pass, Alaska. Photo copyright Troy Henkels.
Photo copyright TroyHenkels.
Mulitpeak 9 hour hike in Denali Park across Carlo Ridge
offered up epic views of Denali(far left on the horizon).
August 2010
Geza Sholtz and I attempt to be the first to kiteboard from Alaska
to Russia across the Bering Strait. Click here for my full expedition report.
Photo copyright Bjorn Detre.
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.Photo copyright Troy Henkels.
Photo copy right Troy Henkels.
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. Photo copyright Troy Henkels.
April 2010
The North Bound Quest team has returned from the ice!!
Click here for the latest video by Beeldharing Productions. 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 2010.
Photo copyright Troy Henkels
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!
Photos copyright Troy Henkels.
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.
Photo copyright Troy Henkels.
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
Photos copyright Troy Henkels.
January 2010
With a stretch of nice weather the paragliding has been fantastic.
 Photo copyright Troy Henkels.
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. 
Photo copyright Troy Henkels.
Finally we have snow and wind. With that, I spent the weekend in Turnagain Pass snowkiting and it was nothing short of amazing
Photo copyright Troy Henkels.
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.
Photo copyright Troy Henkels.
October 2009
There is nothing quite like a full moon over the Alaska Range.
Photo copyright Troy Henkels.
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!)
Photo copyright Troy Henkels.
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. Photo copyright Troy Henkels.
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)
Photo courtesy of Tracy Stiehr.
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.
Photo courtesy of Tracy Stiehr.
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.
Photo Troy Henkels collection.
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.
Photo copyright Troy Henkels.
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.Photot Troy Henkels.
Photo copyright Troy Henkels.
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.
Photo copyright Troy Henkels.
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!
Photo courtesy of Tracy Stiehr.
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.
Photo copyright Troy Henkels.
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.
Photo courtesy of Kjell Sporseen.
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.
Photo courtesy of Marc Wizdorf.
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. Photo copyright Troy Henkels.
Snowkiting in front of Portage Glacier.Photo copyright Troy Henkels.
Paragliding high over Eagle River.Photo copyright Troy Henkels.
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.
Photo copyright Troy Henkels.
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.
Photo copyright Troy Henkels.
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.
Photo copyright Troy Henkels.
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!!
Photo copyright Troy Henkels.
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.
Photo copyright Troy Henkels.
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.
Photo copyright Troy Henkels.
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
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