RVN - Alaskan Spirit | Issue 5 | Digital Edition

THE MAGAZINE OF RAVN AIR GROUP AND RURAL ALASKA

JANUARY 2019

There’s no place like

NOME WINTER IS RACE SEASON

Iditarod Iron Dog Yukon Quest

GOT ICE?

Valdez Ice Fest

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Welcome to Ravn …and our Alaskan Spirit magazine!

Whether this is your first trip with us or you are a regular guest on our flights, we appreciate your business and want to make your time with us enjoyable, comfortable and safe.

This magazine is our way of telling you more about who we are, where you are headed, how to make the most of your time with us, and why we are so passionate about the Alaskan communities we connect every day.

to the Southeast to the Western Arctic.

The places that we love and celebrate and call home.

This is about the adventures of living in rural Alaska—the beauty and challenge, opportunity and danger, wild places and wild things.

This is about what we do for fun—fish, hunt, hike, boat, create and build.

These are the stories, places and people that make rural Alaska the glorious place that it is.

This is about our people—those who live, work, play and celebrate in those unique places. The fishermen and builders, teachers and cooks, hunters and artists.

We see this as a conversation and place for you to share your own stories and experiences with us. Tell us how we are doing and what you’d like to see in your magazine.

This is about our communities—from the tiny to the metropolitan, the North Slope

Thanks for traveling with us today and every day!

On The Cover Karmen Qapqana Schaeffer Monigold was born in Kotzebue and raised between Kotzebue and her family camp Ivik. She is proud of her heritage including her tattoo, called a Tavluġun and celebrating milestones in her life.

“My grandparents John and Annie raised me in the traditional ways of the Inupiat. We subsisted off the land and ocean year round. Today I honor them by continuing the way of life they instilled in me and teaching the next generations. My family taught me the importance of sharing our traditional foods with those in need. Our food is not only nourishment for our bodies but it fills our souls.”

Photo by Wayde Carroll

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Around Ravn Country Our look at the great things to do and places to be this fall in some of the more than 115 communities you can fly to with Ravn. Come, stay, play!

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Keep it clean A hardworking team of Ravn employees work around the clock to keep our airplanes stocked with all the essential for our passengers comfort and clean enough to pass our white glove inspection. Learn more behind the scenes with our Fleet Services team.

10 things to love about Nome 14 For visitors and residents alike, Nome is a rich and iconic community with much to offer. Here are our travel experts suggestions on 10 things to see and do while you’re in Nome.

18 No place like Nome!

Whether you know our northwest

Alaska neighbor as the destination for the Iditarod or for its gold mining

Photo credit: Lee Leschper

Winter is race season in Alaska! Whether you love the challenge and pageantry of Alaska’s iconic sled dog races or the modern Iron Dog version, there are races to run, follow and celebrate for the next three months. Learn more inside this month’s Alaskan Spirit.

history and present boom, Nome is a great place to visit and explore, as our Erin Kirkland shows us around town.

24 Profile Musher Brett Sass Brett Sass has been at the front of

the pack among Iditarod and Yukon Quest mushers for years. Susie Brito talks with Brett about his passion

and dedication to both the sport and his canine partners.

32 Dunes of Kobuk Valley

Clark Fair takes us on a tour of the Kobuk Valley National Park near Kotzebue,

including the largest and most dramatic sand dunes in the Arctic.

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Alaskan Spirit is published by Fireweed Strategies LLC. Publisher and Advertising: Lee Leschper Fireweed Strategies LLC 4849 Potter Crest Circle Anchorage, AK 99516 Lee.Leschper@FireweedStrategies.com 907-957-6025 Editorial: Will Leschper Design and Production: Southfork Graphic Services Contributors: Tim Bradner Susie Jenkins-Brito Amanda Brooks Wayde Carroll Clark Fair Erin Kirkland Jason Perrago Explore Fairbanks Ravn Air Group Corporate Headquarters: Ravn Alaska 4700 Old International Airport Road Anchorage, AK 99502 Phone: 907-248-4422 Fax: 907-266-8391 Statewide Reservations: Hours: Daily 7:00am to 7:00pm Phone: 1-800-866-8394 907-266-8394 (in state) Fax: 907-266-8391 Group Travel Desk Flyravn.com/group-travel Monday-Friday 9 a.m.-5 p.m.

Phone: 907-266-8470 Fax: 907-245-5745 Email: group.travel@flyravn.com

Ravn Air Group

Our Ravn vision With a combined history almost as old as our great state, Ravn Air Group is the largest regional airline in Alaska with over 400 flights a day and over 700,000 passengers a year. We proudly serve over 115 cities, villages and communities across the Last Frontier.

With more than 1,000 team members, hailing from each of the communities we serve, Ravn is Alaska’s hometown airline—providing safe, reliable and friendly service from Alaskans throughout Alaska. Connecting people, cultures, cargo and mail, we strive to bring the very best in essential services and access to and from our state’s major hubs as well as its most wild and remote locations.

Traveling to the farthest corners of our country’s largest state—from Valdez and Kodiak in the south, to Bristol Bay and the Aleutian Islands, to Nome on the Bering

Sea, to Barrow and the North Slope, to Fairbanks and the interior—we’ve got your 49th state destination covered.

Committed to exceptional service, we are equally committed to supporting the communities we serve. As a company, part of our shared focus is to give back through the sponsorship of hundreds of local charities and not-for-profit organizations across our great state that contribute to the betterment of our Alaskan people and families.

Whether we’re transporting a team of athletes to their home field, a doctor to a hospital, a group of adventurers to Denali, or a family back to their village, as your fellow Alaskans and neighbors, you can count on us for exceptional, sincere service. Our pledge is to deliver the same warmth and comfort in the air as you’ll find from local Alaskans anywhere you land.

FlyAway Rewards Program Flyravn.com/rewards Phone: 1-800-866-8394 907-266-8394 (in Anchorage) Consumer Affairs: Flyravn.com/askravn Email: consumer@flyravn.com Ravn Alaska Air Cargo 4750 Old International Airport Road Anchorage For more online at FlyRavn.com/cargo Phone: 907-243-2761 (Anchorage Central Office) Corporate Sales Phone: 907-865-8599 Fax: 907-266-8391 Email: corporate.sales@flyravn.com

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From the CEO

Joining forces to serve you better The beginning of a new year is always inspiration for how we can individually and collectively be and do better.

Here at Ravn, our entire team and I are David Pflieger incredibly excited about what we hope to accomplish in 2019 in order to better serve you, our valued customers, and the over 115 communities across Alaska that we are privileged to assist and connect. Over the next year and beyond, we look forward to continuing to provide ever better “Ravn Deals” to further enhance affordable, reliable access across our great state.

This month’s magazine highlights some of the great things to do and see in our

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western and northern-most villages: Nome and Barrow/Utqiagvik. Both are distinctive in their own right, one a result of a gold rush that originated at the turn of the 19th century, and the other the epicenter of the largest oil field in North America, discovered roughly 60 years later. Both are equally worth visiting if you ever have the opportunity or inclination.

Nome on the Bearing Sea and Utqiagvik on the Arctic Circle both are home to stunning vistas but frequently formidable and hostile climates, often challenging the growth and success of any plant or animal.

However, there are certainly exceptions.

That is why, in this edition of Alaskan Spirt, I am so pleased that we are featuring some of the incredible opportunities and innovations that are occurring in these two spectacular locations. From Northern

Alaska Career and Technical Center (NACTEC), a regional vocational training center that provides local high school students with the necessary resources and skills for employment, to a community harnessing the power of no-soil hydroponic farming, enabling Alaskans to grow fresh produce anywhere, Nome and Utqiagvik are two fantastic examples of why Alaskans have some of the greatest ingenuity out there. This same spirit—to do and be better—is what inspires Ravn to do the same for our customers and communities we connect.

David Pflieger is CEO of Ravn.

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Ravn team responds to 7.0 earthquake It’s not often that a 7.0 earthquake is your “wakeup call,” but that’s precisely what Southcentral Alaskans received in late November. It was the second-largest earthquake recorded near Anchorage, second only to the 1965 quake that left building, homes and streets in shambles and paralyzed the city.

Ravn employees immediately jumped into action, confirming the safety of both flights on the ground and in the air. Ravn flights were grounded for just a short time, with Ravn Connect back in the air by 1:30 p.m., and Ravn Alaska flights resuming at 4 pm.

Like most Anchorage companies, Ravn evacuated its Anchorage headquarters briefly, to ensure that employees were safe

were diverted until it was safe to land later in the day.

and that the buildings were not dangerous.

While the company’s facilities were not badly damaged, a number of employees had substantial damage to their own homes. Many remained on the job, taking care of Ravn passengers, rather than checking on their homes.

Luckily most flights were on the ground in Anchorage and there was no damage to aircraft or injuries to employees or passengers. A couple of incoming flights

Living and working in the most seismically active region in the United States, we are accustomed to dealing with and preparing for challenges like earthquakes. It is one more way that safety for our passengers and our crew is our highest priority.

Thank you to all Ravn employees for going above and beyond to ensure the safety of our customers and fellow colleagues.

This iconic image of a SUV spared from damage on the Minnesota exit ramp destroyed by the November earthquake has become a symbol of the secondlargest Anchorage quake in history.

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January through March

What’s Happening in Ravn Country 14 days, depending on weather, trail conditions and team speed.

Winter Carnival Parade with entries in categories for all ages. Three days of art, live music, art to see and buy. Plus great choices to food and a unique carnival of winter games and sports.

January 18-19, Anchorage

Held at the Egan Center, the festival invites guests to join in celebrating the local brewery scene. Featuring more than 75 of the area’s finest breweries and 400 of their most popular products, this event is sure to satisfy any beer enthusiast. In addition the various tastings, guests can enjoy a lineup of talented local musicians providing live entertainment. www.akbbf.com

Anchorage Economic Development Corporation Forecast Luncheon January 30, Dena’ina Center

Drawing more than 1,500 attendees annually, the event provides insight into the current and future economic climate in Alaska’s largest city. AEDC President & CEO Bill Popp will present the 1-Year Economic Forecast for Anchorage and share the results of the Anchorage Business Confidence Index survey. He will give an update on AEDC’s Live. Work. Play. Initiative, and discuss how Anchorage ranks for living, working and playing when compared to the largest city in each state. aedcweb.com

All-Alaska Biennial Through February 3, Anchorage

This juried exhibition features contemporary work by Alaska artists and is a continuation of the museum’s All-Alaska Juried and Earth, Fire & Fibre exhibitions, which began more than 30 years ago to encourage creation of new works in all media by local artists. The exhibition’s call for entries drew 634 submissions from 161 artists. Works include drawing, painting, mixed media, craft, jewelry, fiber art, visual art, metalsmithing, printmaking, encaustic, ceramic, book/paper arts, photography and sculpture.

2019 World Ice Art Championships

February 14-March 31, Fairbanks

One of the iconic event of winter in Alaska, back after a one-year interim break, now at a new venue in North Pole and bringing the world's best ice carvers to create artistry in ice that must be seen to believe. The World Ice Art Championships are an international ice sculpture competition sponsored

by Ice Alaska, a nonprofit corporation formed in 1990. Plus plenty of activities for the whole family. Now at Tanana Valley Fair Grounds.

www.anchoragemuseum.org

Willow Winter Carnival

www.IceAlaska.com

www.waco-ak.org

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Photo credit: Christina Whiting

January 25 to February 2, Willow

The Willow Area Community Organization has hosted the annual winter festival for more than 50. The carnival boasts one of the state’s largest winter fireworks shows, homesteading competitions and cash bingo. There’s also foot races, fat-tire bike events, and of course, an outhouse race. Experience the dead of winter in a unique way with plenty of native culture and other unique events.

www.homeralaska.org/ winter-carnival

Yukon Quest

Starting February 2, Whitehorse to Fairbanks

The Yukon Quest has been run every February since 1984 across 1,000 miles of wilderness trail between Whitehorse, Yukon and Fairbanks, Alaska. This incredible international winter sports event starts regardless of weather conditions, pitting 50 mushers and their teams against Mother Nature. The race lasts nine to

Homer “Hibernation Vacation” Winter Carnival February 8-11, Homer

Celebrating the nearing end (we hope) at the end of the road as only Homer can do it. Highlighted by the

Photo credit: Seth Adams

Great Alaska Beer & Barley Wine Festival

Photo credit: Ashley Heimbigner

www.yukonquest.com

Valdez Ice Fest February 15-18, Valdez

Ice Fest is an annual celebration of ice climbing in the superb winter ice terrain surrounding Valdez. Besides

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structured climbs, attendees have a chance to test new and world-class climbing gear and attend seminars and instruction from expert climbers.

As well as take part in other winter outdoor activities including fat tire biking and cross country skiing. See more about the event in this issue.

Iditarod

www.valdezalaska.org

Race Start / March 2, Downtown Anchorage

Susitna 100 and Little Su 50K races

This annual night of fun, food and fundraising is the annual benefit for the Alaska Sealife Center in Seward.

The Sealife Center is one of the world’s premier research and education facilities in cold water ecosystems, as well as Alaska’s State Aquarium and the state’s quick response leader for rescue of injured and stranded marine mammals. This annual event raises funds to support all of the Center’s missions and work with marine mammals, birds, fish and invertebrates..

AlaskaSealife.org

Like what you see here?

Since 1935, Fur Rondy has proudly represented the pioneering spirit of Alaska. In addition to more than 20 official cultural and sporting activities, the Anchorage community hosts nearly 50 Rondy Round Town events, offering winter fun and events for all ages. Don’t miss the Running of the Reindeer, always a crowd favorite, as racers make a mad dash through the streets of Anchorage.

“The Last Great Race” on Earth pits man and animal against wild Alaska and its most extreme elements. The race that begins with a ceremonial start in downtown Anchorage and a restart the next day in Willow brings together mushers from all walks of life. Their goal is simple: to cover nearly 1,000 miles of unforgiving terrain with their dog sled teams the fastest, arriving in Nome ahead of the pack. Getting there, however, is a grueling test of grit and endurance for both man and canine.

The races in remote frozen Alaska take place on skis or by sled, bike or foot, with entrants braving the typically harsh elements. Due to the inherent danger of taking part in an event like this, there is a required gear list for the races, with time limits on how long participants can be out on the marked trails. www.susitna100.com

www.furrondy.net

iditarod.com

Photo credit: James Wicken

February 16, Dena’ina Center, Anchorage

Race Restart / March 3, Willow Community Center

February 22 to March 3, Anchorage

February 16-18, Big Lake

The Alaska Mine Gala

Fur Rendezvous

Iron Dog Snowmachine Race February 17, Wasilla / Big Lake

Denali Winterfest February 22-24, Denali

And we’ll see you out in

Alaska’s own and the world’s longest snowmachine races pushes racers and their machines endurance to the limit, with the Pro Class covering almost 2,000 miles of unforgiving Alaskan terrain from Big Lake to Nome and then on to Fairbanks. Now in its 36th year, the Iron Dog attracts some of the best snowmachine athletes, who compete for cash and prizes as they navigate some of the toughest terrain in the state. And the race is celebrated in rural communities the length of the race by Alaskans who don’t just love the sport but live it all winter.

Now in its 19th year, Winterfest offers loads of outdoor fun and educational events. Featuring dog sledding, a 5K race, snowshoeing, hiking, park ranger programs and more. This engaging community-oriented festival starts off with a potluck and ends with a chili feed and cake walk—small town charm in the heart of Denali National Park. Meals, lodging and other services are available year-round in the communities of Healy and Cantwell.

Ravn Country!

www.irondog.org

www.explorefairbanks.com

Around Ravn Country is our attempt to share the best coming events, festivals and celebrations around Alaska with our Ravn passengers. We want to include your events!

Email complete information and images to admin@ fireweedstrategies.com.

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Fleet Services Team

Team keeps planes clean, stocked, safe vacuums the floor and wipes down walls.

That front team member cleans the cockpit, sweeps out for the pilots, checks for lost items, wipes down walls in front, removes beverages and water from the previous flight. They also replace and restock beverages—juice, soft drinks, beer and water, as well as Ravn’s legendary cookies.

Before the first passenger or crew member steps on board a Ravn Alaska flight, members of the Ravn Fleet Services team are hard at work cleaning every inch of the Dash aircraft and restocking its galley for the coming flight.

Fleet service supervisor Joey Imbrescia has worked for Ravn for seven years. He started out cleaning planes himself and now oversees the 10-person team that works around the clock caring for the aircraft.

But he still dives in and does the work himself, too.

“What Fleet Services does is provide galley stocking and cabin cleaning for the crews and passengers, providing the best possible product we can within the available time frame we’re given to work with,” he said.

There are 11 Fleet Service team members, working three shifts. Half the staff works the graveyard shift, 8 p.m. to 6 a.m., cleaning and prepping each plane as it returns from one day’s flights, to the next day. The Dash-8 planes are towed into the Anchorage hangar, which can accommodate half a dozen planes at once.

Keeping plenty of famous Ravn cookies stocked for passengers is a priority.

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The third person will clean the bathrooms, closets, floors and stairs.

Fleet services stocks our aircraft with everything from ice to beverages.

In winter months, when the last flights of the day come back relatively early, before 9 p.m., the crew has lots of time to go over each plane.

The goal is for all planes to be cleaned and prepped long before the morning shift and flight crews began arriving at 5 a.m.

During the flight day, the day shift crews restock and straighten each plane on the ramp in the brief window between when one flight’s passengers disembark and the next flight’s board.

“It’s a perfect time to start on the early planes,” he said. “We have a fleet of 10, so on any given night we are doing 8-10 planes.”

Ravn passengers consume lots of beverages each month—up to 56 cases of water, 30 cases of cranberry juice, another 30 of orange juice and 18 of apple juice, and 70 or more cases of soft drinks.

He emphasizes the teamwork of his crew that works overnight to keep aircraft ship shape.

No surprise to Alaskan Brewing fans, Alaskan Amber is the most popular beer, followed by Alaskan White and IPA.

“I like the way our team runs in our own world,” he said. “We handle things on our own, and I try to keep that same energy.”

Everything the team does is planned around how it supports the other departments like maintenance and flight crews, as well as how it improves the passengers’ flight experience.

The graveyard shift breaks into teams of three—one begins at the back of the plane, cleaning and vacuuming the seat pouches, straightening, replacing Alaskan Spirit magazines and information cards, cleaning seats and straightening seat belts. A second cleans overhead bins, sweeps and

And that’s tempered by the unique challenges like the time of day a plane arrives, how much turnaround time is available and the volume of items to be cleaned or restocked.

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“My customers are the flight attendants,” Joey laughs. “We want to do what they ask us to do. We pretty much want to get them whatever they need to take good care of the passengers.

“We bend over backwards for what they need.”

The biggest challenge for this team, as with most in Alaska, is dealing with fickle weather.

“When we’ve got weather delays or fog, and nothing is coming back, and then all the planes come back at once, it’s tough,” he said. “When you’ve got four or five on the ground and they all need to leave in the next 30 minutes, we have to turn all those planes and get them clean quick.

“When we are outside, we need to have our job done 20 minutes before departing, to ensure on time departures. We have to get our work done and get off the planes, to avoid delays. And our weather is so bipolar, you just can’t make up time.”

Winter brings other challenges.

“There’s more sand on the ground, because of the ice, which means it takes more time to sweep up and vacuum sand that gets on the planes.”

Some planes also come in dirtier than others, he admitted.

The single best thing that passengers can do is treat the aircraft like someone else’s home, being especially sensitive about trash in seat pockets.

Checking seat pockets for personal items is also important—the team often finds items left behind by passengers in a hurry.

“When we find something, we try to get it to the gate, for them to take over. Often people are running back to the gate agent as we bring their forgotten item off the plane. Just the other day, I found a wallet and he was running back down to the gate as I walked up with it in my hand.”

Forgotten items can be everything from wallets to electronics like iPads, he said.

The Fleet Services team shares the same hangar space with the mechanics who service and maintain the aircraft.

“We check every seat and back,” Joey said. “The seat you skip will be the one that is dirty.”

“It’s no fun cleaning up nasty seats, so passengers can remember common courtesy and look out for our flight attendants and fellow passengers. If you have trash, take it with you or give it to a

“We are all family,” Joey said. “We have a really good relationship and a good understanding of what each team needs. It’s not so much different departments as family with different jobs.”

flight attendant.”

Fleet services supervisor Joey Imbrescia, left, with team members Deborah Clark, Da Pong Yang and Marie Olo. Photos by Lee Leschper

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Valdez Ice Fest

Taking ice to the top Each February, a hardy band of outdoor enthusiasts gather in Valdez to challenge, learn and celebrate the extreme sport of ice climbing. Ice Fest is the world's oldest ice climbing festival, this year in Valdez from Feb. 15 - 18. The Festival includes climbing opportunities for beginners and experienced mountaineers, with clinics, practice ropes and live entertainment at night.

The Valdez Adventure Alliance is an association of outdoor enthusiasts, working to enhance the Valdez lifestyle and economy by embracing and celebrating the adventure sports lifestyle.

The Alliance develops and promotes mountain sporting events in and around Valdez. The goal is to provide both more recreation and resources for both visitors and residents, while extending the visitor season. And having a lot of fun!

WHAT TO BRING

Ferry. You can travel the Alaska Marine Highway to Valdez, departing from Whittier.

Hotels. For a complete list see ValdezAdventure.com.

THINGS TO DO IN VALDEZ Nordic Skiing and Snowshoeing.

Excellent groomed trails both in Valdez and out to the shoreline. Free rentals of snowshoes, skate and classic ski gear are available at the Prince William Sound College Fitness Center at 303 Lowe St.

Fat biking. Tour most Nordic Trails in town and at Valdez Glacier Lake.

Depending on conditions you may be able to ride snow machine tracks on Thompson Pass. And plan April 5-7 for the Chugach Fat Bike Bash.

Registration and more information at valdezadventurealliance.com.

Swimming. The Valdez Swimming Pool is free and open to the public. It’s located in the High School at 319 Robe River Drive.

Backcountry. The Thompson Pass backcountry is legendary for skiing, snowboarding and snow machining. Check conditions from the Valdez Avalanche Information Center.

Valdez Ice Fest provides anchored ropes, pro instructors, shuttle transportation from town to the climbing venues and organizes evening activities. Participants are required to equip themselves with a working harness, helmet, climbing boots (double plastic or mountaineering leather that accept crampons), 12-point climbing crampons, belay device and a locking carabiner, and ice tools. Demo gear available, first-come, first-serve, thanks to Alaska Mountaineering and Hiking, as well as rentals.

GETTING THERE Flying. The fastest route to Valdez is on Ravn Alaska. As Valdez’s airline, Ravn Alaska provides commercial air service to Valdez, with flights connecting from Anchorage.

For flight information, special rates and discount codes, see FlyRavn.com.

Professional climber and wingsuit flyer Jeff Shapiro looks up at a new ice climbing route he just put up in Prince William Sound named Ravn.

Photo by Seth Adams

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Chess opening doors for Alaska youngsters and reasoning and their surroundings. It’s just delightful, not just an egghead thing!”

A growing number of Alaska families are learning the power and value of an ancient game of strategy and skill.

“We really enjoy all of the kids that we played with. When we donate boards, they are portable—they can take them with them. And we encourage them to invite other kids to play.”

What started with a small group of interested families is quickly becoming a statewide passion.

Colleen Evanco is a Soldotna mother and president of Alaska Chess. She’s joined forces with Andy Haas, a Homer teacher and lifelong chess player.

“Frankly everybody knows the essentials, but it gets a lot more interesting when you know the tools!”

“I met Colleen when they started the club in Homer. I’m on the Homer library board, and when their club had outgrown the coffee shop, they started using the library. I started teaching chess and the kids ate it up.

The chess association was founded as a nonprofit to help get good time clocks and quality chess boards into both schools and homes. Good chess boards cost less than $20, and time clocks perhaps $35.

“We went into the elementary school and the kids were really excited.

“Our vision is one-game, one community,” the association’s website says. “We believe chess is a multi-purpose tool that should be accessible and integrated throughout Alaska curriculum life-skills beyond the board. Alaska faces a lack of statewide competitive and casual chess.

As diversity continues to impact Alaska, more efforts are needed to increase social connections.”

“And then we realized that there are chess clubs throughout Alaska—or there should be! So, we started setting up tournament play between clubs. Whenever we talk to parents, they get excited too.”

Chess, which traces its roots to the Middle Ages at least, is a healthy alternative to video games and modern digital distractions. Starting early, as with many skills, is helpful in chess, he adds.

“You want to start with them in elementary school, and keep it going as they progress.

In high school there’s a greater disparity in skill levels, while at elementary school it is easier to start everybody at the same level.

Jonathan Singlar, a student at Alaska Pacific University, is on the Alaska Chess board with Colleen and Andy, and is introducing the game to students at Anchorage charter schools.

“We are getting to the point where the kids feel comfortable competing, and we just had our first invitational tournament,” Evanco said.

The game has a surprising added benefit for children with learning disabilities.

Sybastian Rindlisbacher, 7, studying his next move, is one of many Alaska youngsters finding chess a great introduction to strategy and social interaction.

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“Chess is wonderful for special ed kids,” Haas said.

“In Homer, we have lots of special ed kids involved.

It helps them tap into the approach

That’s how the game is growing in Alaska organically, one child to another.

“And when they play, we’re encouraging them to post pictures on Instagram, to show that chess is everywhere, it’s open, friendly and fun. It’s a way to pay it forward.”

The association started statewide last spring and is trying to grow at a sustainable pace.

“What is interesting is that they don’t see it as difficult,” Haas said.

“There are also some really good computer programs that allow for people to play others online and play the computer online.

ChessKids.com is beautiful and certainly constructive in teaching the game.”

Speed chess, playing a game limited to five minutes, or blitz chess, with three minute limits, really gets the adrenaline going, Haas said.

“We love tapping into that, and it becomes a lifetime thing.”

“In one week, the kids were so good they could all go home and beat their parents.

And when their parents would drop them off, they’d be saying that chess was all they wanted to do.”

“In maybe four one-hour sessions they can develop to the point of beginning a lifetime of chess experience.”

Evanco is emphatic about the positive influence the game has had on her family.

“With my son, I see him struggle with some things. When he discovered chess, he tapped into it so easily. He could focus, it calmed him down. He will play for hours by himself, playing both sides of the board. I’ve never seen him play with

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anything else with such attention and focus. This is his thing.”

That love of the game opened doors for him.

“We’d go to the coffee shop KBay in Homer, and I’d set up the chess board and then walk around and ask strangers, random people, if they play chess and if they’d be willing to play with my son.

inter-social skills. Like losing, and having patience when they make mistakes such as being overconfident and attacking (in a game) without planning their defense.

“It’s really great at teaching social and strategic skills. And it’s humbling. It teaches sportsmanship and the ability to lose.”

“And it is a whole family thing—anybody can play.

“Lots of people did. And he loved it and did so well.

“The big goal we have is getting tournament play, and getting the kids ranked.”

“So, I met with other mothers and home school parents and more people wanted to play with him and get to talk with him.

His confidence continued to grow, and he opened up as an individual.

By playing in sanctioned tournaments, the young Alaska players can advance to regional and ultimately national competitions.

“Now he teaches other kids!”

“Special ed is such a very broad spectrum and a vague label,” Hass said. “First of all, kids who may have difficulty interacting with others find it reassuring, and playing on a board, there is so much to learn from

Like all Alaska non-profits, the association can always use more funding to buy boards and clocks, and needs interested teachers, schools and families to start clubs that will meet and compete regularly.

Regular play is important.

“We wish to spread chess all over Alaska,” Evanco said. “The game is really not

Sybastian plays social scientist Andrew Pudew in an Alaska chess tournament.

Sybastian is now teaching other children the game.

difficult to learn, and when one plays, it's amazing to see the simple pleasure of the game open up many personal avenues of joy.

For more information on how to become involved or make donations, go to AlaskaChess.org or www.facebook.com/ AlaskaChessRocks, or email Andy Hass at yatra@ak.net.

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Community spotlight

10 things to love about Nome

1

Muskox Viewing

The Nome area is one of the few accessible places in the world where you can observe muskoxen in their natural habitat. These shaggy creatures, with their odd-looking horns, lived in Alaska hundreds of thousands of years ago, after crossing the Bering Strait Land Bridge from Siberia. Each year, about 100 muskoxen frequent Nome, especially in summer, to escape predation from bears and wolves. The large creatures are typically patient with people, but it’s best to observe them from a distance.

2

Iditarod

Every year in March, Nome undergoes a sudden bustle in energy and excitement. It’s all thanks to “The Last Great Race” on Earth. The entire community gets involved, with events planned over a twoweek period. Browse locally made crafts at the Iditarod Craft Show, learn about dogs and mushing at educational sessions, enjoy local

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entertainment and sporting competitions and more. And of course, you’ll have to hang out with the crowds on Front Street, cheering mushers as they finish the grueling race under the burled arch. If you happen to visit Nome during other times of the year, be sure stop by for a photo op with the Iditarod Burled Arch, near Nome City Hall at 1st and Division.

3

Anvil City Square

The Square is a large open green space in the heart of Nome, and is considered the community’s “crown jewel.”

You’ll find locals gathering here throughout the year, celebrating Fourth of July with activities like the blanket toss, participating in the Iditarod snow sculpting contest, and searching for color in the stark white snow during the annual Easter Egg Hunt. Anvil City Square is also the home of many significant points of in-

terest: Old St. Joe’s Hall (one of Nome’s oldest buildings), the statues of the Three Lucky Swedes and the world’s largest gold pan (which is also a great background for photos).

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4

Birdwatching

Nome is becoming a wellknown treasure for birders.

Surrounded by tundra on three sides and the Bering Sea coastline on the other, Nome is a frequented destination for all kinds of migrating species. When the Bering Sea ice begins to break up, migration begins. Virtually the entire area of the Seward Peninsula that is accessible by road from Nome is composed of valuable nesting areas for many species, including most North American waterfowl.

You’ll even find quality birding on wetlands and beaches right in town.

Nome Visitor Center

In the early days, residents would gather at the shoreline of the Bering Sea, eagerly watching a new crowd of visitors disembark from passenger ships. For a city snowed and iced in seven months of the year, it was high excitement. While today’s residents don’t quite stand at the shoreline, they are still happy to welcome visitors and newcomers. You’ll find a warm welcome at businesses all over town, but the one spot dedicated to visitor needs is the Visitor Center.

Make that your first stop. The Visitor Center is the octagonal building located across from City Hall and at the end of the Iditarod Trail. Stop in to pick up some brochures, see a short video on Nome, say hi to the stuffed muskox, and talk to staff about things to do in and around town.

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6

Downtown

Front Street is Nome’s most famous and historic roadway, running about a mile along the coastline, from Bering Street to Greg Kruschek Avenue.

Front Street developed quickly in the early days of Nome’s gold rush. While no original buildings remain, as this area was battered by storms and decimated by fires over the years, Front Street is still a visitor hot spot. You can find several restaurants, hotels, coffee shops, saloons, gift stores and the office building for The Nome Nugget, Alaska’s oldest newspaper.

Front Street is the endpoint of the annual Iditarod, just as it was with the All Alaska Sweepstakes sled dog race, held between 1908 and 1917.

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Stop by the Foster Building

There’s a lot to see and do in Nome, but before you get started, take some time to learn about its history, native cultures and natural environment at three modern and engaging centers: the Carrie M. McLain Memorial Museum,

the Kawerak Katirvik Cultural Center and the Kegoayah Kozga Public Library. All three of these centers are located within the newly constructed Foster Building. For decades, the Carrie M. McLain Memorial Museum has been collecting and preserving, documenting and displaying the history of Nome. The museum received a makeover in 2016 and is located in the new Richard Foster Building.

Its permanent exhibit organizes its displays thematically.

The Cultural Center is a place for sharing and understanding the traditions and languages of the Indigenous cultures of the Bering Straits.

The small size is even more striking when you know that Teller was once a gold rush boomtown filled with 5,000 people. You’ll likely see a herd of reindeer grazing in the tundra. It’s owned by a family in Teller and is part of the 25,000 reindeer that roam the Seward Peninsula.

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Visit Teller

Take a few hours to explore the Nome-Teller Road, and you’ll be farther west than nearly everyone in the United States. In fact, you’ll be just 55 miles from Russia, and close to the Bering Strait Land Bridge, the ancient migration route between Asia and North America.

The Nome-Teller Road runs 73 miles northwest and takes approximately two hours one way without stops. The gem of the road lies at its end, at tiny Teller. Fewer than 300 people live there, and 85 percent are Inupiat, living a subsistence lifestyle.

Last Train to Nowhere

Just across Bonanza Bridge, 30 miles east of Nome along the Nome-Council Road, three rusty steam locomotives and some rolling stock lie sinking into the water-logged tundra. Dubbed “The Last Train to Nowhere,” they are all that remain of a dream to build the most extensive and prosperous rail system on the Seward Peninsula. In the early 1900s, Chicago investors backed construction of the Council City & Solomon River Railroad in an effort to link the region’s major mining centers by rail. But as the gold rush faded, the project became mired in debt, and after five years of construction, the line extended only 35 miles.

The project was abandoned in 1907 and the locomotives were left to deteriorate.

Today, the popular attraction is equipped with viewing platforms and interpretive signs.

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At Pilgrim Hot Springs, balsam poplar, cottonwood and pine trees surround a clearing with about 15 old buildings and steaming hot springs. The spot, listed on the National Register of Historic Places, is found about 8 miles into the turn at milepost 65 of the Nome Kougarok Road. In the early 1900s, the property was known as Kruszgamepa Hot Springs and was a recreation center for miners attracted by its spa baths, saloon, dance hall and roadhouse.

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Pilgrim Hot Springs

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What’s wrong with me?

I’m a millennial and my boss likes me! (I think)

By Katie Nokelby

As a child of a hardworking Alaskan and an intense retired hockey player, work ethic and determination are just a part of who I am.

could be depended on.

Unfortunately, in the professional realm I can’t seem to escape the label as a millennial (shrug and eye roll quickly to follow). No matter how early I arrive to work or how late I stay, the shadow of lazy egocentricity seems to lurk close behind.

distracted millennials. It’s no

I know I am not the first to note the stark differences in our generations of working professionals. The world was different before prenatal vitamins and the Internet— and so too was the day job.

People worked to put food on the table and a roof over their families’ heads. People didn’t work to find the job that expressed their true selves, or one that would give them flexibility.

These are the ones we now see leading businesses, managing teams and

leading a workforce of

surprise that we sense some frustrations and tension Katie Nokelby is a hardworking millennial and Operations Coordinator for Alaska Executive Search.

between the two.

Don’t even get me started on the concept of FIRE to achieve financial freedom.

I can see why everyone seems to think that we millennials might hold unrealistic expectations for our working lives.

consulting firm. The more I

Let me remind you the generation before us millennials (Generation X and Baby Boomers, too) exuded commitment, loyalty and the ability to show they

to improve employee

millennial

All differences aside, I have been noticing a pattern in my job as an operations coordinator at a small

acknowledge what we both need, the more I think my boss likes me.

For both millennials and

those who supervise them,

here are some opportunities to meet in the middle,

engagement and ultimately to move towards increased productivity and lowered

frustration over all of us darn millennials.

Baby Boomer boss

Boss to be open to new ideas Proactive Communication Flexibility Hard deliverables and deadlines Clear, concise communication Status and process updates

Meet between Commitment and Investment Here’s a reality I can share with both sides—you want the same things.

Although expressed differently, both parties are seeking a common goal, which is success for the company and mutual respect.

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Destination Nome

Make the journey for must-see Alaska

By Erin Kirkland

I’ve been to many places in Alaska, and Nome is a character among characters, as towns go.

It’s not much to look at, frankly, this village-by-the-sea. Clustering 3,500 residents close to the shores of the Bering Sea, Nome is a neat grid of dusty streets made famous by the 1,100-mile Iditarod Sled Dog Race, toward which teams of man and canine race each March. Most visitors to the 49th state do not consider making the long and expensive overland trip some 500-600 air miles from hub city Anchorage, so Nome is not on the average Alaskan itinerary.

But it should be. And it can be, with a little foresight, a lot of fortitude and an adventurous spirit.

I went to Nome the first time to prove to myself and pal Candice of Salmon Berry Tours in Anchorage that yes, one could

arrange a trip to and from this remote village and have a pretty good time living and learning the rural Alaska way. After all, isn’t that why most folks come to the 49th state in the first place, to get a taste of “Real Alaska?”

First things first, however. There are definitely seasons to go to Nome, and seasons not to go to Nome, especially with children—the Iditarod finish being one such time. The few hotels and B&Bs are booked at least a year in advance to the tune of hundreds of dollars per night.

The atmosphere also caters more to adults.

By comparison, June through September are lovely times to go. June provides green beach grasses, chirping and honking and soaring birds of all kinds (in fact, birders flock to Nome each year to see rare species); July and August

bring berries and long arctic nights full of sunshine; September finds visitors wandering amongst brown and reddish foliage and gaping at gorgeous sunsets.

Temperatures hover between 50-60 degrees Fahrenheit, families are out exploring, and everywhere, the Alaskan wilderness is at your feet, a ready invitation for hiking, biking, gold-panning and fishing.

What does one actually do in Nome?

Here’s where a guy like Richard Beneville comes in. Richard is the founder of Nome Discovery Tours, now owned and operated by ExploreTours. Richard is an evangelist of all things historically significant in the community. A former Broadway actor and the go-to guy for the whole town, Richard can provide any and all insight into Nome, its culture, history, recreation and your role as visitor. He’s also the mayor.

Front Street, Nome's main thoroughfare, at sunset.

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Richard Beneville, founder of Nome Discoveries and current mayor of Nome.

Richard is your man if you choose to take children to Nome. Charming and willing to share his little corner of the planet, Richard can provide kids with a history lesson they’ll never forget. I guarantee they’ll return home knowing more about gold and dogs and Native Alaskans than anybody else, anywhere.

The great thing about a Nome Discovery Tours is Richard’s ability to see an individual’s interest and recommend a tour around it. While ExploreTours has taken on the bulk of planning and execution for Richard so he can perform his mayorly duties, each of the three offerings captures a true sense of Nome’s character: •

Have one day? The Nome: People and Places tour is perfect for the day-tripping family.

•

Looking for an exploration of the surrounding areas, and a bit of history?

The Nome and Teller Tour might be a good fit.

•

Digging full-on Nome-ness? The Nome Adventure is a three-day immersion into Nome’s past, present, and future with all the fixings; history, culture, recreation, and industry (you’ll even look a bit into how climate change is shaping this community’s business landscape).

If you’re a family with an entire day, or few days, and want to go it independently (and if staying overnight in Nome or along the way at one of the B&B’s), drive the roughly 70 miles into the gorgeous mountains toward Teller, the only village, by the way, connected to Nome by road.

Rent a car at the Aurora Inn, allowing plenty of time for photos, hikes and wildlife viewing. Watch for musk ox, fox and caribou along the way, and see if kids can spot the Bering Sea from a new vantage point way up above Nome. In Teller, learn about 10,000 years of Eskimo history from Norbert and Sarah Kakaruk, a delightful couple born and raised near Teller in Mary’s Igloo (community) and whose insights are valuable lessons to young people.

Lodging in Nome consists of three reputable hotels and a scattering of B&B’s and inns, with a complete list available at the charming Nome Convention and Visitors Bureau, where Candice and I found helpful people, tons of information and a great movie about Nome and its amazing history. If you choose to spend the night in the greater Nome area, ExploreTours will also assist you in securing safe, comfortable (but not cheap) lodging. Try the Dredge 7, Nugget Inn, or Aurora Inn.

Dining in Nome was surprisingly yummy and affordable. Pingo Bakery-Seafood House is a lovely option for the whole family. Located near the old St. Joseph’s Church and adjacent to the city park, it’s a nice stop after a few hours of exploring town.

The Polar Cafe served up some incredible breakfast fare in a simple style, but with delightful service. Right on the water, we could see the gold dredge barges heading out for their day’s work.

I also love Milanos Pizza; well, pizza, noodle bowls, burgers, milkshakes—just about anything. Their hearty beef noodle bowl was a perfect remedy for a cold autumn afternoon when I last visited.

There’s certainly no place like Nome. If you’ve got the gumption, you’ll undoubtedly be wanting more time once you’ve starting exploring this incredible little community “way up North.”

Getting There: Ravn provides daily service to Nome. Visit www.flyravn.com for more information.

Abandoned gold dredge, reminiscent of the 1890s gold rush that saw thousands rushing to Nome.

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Northwest Alaska Career Technical and Education Center’s mission

Training opens new career paths for young Alaskans

By Tim Bradner “A good job solves a lot of problems.”

Helvi Sandik, a former NANA region leader, famously said that, but it’s a fact long known by elders and community leaders in rural Alaska who know that education and training for local jobs are the key to sustainability for communities.

Now there’s hard data to back that up.

A career and technical training center in Nome is demonstrating a connection between vocational classes and fewer school dropouts, higher graduation rates and, for adults, higher wages.

The data is revealing. State officials and legislators are taking note.

Income earned after training in a construction skills program at the Northwest Alaska Career Technical and Education

Center (NACTEC) has been shown to be double that earned before the training, or $21 an hour for unskilled construction work to $42 an hour after heavy equipment training.

In 2004, the year NACTEC began, only 44 percent of Bering Straits School District high school students were graduating; the graduation rate hit a low of 32 percent in 2008. By 2017, the number had increased to 85 percent.

Community leaders and state officials say NACTEC’s track record, along with that of other rural Alaska regional training centers in Kotzebue, Bethel and King Salmon, point toward a solution to a key problem gnawing at rural Alaska—how to create local jobs, sustain a regional economy and retain young people.

NACTEC air frame students inspect the wing ribbing and leading edges of the Piper Colt prior to repair.

Ironically, there are good-paying jobs now in rural Alaska, in health services, education, fisheries, transportation and mining.

Norton Sound Health Corp., the region’s biggest employer, provides 700 jobs with workers in almost every community.

The challenge is that young people are not being trained in skills needed by local employers, so that jobs often go to workers imported from urban Alaska communities or even the Lower 48.

The perception among young people has been that there are no local jobs or careers open to them and that the best jobs are taken by people from outside the community, both which creates a downward spiral.

Sensing no future, many young people lose interest in school and drop out.

Alcohol and drug abuse often result, fueling social problems and sometimes incarceration.

Training is worth the investment, NACTEC Director Doug Walrath said.

Students in NACTEC’s fisheries technician program in a stream exercise.

“Either you invest now or pay more later,” he said, noting the costs of social issues.

Photos courtesy of NACTEC

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Community leaders and elders in the Bering Straits region recognized this problem early and that training for jobs available locally was critical. A partnership formed between the Bering Straits School District and Nome’s city public school system to develop a regional workforce training center in Nome, which became NACTEC. Initially the effort was a modest “career awareness” camp first held in 2006. But local educators were surprised when students in those orientations began asking for more focused career training.

NACTEC first expanded its offering into the health occupations through a partnership with Norton Sound Health Corporation aimed at training village health aides. Today there is a program with graduated steps leading students through several levels of certification.

Village health aides are vital because they typically are first emergency responders in a small community, Walrath said.

“When something happens in a village, health aides are the first line of defense.

The doctors are in Nome, but health aides are there in the village,” he said.

seafood technician courses were added, along with welding, small engine repair and outdoor leadership.

A student in NACTEC’s aviation power plant class inspects a 1962 Piper Colt engine. The aircraft was donated by local pilot Robby Thrun.

The Alaska Airmen’s Association provided financial support.

“If you can repair small engines and outboard motors, you have skills you can work across many sectors,” Walrath said.

Two new initiatives are underway, one in maritime occupations in collaboration with the Alaska Vocational and Technical Center (AVTEC) in Seward, and a second in an Aviation Pathways program in collaboration with the University of Alaska Anchorage’s Aviation Technology Program and University of Alaska Fairbanks’ Career and Technical Center.

These provide training that can lead to a pilot’s license or certification as an airframe and power plant mechanic.

Aviation and maritime skills are badly needed in most parts of rural Alaska, where air carriers and marine operators have difficulty recruiting qualified employees. The best solution, Walrath said, is to train local employees who are familiar with regional weather and terrain, and who have roots in the area, which will reduce staff turnover.

Health aides are also given training in emergency first aid.

Ravn Alaska is a NACTEC industry partner, and helps support the aviation program.

NACTEC’s curriculum offerings have expanded, tailored to jobs and employers in the Bering Straits region. Fisheries and

Most of the rural training centers, like Alaska Technical Center in Kotzebue, Yuut Elitnaurviat in Bethel and Iḷisaġvik

College in Barrow, are post-secondary, meaning they take students who have completed high school. Iḷisaġvik College is itself an accredited institution of higher learning, and is also a tribal college.

NACTEC is different. Because it is affiliated with Bering Straits School District and Nome Public Schools, NACTEC’s courses are part of the regional high school program. Many vocational and technical schools in larger Alaska communities, like King Career Center in Anchorage, work the same way.

But because it works with mainly secondary students NACTEC also acts like a “feeder” of students who go into more advanced post-secondary training and education at the University of Alaska campuses and at AVTEC in Seward.

Henrietta Ivanoff is a community health aide in Unalakleet. She received her training at NACTEC in Nome.

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·· JUST FOR KIDS ··

By Erin Kirkland*

Nome

What’s in a Name?

Do you know how you came to be called as you are? Names are special.

Whether carrying on a family tradition or reminder of a special person, names are personal, and it feels good to know why.

The same goes for places—the towns, cities and states where we live, work and play. Sometimes the reason is simple: someone founded a city and everyone knew it, and named it thus.

Sometimes, like with places like Nome, there’s a bit of mystery around the origin of a name that can keep people guessing for years.

Nome was co-founded by a man named Jafet Lindeberg in 1899 (along with two mining partners, the “Lucky Swedes.” Lindeberg was from Norway, and some say a special place called Nomedalen (Nome Valley in English) gave him the idea to name Nome. That sounds as good as any explanation, doesn’t it?

But wait—did Nome get its name by mistake?

Another story says that a British cartographer (mapmaker) was working on a nautical chart given to him by

a naval officer. The officer had been unable to identify an area and had written “? Name” next to the spot. The mapmaker misread the note, thinking it said “C. Nome,” or Cape Nome, and used that on the chart. Proofreading matters, but in this case may have given Nome its name.

A third and rather simple legend says that a settler was trying to figure out where he was and a local replied “NoMe,” meaning “I don’t know,” leaving the newcomer to shrug his shoulders and accept it as “Nome.”

Great Reads

Matching Up! The area around Nome is full of places and landmarks with interesting names. Can you match the place name with its meaning or characteristics?

(Answers at the bottom).

Bering Strait

Last Iditarod checkpoint

Pilgrim Hot Springs

Named for U.S. senator in 1892

Council

Former Catholic orphanage

Safety

Danish-born Russian explorer

Teller

“Koo-garok,” road to Taylor

Kougarok

Find evergreen trees here

Pup and Pokey

written by Seth Kantner Friendships can take many forms, like the one shared in Seth Kantner’s Pup and Pokey, a great starter story about caring for others. A boisterous wolf pup and an awkward young porcupine are unlikely allies in this tale of friendship set on Alaska's tundra. The two grow up as neighbors, but only through helping each other escape from a trapper do they learn what it means to truly be friends.

Suitable for ages 3 and up, and an excellent read-aloud story for the whole family.

Book review courtesy of University of Alaska Press, Fairbanks

Kougarok ------> “Koo-garok,” road to Taylor Teller ------> Named for U.S. senator in 1892 Safety ------> Last Iditarod checkpoint

Council ------> Find evergreen trees here

Pilgrim Hot Springs ------> Former Catholic orphanage Bering Strait ------> Danish-born Russian explorer Answers:

*Erin Kirkland is an Alaska journalist and family travel advocate. She lives in Anchorage.

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·· JUST FOR KIDS ··

Art plays important identity role for young Nome residents When the Carrie M. McLain Memorial Museum reopened in 2017 after a long journey from the basement of a Front Street city building to its own structure (complete with community library), director Dr. Amy Phillips-Chan knew kids had to play an important part.

“Our youth play such an important role in shaping the future of our town,” she said. The graphic panel we called ‘Nome Today and Tomorrow’ was envisioned as an artistic space where local youth could visualize what they think makes Nome a great place to live and/or what they hope Nome could be like in the future.”

Local art instructor Angela Hansen was invited to lead two watercolor workshops that were held in the museum in August 2017, with 15 students between the ages of 8 and 16 participating.

Alaskan Spirit “Just for Kids” editor Erin Kirkland recently visited Nome and viewed the unique watercolor paintings.

She later caught up with six of the artists; Gareth Hansen, 17; Starr Erikson, 17;

Clara Hansen, 14; Son Erikson, 13; Luke Hansen, 11; and Young Erikson, 10, to talk about their subject choices and life in this remote Alaska community.

Alaskan Spirit: “You all chose different aspects of your lives to paint. Why did you decide to focus on the areas you did?”

Gareth Hansen: “I painted a scene of a Bering Air Cessna Caravan airplane. I chose this picture because I am planning on getting my commercial pilot license and fly in Alaska. The landscape in the photo was beautiful and I thought it represented the wonder of Alaska.”

Young Erikson: “My art is of Anvil Mountain which is the main mountain in Nome. The towers on the mountain are called the White Alice site, part of the DEW (Distant Early Warning) line during the Cold War. Anvil is the mountain I like to hike.”

Clara Hansen: “I chose to paint the Bering Sea. It is symbolic of Nome because of the gold mining and people love walking along the beach.”

AS: “What makes Nome a special place to grow up?”

Son Erikson: “You can basically do anything you want, like hunting and fishing out your front door. Nome is not as packed with people or crazy like the big cities are. But I do miss not being able to go to Chuck E. Cheese’s more often.”

Starr Erikson: “In my picture, I painted trees, sunset and a boat on the river.

Summertime is a big part of living in Alaska because that’s when we are doing our subsistence activities. I really love our Alaska sunsets and their vibrant colors!”

Clara Hansen: “Everything I like to do is here! Volleyball, cross-country skiing, ice skating, band and choir. I don’t like being around large crowds of people and enjoy knowing the people in our community.”

Luke Hansen: “I don’t feel like I’m missing out because I have freedom to go out in the country. In Anchorage, a person has to trailer a snowmachine for miles to get out to the country. In Nome, we can pull out of our driveway to go for a ride.”

You can see all 15 paintings by Nome youth by visiting the Carrie M. McLain Memorial Museum, www. nomealaska.org/department/index. php?structureid=12.

Young artists display their watercolor work depicting life in Nome.

Pictured left to right: Gareth Hansen, Clara Hansen, Luke Hansen, Starr Erikson, Son Erikson and Young Erikson.

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Bringing up a team to beat

Musher prepares for 2019 Yukon Quest

By Susie Jenkins-Brito

November is a time of change for veteran sled dog musher Brent Sass.

Amid his team’s peak race training, during long runs and a much anticipated meat delivery, the dogs get their first taste of hot beef broth.

The winter switch from salmon to beef in their kibble signals the intent of piling in extra protein and fat the team will need to log long miles in the cold and usually harsh conditions it will face. His home, Wild and Free Mushing at the Joe Bush Creek Homestead outside Eureka, is some three hours and 150 miles northwest of Fairbanks.

In 2018, the Wild and Free team stepped out of the major race’s spotlight for the first time in 10 years. Coming off a high in 2015 from winning the Yukon Quest, the 1,000-mile sled dog race that runs from Whitehorse, Yukon into Fairbanks, Sass launched into the 2016 mushing season as the contender to beat in both the Yukon Quest and the Iditarod. The excitement surrounding the Iditarod Photos by Brent Sass

that year seemed unparalleled in the moment. After a solid second-place finish in the Quest, Sass and his veteran team seemed poised to surpass, if not have a very close finish, with the Seaveys.

Arguably among the best mushers in the world, Mitch and Dallas Seavey were neck and neck with Sass throughout the Iditarod. Then, in White Mountain, as onlookers expected Sass to be out the gate, his team was hunkered down on the straw and the thoughts of winning had evaporated into the cold air. In what he describes as a “heck of an experience, one of my proudest and weakest moments” the decision in White Mountain to rest the team brought him a 20th-place finish. In 2017, following a scratch in the Yukon Quest just outside Central, many were left wondering what this musher was going to do next.

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These events culminated in a shift that Sass now calls a “one-race focus” and in 2019 that means another entry into the Yukon Quest.

This year’s Quest won’t just be a race as usual for the Wild and Free Team. Most of the old race group is retired with only a handful of veterans remaining among the ranks. For every musher, the time comes when they must bring up a new team, and for Sass, these young dogs are a source of pride. He said he has been taking it back to the basics, and from a musher who fostered under such names as Butcher, Monson and Redington, those basics are sure to be keen. These dogs stem from bloodlines Sass has cultivated within his kennel, many originating from Silver, his 17-year-old steadfast runner, mixed in with lines from Lance Mackey and Jeff King.

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With 26 conditioned dogs to pare down to a 14-member team, Sass has been on the trail twice a day running different configurations searching for each dog’s niche. He impressed upon the need to spread the pressure around and have a multitude of dogs he can rely on in various conditions.

It’s not all about the dogs though as mushing also is centered on the special community built around it. Any year the team has performed well can be directly correlated back to having reliable handlers at the homestead.

Sass, a self-described loner musher, preserves his love of the Alaskan lifestyle by maintaining his self-reliance.

But come race time, the excitement for the competition is also filled with the prospect of catching up with old friends and making new ones.

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Grain-Free

SalmonAlaskan Snacks Dog Treats

By Susie Jenkins-Brito

Ingredients: •

2 cups cooked, flaked salmon (1 - 14.75-ounce can or pint jar, including oil)

•

1 cup dehydrated potato flakes (instant mashed potatoes)

•

1 cup shredded fresh carrot

•

2 eggs

To Make: Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a large cookie sheet with parchment paper and set aside.

In a medium bowl combine salmon, carrots, potato flakes and eggs until all are equally moist, forming a rough dough. Turn mixture out onto a piece of parchment or wax paper, and using your hands, press dough into a flat sheet approximately a half-inch thick. Cut out treats with a small cookie cutter of your choosing or simply slice into equal pieces. Transfer treats onto parchment-lined cookie sheet at least 1 inch apart.

Reshape dough as needed to cut out shapes until all dough is used.

Bake treats for 10 minutes, remove from oven and carefully flip them over with a spatula. Bake for an additional 10 minutes until lightly browned and dry to the touch. Remove treats from pan and allow to cool completely on a baking rack before storing.

Salmon snack treats keep well in an airtight container on the counter for up to 3 days, a week in the refrigerator or 3 months in the freezer.

Makes 12 to 24 dog treats, depending on size.

Photo by Susie Jenkins-Brito

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Utqiagvik is more than a name to community Voters of the community of Utqiagvik voted in 2016 by a narrow margin to rename the community formerly known as Barrow.

The election was close, with 381 in favor and 375 against, with no active campaigning by either side.

The name means a place for gathering wild roots and comes from the word now used for potato, utqiq. It is pronounced with a hard "g" in the middle: oot–kay–ahg–vik.

Of its 4,400 residents, about 60 percent are Alaska Native, 17 percent are Caucasian and 9 percent are Asian, among other groups.

Two other Alaska communities that changed their names in modern times: Nunapitchuk, formerly Akolmiut, which did so in 1983, and Nunam Iqua, which changed from Sheldon Point in 2000.

The community was originally named Utqiagvik, but was renamed Barrow for Sir John Barrow, a British civil servant who was a big supporter of Arctic exploration. He never traveled to Alaska but Capt. Frederick William Beechey did and honored Barrow by naming a point after him.

Qaiyaan Harcharek, the Barrow City Council member who sponsored the ordinance leading to the public vote, said in 2016 that it was a way of regaining the heritage that missionaries had tried to replace.

In the U.S. Geological Survey Dictionary of Alaska Place Names, the original name for Barrow was given as Utkiakvik, reflecting an earlier spelling.

One hope is seeing and using more traditional names will help youngsters remember and preserve that part of their heritage.

A portion of this story was first published in the Anchorage Daily News.

Photo by PM Fadden

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ASTAR

A Plan for Connecting Communities

By Alaska Department of Natural Resources The Arctic Strategic Transportation and Resources (ASTAR) project is a planning effort sponsored by the State of Alaska Department of Natural Resources (DNR) and North Slope Borough (NSB).

Collaborating with North Slope communities and NSB, ASTAR seeks to identify, evaluate, and advance infrastructure planning to benefit the region.

ASTAR will analyze potential marine, overland, and aviation connectivity that would lower the costs of goods and services; provide options to increase communication and data bandwidth and signal strength, improving access to health, safety and long-distance learning; and connect communities through cultural programs.

to have the ASTAR and NSB plans “talk to each other” but also streamline the public process.

“I am pleased that the North Slope Borough and the State DNR are working together…being together serves two things: it reduces meeting burnout…and it provides the synergies needed for both the State and the Borough to share the same issues within our plans by working together,” said Gordon Brower, NSB Planning Department Director.

In fall 2018, ASTAR representatives traveled with NSB’s Planning Department to Kaktovik, Nuiqsut, Atqasuk, Anaktuvuk Pass, Point Lay, Point Hope, Wainwright, and Utqiagvik to get community feedback on the Comprehensive Plan. In this public process, NSB affirmed its commitment

“It is music to my ears that ASTAR is coming to the table…you help us plan… and make it strategically possible.” said Hugh Patkotak, President of Olgoonik, resident of Wainwright

What makes the ASTAR plan different?

The Arctic is busy. There are multiple initiatives underway among private, state, and federal entities. ASTAR is engaging with each, learning from their processes, and sharing data to benefit each other’s plans. In addition to working closely with communities, ASTAR is listening to feedback from Commissions, Boards, and symposiums seeking increased activity in the Arctic.

For example, communities could benefit from additional access to Inupiat language teachers in another village. Given the criticality of subsistence, community members will have the opportunity to weigh the benefits of potential projects with subsistence needs.

Because gathering information can be burdensome and confusing, DNR and NSB are aligning their planning efforts to ease the burden on the public. The value of sharing information reduces costs and provides a quality control check on the data used for decision making. For ASTAR, the NSB’s Comprehensive Plans lay out the vision for each community for the next 10 to 15 years. ASTAR implements that vision.

In early 2019, ASTAR will revisit these communities and conduct workshops among youth and leaders. Through a series of scenario planning sessions, these groups will use maps and traditional knowledge to plan for high priority projects that could benefit their community and realize the vision of the Comprehensive Plan.

In 2018, DNR also completed the first of three phases of mapping the NSB. These maps will identify potential areas of sand and gravel, which are valuable resources for potential projects.

Knowing the optimal location of these resources assists our partner, NSB, and its communities in making connections. In October 2018, while visiting Anaktuvuk Pass, Mayor Harry Brower said “…we need to acknowledge the change before us. Outside changes are influencing other activities and it is leaving us behind. We need to provide our own services…”

In 2020, ASTAR will deliver a Strategic Plan. This Strategic Plan will be the culmination of communities’ input, detailed mapping and identification of potential funding sources as well as sand and gravel resources. The Strategic Plan will reflect the visions detailed in the communities’ individual Comprehensive Plans and it will map out connections and potential projects among marine routes, such as docks and ports; aviation routes, such as improvements and expansion to local airports; and overland routes, with a series of ice, snow, and gravel roads.

More information at www.dnr.alaska. gov/mlw/astar

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Life in the Fast Lane

Iron Dog celebrates 36 years as Alaska’s legacy snowmachine event

By Sarah Miller

The Iron Dog legacy is 36 years strong this year.

Since 1984, hundreds of men and women have attempted to cross 2,000 miles of the most barren and isolated portions of Alaska in the quest to be known as an Iron Dogger. Many have started, some have finished, and only a select few have been crowned champion of the world’s longest, toughest snowmobile race.

This year, 25 Pro Class teams of two leave the ice on Feb. 17 on Big Lake and head for the halfway point of Nome. Then they turn around and roar up the Yukon River to finish in Fairbanks. A less competitive but no less daring class of riders, the Trail Class, leaves Big Lake two days earlier and finishes its trek in Nome.

The race has attracted nationally ranked snowmachine racers, urban and rural Alaskans, father-son teams, father-daughter teams, husband-wife teams and new and lifelong friend teams.

This year, more than 30 percent of the field are rookies.

“It’s impressive how much impact the Iron Dog has on the snowmachining community, and on Alaska as a whole,” said John Woodbury, executive director of Iron Dog. “It started out as a bunch of adventurers seeking to challenge themselves against the wilds of the Alaska backcountry, and has evolved into the most challenging snowmachine race in the world. Every year there is a new crop of racers hoping to reach the pinnacle of the podium. But, even more so, those riders are seeking to learn something about themselves as they push their limits around every bend.”

Once the racers zoom out of the Big Lake starting chute in two-minute intervals, they battle against brutal swamps, deep snow, thin river ice and time. Winding through Southcentral mountain passes, they break out into the broader swaths of the Interior and the ultra-fast river corridors. It’s not unusual for the racers to hit speeds over 100 mph on the rivers.

“The race changes from a physical race to more of a mental race,” said Chris

Olds, three-time champion and 2018 winner with partner Mike Morgan. “You’re going at really high speeds and looking ahead to try and keep things together.”

The racers make quick work of the Yukon River run, then break out onto the western coast of Alaska and onto the hardscrabble icy surface of Norton Sound. The ever-changing coastal route is a fast-paced challenge for the racers, who finally get a breather from the action in Nome. The Trail Class ends its ride here, while the Pro Class does necessary repairs before heading back out 24 hours later en route to the Fairbanks finish.

“The coast is similar to the fast rivers, but it can fluctuate so much from year to year,” said Olds, who along with Morgan piloted their Polaris Indy XC 600s to victory with a course time of 36 hours, 54 minutes and 49 seconds. “One year, it can be smooth and almost no different from the rivers. Other times, even as little as a week later, it can be like jumping over concrete curbs. It is always changing.”

All photos by John Woodbury / Alaska Adventure Media

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Every 40 to 110 miles along the Iron Dog course, there is a checkpoint in a village or even just along the trail. As racers continue north to Nome they pass through 14 villages and an additional three villages when they make their way to back to Fairbanks and the finish line.

headed down the trail. Whether you come through a village first or at the back of the pack, each racer is celebrated.

School children make signs to cheer on their favorite racer and wait patiently to see them whiz by on their fast machines, dreaming of the day they can race.

“The villages are the highlight along the trail,” said Olds of Eagle River, whose partner hails from Nome. “Typically there’s always people out waving and cheering us on, and kids are lined up along the corners giving us high fives.

The villages are the anchors of the race; they are what hold the race together.

Without the villages and the support from the communities, it would be so tough to coordinate the race.”

As every racer, family member, friend or fan knows, Iron Dog is not just a race; it is a part of who you are. It gets in your blood, pushes you to be more and encourages you to dream big. Iron Dog is not just a race, an organization or even a group of snowmachiners. It is a part of Alaska.

As technology has changed the world as a whole, the snowmachine has connected rural Alaska in a formerly unknown way.

Race Schedule 2019 February 13 – Trail Class Tech Inspection (Wasilla @ Hatcher Pass Polaris) February 15 – Trail Class Start (Big Lake @ Southport Marina) February 15 – Donlin Gold Safety Expo (Mat-Su Valley @ Menard Center) February 17 – Pro Class Start (Big Lake @ Southport Marina)

Sarah Miller is the media and event coordinator for Iron Dog.

February 20 – Halfway Ceremonies in Nome

More information: www.irondog.org

February 23 – Finish of the Pro Class in Fairbanks

>> Iron Dog Raffle—page 47

Each village represents one step closer to the finish line for each racer. They represent the organization as volunteers who make the race happen. Most importantly, they represent the heart of Alaska. From checkers, to trail markers, hosts and fans each community carries a vital part of the race. Without the rural support of locals, this race would not be possible.

The communities along the race route mark the trail to lead rookies and veterans safely across the state. They check racers in as they come through the checkpoints, cheer all the racers on, and make sure each one is safely

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Culture, wildlife abound in Kobuk Valley National Park

Beyond the backcountry rests Alaskan outdoors oasis

By Clark Fair In summer 1940, when 31-year-old archaeologist J. Louis Giddings embarked on a journey down the Kobuk River, his map of the territory downstream from the headwaters showed a 50-mile-wide blank space. In 1964, after Giddings’ final summer in Northwest Alaska, the blank space was gone, and today, thanks in part to his efforts, Kobuk Valley National Park exists to protect the critical habitat and the inhabitants of the great drainage.

In fact, the southeastern corner of the 1.7-million-acre park contains the cabin that Giddings built at Onion Portage, a key migration point for a quarter-million caribou that migrate twice a year through the park. Onion Portage is also a traditional Native hunting site that has produced evidence of nine different cultures dating back at least 8,000 years.

The earliest ancestors of the modern

Inupiat who still live in the Kobuk River Valley hunted for caribou at this site.

Today, Onion Portage, named for the wild onions growing along the river banks, is a popular National Historic Landmark, and the cabin houses researchers working in the park.

But the crown jewels of the Kobuk Valley are its dunes.

The Great Kobuk Sand Dunes and the Little Kobuk Sand Dunes, relics of the last Ice Age about 28,000 years ago, comprise 30 square miles of apparent desert 35 miles above the Arctic Circle.

The Kobuk formation, one of the world’s northernmost active dune fields, rises from the surrounding boreal forest and creates stark contrasts and unique experiences for anyone camping there, trekking across or floating by. The dunes consist of fine sand from rocks that were

pulverized by massive sheets of glacial ice moving through nearby mountains; then the sand was blown into the sheltered Kobuk Valley, where it accumulated in shifting dunes, sometimes more than 100 feet high.

Despite their arid appearance, the dunes regularly receive arctic rain and snow, and they are traveled by black and brown bears, wolves, caribou, moose, foxes and porcupines that live in the nearby taiga.

There is even a single species of amphibian that lives in the Kobuk Valley—the wood frog (Rana sylvatica), which survives frigid winters by staying frozen during the coldest months, then thawing to life in the spring.

And then there is the Kobuk River itself, bounded to the north by the Baird and Jade mountains and to the south by the

The Baird Mountains, north of the Kobuk Valley, stretch for miles to the horizon.

All photos courtesy of the National Park Service

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The Kobuk Dunes present a variety of hiking and camping possibilities within the park.

Waring Mountains. Sixty-one miles of the Kobuk River’s mostly placid 350-mile length traverses the park from east to west toward the Bering Sea, making it ideal for floating, boating and fishing trips during the summers. Many visitors fly in inflatable rafts or collapsible canoes or kayaks to allow them to travel the valley corridor. Anglers can try their luck for salmon, sheefish, grayling, Northern pike and Dolly Varden.

Visitors also travel to Kobuk Valley National Park for its photography and wildlife viewing opportunities, flight-seeing or backpacking and camping.

Although many people hike across the sand or the nearby forest and tundra, some prefer the peaks and ridges of the Baird Mountains, where the ground is drier and less spongy.

Winter travel (from mid-October to early April) in the park is also possible but should be attempted only by individuals accustomed to and prepared for snow, ice, wind and below-freezing temperatures. The average temperature during this time is 5 degrees Fahrenheit, with possible lows near minus-50.

On the other hand, the summer temperature in the park averages 50 degrees, with possible highs Park visitors must approaching 100. be prepared for However, this mosquitoes, which can be plentiful in warm period is June and July. also the peak for mosquitoes, so many visitors prefer autumn (mid-August to mid-October), which is often sunny, cooler and free of biting insects.

As the National Park Service is quick to point out, snow and freezing temperatures can occur during any season, so visitors should always pack gear for cold or wet weather.

Because the park is remote, most visitors travel by plane, usually via authorized air taxis out of Kotzebue, 80 miles to the southwest. Those interested in staying in the park a few days should study topographic maps of the area, then plan with air taxi pilots for feasible drop-off and pick-up sites. Although visitors are not required to check in with staff at the park headquarters in Kotzebue, the Park Service recommends safety precautions, such as satellite phones—cellphones will not work in the backcountry—personal locator beacons, bear-resistant food containers, bear spray and even firearms.

Park headquarters, along with a museum about the Arctic ecosystem and Inupiaq culture, is located in the Northwest Arctic Heritage Center, which is open year round.

A researcher enjoys early morning sunshine at the historic Giddings' Cabin near Onion Portage.

More information: www.nps.gov/kova/index.htm 907-442-3890

A sun-bleached caribou skull stands in stark contrast to the autumn foliage in the Kobuk Valley.

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The famous Whale Bone Arch, listed among the North Slope Borough’s most common photographic opportunities.

Destination Utqiagvik

‘Gateway to the Arctic’ offers unprecedented ambiance, scenery

By P.M. Fadden The plan, I was told, seemed “just wild enough to work.”

A waitress at family owned Sam & Lee’s Restaurant delivers steaming plates to the table and politely asks what has brought us to her hometown. The hope, we reply, is to scout the North Slope Borough, enjoy its Arctic ambiance, and (naturally) pay this visit to the region’s principle city Utqiagvik, known equally by its latter moniker, Barrow.

From there, we know, the planet’s most northerly coastline may be reached. And we intend to do so by foot.

The girl smiles knowingly, states the aforementioned encouragement and leaves us to our lunch. We’re a run-ofthe-mill family, on unlikely adventure, at Alaska’s city on top of the world.

To be fair, journeys this far north are by no means news. Testament to that can be found a few city blocks away, where more than a dozen sod-formed Dwelling Mounds roost upon the Arctic Ocean shoreline. Built by a prehistoric Inuit culture known as Birnirk, the pseudo-subterranean residences have been archaeologically dated to 500 A.D., making Utqiagvik one of the longest-standing permanent settlements in the United States and predating European Arctic exploration by several centuries.

My wife and daughter stroll around but not atop the mounds, while I contemplate the at-times harsh and hard-working life of an Arctic village. It’s a scene not difficult to imagine. Work-a-day homes of a modern city literally neighbor the anthropologically significant site. And like the

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structures of the ancient village before, Utqiagvik’s stout, colorful domiciles seem built to trap heat and resist wind; handy tips, passed generationally, among those living on tundra, and today reachable only by air.

“Look!” My 3-year-old has spied something on the ice-flat horizon. Small dark dots are moving in steady convoy farther and farther out to sea. It’s a whaling crew riding snowmachines, twisting its way to bowhead hunting grounds used by Inuit ancestors for more than 1,500 years.

We turn, and walk the coastline toward town proper. Local transit, we see, is dominated by econo-sized, SUV taxis. They expertly zip between civic sites so near to one another that there’s no need for a meter, here a standard rates sheet of rates cuts the red tape and saves everyone time.

The U.S. Post Office, for one, is a bustling civic destination. Its government-issue façade follows the tried and true blueprint of far earlier construction: trap heat, block wind. And through its doors seem to pour the whole of the town’s population, plus each and every tourist. Mail here, we learn, is not only a bridge between past and present, but a focal point of resident and visitor alike. After all, it was early passage of U.S. post which would result in the city’s dual-naming, and its modern dwellings, despite following centuries-old traditions, no less desire amenities not easily found in the Arctic. As for the visitor, postcards sent from world’s end make popular mementos.

Having excitedly mailed our own cards, we exit to be greeted by the stone-crackling mechanical roar of another local

specialty, employing the snow machine as means of urban transit. With groceries, parcels, or caribou hides draped across their machines, the men progress with practiced ease along the thoroughfares of their quasi-timeless hometown. And they go this way, snowy, or not.

I remark that a sled might be useful to arrive at our next destination, for we’re headed to an upper end of the Earth.

Here I should add this note: as delightfully dramatic as the goal may read, it in fact requires a great deal of navigation, by someone not likely to get lost in polar bear country.

To this end, the locals are more than happy to help. Our family is directed to one of the city’s prominent accommodation options, Top of The World Hotel. In that spacious lobby, we are met warmly and quickly assisted in booking van and driver to see our merry task done. Louise, a born and bred native of Utqiagvik, will act as driver, guide and priceless information source. She meets us outside.

The outing, we are told, will preamble the northerly point with a citywide tour, and it begins at a wide, flat community grounds located a stone’s throw from the sea.

According to Louise, it’s here that the people celebrate the gift of the whale.

The crew we’d spotted earlier is, in fact, in pursuit of a bowhead whale speared only yesterday. Should the captain prove successful in leading his crew to harvest the whale, its 80- to-100 ton blubber and skin sustenance, known as maktak—or uunaalik when boiled—will be transported to the city via over-ice convoy, to the spot we now stand. Once here, its yield will

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be rejoiced as well as shared among the community.

Traditional songs and dances mark the quintessential event, especially during the June Whaling Festival. Known by its traditional name, Nalukataq, these jubilant days feature the particularly popular blanket toss, a dance in which participants are launched to air by the taunt snap of a large, roundish quilt of sewn seal skin.

From the Nalukataq grounds, the van enters the day’s flow of taxi-meets-snowmachine transit and is steered to the Inupiat Heritage Center and Tuzzy Consortium Library.

“Welcome to the North,” says the wide-smiling staffer at the door.

Here we are happily informed of Heritage Center/library functions, and we learn of Inupiat tradition via grand displays of artifacts and art. Educational videos are shown beside full-scale models, as well as taxidermy. And the Center also serves as academic library to Ilisagvik College, a two-year community schooling environment located just outside city proper, and Alaska’s only tribally controlled college.

Outside, Louise explains the importance of the college while navigating through a small section of the city’s short, windy streets to the first of two colorful reminders of its past. The Will Rogers-Wiley Post Memorial awaits us adjacent to the airport of its same namesake. A popular spot-photography location, the memorial honors humorist Rogers alongside aviator, Post, whose shared aircraft crashed, fatally, outside the city during a 1930s tour of the state. Their mission was a brave one; a truth to achieve sympathy from a resident to the Arctic.

Our next pause on the circuit is a marker to native history arguably among the most iconic of Utqiagvik, the whale bone arch.

Deemed “the Gateway to the Arctic,” our family stands below the famous eaves of an upended bowhead jawbone. To either

side are the skeletal hulls of handmade whaling vessels from which the great

mammals are speared. Standing at the

site, my imagination stirs, and I hear the wet slap of water against hull; an effect enhanced all the more by crisp wind

rushing from the sea to thrill the spirit.

Beneath the bones we snap a common

photo intrinsic to this land, no less giddy at the knowledge of its repetition. From here we make for the point.

The road from town is long, straight and shouldered by snowdrifts that seem

to grow in direct proportion with our

distance from town. Sea breeze grows bolder out here, too. To the landward

side, I see large structures in between bouts of blowing snow. They are the

remains of original military and research installations, another historical facet to

Wiley-Post Memorial site outside the airport of the same namesake at the city on top of the world.

Utqiagvik. Today they stand either empty or repurposed, like Ilisagvik College

which has sagely absorbed some of that infrastructure for scholastic use.

If You Go

sible to confirm the achievement as all

Ravn Alaska is a fast track to convenient, economic travel to Utqiagvik and more than 115 additional Alaska communities.

Visit www.flyravn.com for more information.

white. But the place certainly feels like an

Travel Dates

wind and step from van to blank page.

Peak period: June-August.

Travel tip: ask about discount rates pre or post those months

Now, we arrive to the place where road

ends, and Louise parks while informing us the fact. In truth, it’s practically impos-

around us stretches infinity of unbroken

edge of creation. We bundle against the Louise points the way and walks alongside, far less layered than we. She tells

us that, at this stage, her primary tasks

Whaling season: Dependent on sea ice; May-June

are to take pictures and watch for polar bears. To me, they are most welcome

Prime Polar Bear Spotting: September-October

aides. My wife and child agree. At last we arrive, to a field of blowing snow. Here,

Aurora Action: September-April

the view to front appears identical to

that of the rear—fresh white, stretching

Festival Dates: Nalukataq-Late June; X-Mas Games-Dec. 26-31

forever, and seemingly immune to the passage of time.

Midnight Sun: Summer-long; 80 days of uninterrupted sunlight

We’re a run-of-the-mill family, achieving

Daylong Darkness: NovemberJanuary; 60 to 70 sunless days

unlikely adventure, at Alaska’s city on top of the world.

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SEED Lab to inspire public art

Museum gets $1 million Bloomberg grant Anchorage will receive a $1 million grant

(Solutions for Energy and Equity through

to build a workspace for artists in what is

ers, engineers and community members.

from the foundation of Michael Bloomberg now an empty building near the Anchorage Museum.

Bloomberg announced the award at the

Anchorage Museum with Anchorage mayor Ethan Berkowitz, saying the project should

encourage the creation of public art, to help both the city’s economy and quality of life.

Design), a meeting place for artists, design-

Properties. The city is working with the Anchorage Museum on the project.

Bloomberg said Anchorage was the

“I think the city needs a space where a lot

first winner from more than 200 project

talk about the future, and so it’ll be that

Art Challenge, which invited U.S. mayors

of different sectors can come together and

applications submitted to its 2018 Public

kind of space,” Decker said.

from cities with more than 30,000 residents

The museum will lease the building, which used to house insurance offices, from JL

“We have a saying at Bloomberg

to submit proposals for art that addresses civic issues.

The Anchorage Museum said SEED Lab

projects will look at climate, food, transpor-

Philanthropies that culture brings cap-

tation, housing, migration and other issues facing Alaska. Decker said the first floor

ital faster than capital brings culture,”

of the building should be ready to occupy

Bloomberg said.

in February. Thirty-six artists will use the

Anchorage Museum director Julie Decker

space in its first two years, she said.

said the empty building, at 6th Avenue

Learn more at AnchorageMuseum.org

and A Street, will be known as SEED Lab

GUARDIAN FLIGHT: CARE AT A HIGHER LEVEL

Guardian Flight is proud to announce the opening of our new base in Deadhorse as of October 1st. We understand the unique challenges of operating on the North Slope, for years we have proudly served the North Slope oil industry and Alaskan Native communities from bases in Fairbanks, Anchorage and Kotzebue. With the addition of our base in Deadhorse, Guardian Flight is dedicated to being closer when those on the North Slope need us most. From Point Hope to Kaktovik and everywhere in between, when you’re on the North Slope, Guardian Flight is there for you.

24 Hour Dispatch: (888)-997-3822

Anchorage / Fairbanks / Deadhorse / Kotzebue / Juneau / Sitka / Ketchikan 36

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Flying with Ravn

Passenger Guide 38 Travel in Rural Alaska 39 Customer Service 40 FlyAway Rewards / Ravn Rush / Group Travel 41 Route Map 42 Our Fleet

www.FlyRavn.com

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Ravn Alaska Tips

Travel in Rural Alaska Ravn is proud to serve more than 115 communities statewide.

Our mainline service gets you to and from our 14 cities including our Ravn Connect hub cities: Bethel, Fairbanks, Aniak, and Saint Mary’s. From those hub terminals, we provide passenger services through Ravn Connect to rural Alaska communities.

Below you’ll find some useful travel tips we hope will ensure a smooth trip in rural Alaska.

•

In most cases, carry-on baggage is not allowed. Be prepared to consolidate your belongings if necessary.

•

Upon arrival be sure to identify the village agent. Simply ask your pilot or a local resident. This is very important as the village agent will be checking you in and providing updates on the status of your return flight.

•

All baggage is subject to load restrictions. Baggage that cannot be accommodated on your flight will be transported on the next available flight.

•

Cellular phone service is VERY limited in rural areas.

When departing from a regional hub

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•

Check-in one hour prior to scheduled departure. Once you are checked-in, stay in the terminal and listen to all announcements as flights may leave early.

•

Be sure to dress appropriately for weather conditions as village destinations do not have facilities to shelter passengers or their belongings.

•

Many villages do not permit alcohol. Please call ahead to the regional hub to inquire about local rules and restrictions regarding alcohol transport and consumption.

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When departing from a village •

Check-in with the village agent at least two hours prior to your scheduled flight time. Although we strive to maintain operations as they are scheduled, many factors can affect actual flight times. Be sure to stay in touch with the village agent for the most up-to-date information.

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We’re here to help

Customer Service Fares guaranteed for 24 hours

Flight delays and cancellations

Ravn requires that all reservations be purchased at time of

We will notify our passengers of known delays, cancellations, and diversions as well as changes in their travel itineraries in a timely matter. To learn of services to mitigate passenger inconvenience resulting from flight delays and cancellations, call and speak with a member of Ravn’s reservations staff at 1-800-8668394 or 907-266-8394.

booking. If within 24 hours of purchase you decide that you will no longer need your ticket, we offer full refunds for any ticket purchased directly through Ravn within 24 hours of

purchase without any penalties, provided that the reservation

is made one week or more prior to the scheduled flight departure. If you need to make changes to your ticket, as long as

Weather delay policy

the class of service purchased is available, we will change

When your flight delay or cancellation involves weather, we will do all possible to reroute you. If a flight cancellation means you have to overnight in one of the communities we serve, we will assist you to the extent possible. Ravn is not liable for expenses incurred such as meals, hotels and local transportation. If your ticket is refundable, we are happy to offer a full refund without penalties if we are not able to get you to your final destination.

the new itinerary meets advance purchase requirements and your ticket at no cost to you. The change must be requested within 24 hours of purchase and one week or more prior to the scheduled flight departure.

Ticket refunds and receipts Ravn sells refundable and non-refundable tickets. Where ticket refunds are due under Ravn’s conditions of carriage, Ravn will

Ask Ravn

at all Ravn ticket offices or send all booking details of the ticket

We’re here to help! Visit flyravn.com/askravn for more information, including:

provide prompt refunds. Ticket refund applications are available to refunds@flyravn.com.

4700 Old International Airport Road

· FlyAway Rewards account access · FlyAway Rewards balance · Commonly asked questions

Phone: 907-266-8394 or 1-800-866-8394

Tell us how we’re doing

Ravn Refund Department

Anchorage, Alaska 99502

Email refunds@flyravn.com for our online form.

Special needs passengers Ravn wants your trip to be enjoyable. We are committed to

accommodating passengers with disabilities in accordance with 14 C.F.R. part 382. We will also accommodate other

special needs passengers as set forth in our policies and

procedures, including during lengthy tarmac delays. If you have any special requirements, let us know by calling 1-800-8668394 or 907-266-8394.

· Refund requests · Charter quotes · Cargo quotes

On every flight and at our ticket counters, customer comment cards are available to communicate your complaints or compliments. We are committed to providing timely responses to customer written complaints. Contact us at: Ravn Air Group Attn: Customer Service 4700 Old International Airport Road Anchorage, AK 99502 Or email Consumer Affairs at consumer@flyravn.com

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Earn award travel faster

FlyAway Rewards

Cargo

FlyAway Rewards is the easiest and fastest way to earn award travel in Alaska. It’s easy and free to join. You’ll earn 10 FlyAway Rewards points for every Ravn Alaska flight segment flown. With award travel starting at just 50 points*, FlyAway Rewards is the most generous airline program in the State!

With next available flight shipments of up to 100 lbs. Ravn RUSH offers a fast and convenient way to ship time sensitive packages to any of our mainline locations.

Ravn Rush

Visit flyravn.com/cargo to learn more

Fly 5, Earn 1 You’ll earn 10 points for every flight segment, and award travel starts from 50 points* for a one-way trip. Or, opt to earn Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan Miles**

Elite Privileges Reach elite status when you fly 30 segments with Ravn Alaska. Elite members earn points faster, enjoy priority boarding, complimentary premium beverages, and more.

Visit flyravn.com/rewards to join free today. * Plus taxes and fees from $5.60 each way. Award availability and pricing may vary.

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Group Travel Group fares and allotments are available for ten (10) or more passengers on select flights throughout Alaska on aircraft such as our Dash-8 or Beechcraft 1900.

Visit flyravn.com/groups

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Ravn Alaska

Route Map

Alaska is a big place. Ravn Air Group serves more than 115 communities statewide. We operate direct flights between Anchorage and cities like Fairbanks, Homer and Bethel, but most of our destinations are smaller villages that rely on Ravn for essential deliveries and medical services, as well as routine travel and commuting.

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The number of passengers may vary based on length of flight, amount of luggage, and flight operations.

Ravn Air Group

Our Fleet

Aircraft specifications listed are actual. Maximum payloads and size of shipment may be reduced due to weather, distance, size, and weight of the shipment.

DeHavilland DHC-8-100 Max passengers: 29 - 37 Max payload: 8,100 pounds Max cargo length: 11 feet

Max cargo width: 80 inches Max cargo height: 76 inches

Beechcraft B1900C

Max passengers: 19 Max payload: 4,500 pounds Max cargo length: 14 feet Max cargo width: 54 inches Max cargo height: 57 inches

B1900 Cargo

Max passengers: N/A Max payload: 5,000 pounds Max cargo length: 25 feet Max cargo width: 54 inches Max cargo height: 57 inches

Piper PA31 Chieftain

Max passengers: 9 Max payload: 1,800 pounds Max cargo length: 8.5 feet Max cargo width: 40.5 inches Max cargo height: 41.5 inches

Cessna C207 Skywagon Max passengers: 7 Max payload: 1,200 pounds Max cargo length: 8 feet Max cargo width: 39 inches Max cargo height: 39 inches

Cessna C208 Caravan Max passengers: 9 Max payload: 3,200 pounds Max cargo length: 14 feet Max cargo width: 60 inches Max cargo height: 54 inches

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Ravn Alaska

Puzzle page (Answers on page 47)

Across 1 Opposite of neither 5 10

Protect “Four and twenty blackbirds baked in ---”

14 On the ocean 15

Publish

16 Route 17 Via 18 Serviced 20 Cotton Club setting 22 Jamboree 23 Up 25 Intelligence agency 26 Not traded on a stock exchange 28 Top guns 30 Ethnic 35 In favor 36 Adeptness

© 2016 Crosswordsite.com Ltd.

38 State animal of Maine 39 The Sultan of Swat 41 Talent seeker 43

Shuttle operator

44 Behaved 46 Wished 48 Beat 49 Accidental dive 51 Feeble 52 Some foreign Government heads 53 Except 55 Comic --- Martin 57 Light metal 62 Knuckleheads 65 Suspension 67 Duration 68 First to die in the Bible 69 Untrue 70 Egyptian dancing girl 71 Dabbling duck

Down 1 Tub

32 Maritime refugees

2 Workplace regulation agency

33 Tea-growing Indian state

3 Unglazed brownish-red earthenware

34 Inclines

4 Pulls

37 Southern hemisphere constellation

5 Ingenious sales devices

40 “He’d make a lovely corpse” (Dickens: “Martin Chuzzlewit”)

6 World’s largest economy 7 Expression of incredulity

42 1,000%

8 Scrap

45 Kind of card

9 Despise

47 Artificially-colored

10 Parched

50 Went on the lam

11 Small lake

54 Like Mayberry

12 U N nuclear watchdog

56 Travel stamps

13 Swirl

57 “I --- my wit’s end”

19 Warning signal

58 Projecting part of the brain

21 Touchdown forecasts

59 Common fertilizer ingredient

24 German state

60 Shopping center

26 O founder

61 Height of Denver

27 Temporary peace

63 Dull

72 Absquatulates

29 Single-masted sailboat

64 Sudden

73 Drip slowly

31 Electrically charged particle

66 Employ

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Subway restaurants

Taking fresh to Utqiagvik, Nome Families in rural Alaska are always hungry, like families everywhere, for fresh and healthy food.

a movie theatre. And Subway was the

And the Subway restaurants in Northwest Alaska are trying to fill that need.

“We were absolutely welcomed with open

John Masterson owns the northernmost Subway restaurant in America, in Utqiagvik.

He understands the importance of restaurants in small towns.

logical choice, especially with the focus on healthy food.

arms,” Pomeranz said. “Before, all the

Subways in the state were located on the road system. Then the Subway opened

in Bethel and broke all the state records.

Then we opened and beat their sales by

quite a bit! When John opened in Barrow, of course, he beat us all.”

“My Dad lives in Cross Plains, Texas, where there’s nothing but a Subway and a Dairy Queen! I trained there.”

Masterson is emphatic about supporting

Masterson was born and raised in Juneau and worked most of his career in the grocery industry. After decades with Fred Meyer, he worked for smaller companies in Bethel and Dillingham.

We just did our one-year anniversary and

Something new, opening the Subway, appealed to him.

“I’ve always done groceries, so I was ready for something new, something different.”

Randy Pomeranz opened his Nome Subway in 2003, after operating a construction company there for many years. He wanted a restaurant to anchor a combination building that might include

his community.

“We’re involved in all the school activities. gave away airline tickets and prizes. Now

we are teaming with the schools for book readings—when the kids finish reading

a book, they get a kid’s meal. We’re also

teaming up with the hospital and the North Slope Borough to promote healthy living

and eating, which is part of our company mission.”

“Everybody here helps everybody. If

somebody is in need, everyone helps.”

Running a restaurant committed to

fresh food at the top of the world has its challenges.

“Freight is always a challenge. In winter time veggies get frozen. In summer dough thaws. So you just have to over order to make up for shrink.”

The Utqiagvik Subway opened in August, 2017 as the most northern Subway in America and is one of more than 60 Subways throughout Alaska.

The Utqiagvik restaurant has another distinction. It holds every record in the restaurant chain for sales both the first day and first week it was open.

Ravn flights deliver thousands of Subway sandwiches to the villages.

“We sold over 1,000 subs the first day, and every day the whole first week,” he said proudly. “Our sales for the first week holds the record for every Subway in North America.”

It wasn’t a surprise for him.

“Before we opened, I told the two (Subway corporate employees) who came up to help, ‘you’ll never see anything like this.

There will be people lining up at 6 a.m. and until we open at 10 a.m. That line will be a quarter mile down the street, and police will be blocking off the street.’

“They didn’t believe it. But that’s exactly what happened!

“We were open until midnight—14 hours.”

The high demand has continued, especially for families wanting healthy food for big meals and potlatches.

These restaurants excel in catering big events in their neighboring villages.

John Masterson, right, and part of the Subway team in Utqiagiak during the store’s record-breaking grand opening in 2017. That Alaska Subway broke all company records its first week in business.

“Nobody ever comes close to us,” Pomeranz laughed. “We have several Photos by Frank Flavin

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SPONSORED CONTENT

12/13/18 10:18 AM

hundred six-footers a year that go out of

from all over the villages will call in order to

Subway® restaurants are famous for their made-to-order submarine sandwiches, served on gourmet breads that are baked fresh in each restaurant throughout the day. Customers create their own hot or cold sandwiches by choosing from a variety of meats, fresh vegetables, cheeses and condiments, while viewing the sandwich being assembled right in front of them. The Alaska Subways also offer breakfast, a variety of salads, soups, chips, soft drinks, milk and sliced apples.

“Just this morning we were making platters

Today, there are 44,566 Subway® restaurants in 113 countries around the world.

here, and probably two or three times that many platters. It’s just phenomenal how much we ship out to villages via Ravn.

Sometimes they’ll order 20 or 30 of them, to feed the whole village!”

“We sell pretty much more platters than anybody,” Masterson said. Even people

from Kotz (Kotzebue) will call and ask that we fly sandwiches over on Ravn. People fly in or have friends pickup for them.

to fly on Ravn to customers in Wainwright.”

He takes pride in bringing a national brand to his neighbors.

“It’s just good to have national chains now

here. We have an Ace Hardware here in the same building with us.

“I am excited to be able to bring Subway® restaurant’s delicious, nutritious product to the people of Barrow,” he said at the grand opening. “I look forward to seeing my neighbors and invite everyone to stop by and try our world-famous submarine sandwiches.”

A young Subway fan celebrating the new store in Utqiagiak (formerly Barrow).

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Alaskan Spirit Magazine Telling the stories of rural Alaska and the communities we serve.

C O M I N G I N 2019 MARCH / APRIL Bethel Cama-i Dance Festival MAY / JUNE Kodiak and Bristol Bay Commercial Fishing Season JULY / AUGUST Valdez Summer Sport Fishing SEPTEMBER / OCTOBER Anchorage Fall Events NOVEMBER / DECEMBER Fairbanks Celebrating Winter

Advertise to our statewide audience of readers—and buyers.

Call or email Lee Leschper, 907-957-6025, Lee.Leschper@FireweedStrategies.com

Look for our magazine on your next Ravn Alaska flight, in our hub airports and in Ted Stevens International Airport, and online at FlyRavn.com.

Got a story idea? Email to admin@FireweedStrategies.com.

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Iron Dog… continued from page 31

What’s better than living the dream in Alaska?

Owning your very own piece of it.

Thanks to some clever and generous sponsors, the folks at Iron Dog are trying to make that possible for you.

Each year, Iron Dog incorporates a raffle into the event in an effort to help fund the races. The raffle is also used to assist fellow nonprofit groups in the form of charitable donations from Iron Dog. To date, Iron Dog has donated more than $200,000 from funds raised during previous raffles.

“Every year the raffle gives back to Alaska in the form of donations to various groups, and this year will be no different,” said John Woodbury, Iron Dog executive director. “What makes this year’s raffle unique is we will be giving away land and a tiny house as the grand prize, thanks to Johnson Investments and Spenard Builders Supply. Some lucky person is going to walk up, buy a raffle ticket and walk away with a near-complete Alaska homesteader’s kit.”

The half-acre plot is south of Big Lake in southcentral Alaska and is part of the Johnson Investments family of rural properties. The tiny house is a 12-foot-by-16-foot Caribou Cabin kit from Spenard Builders Supply, complete with just about all the fixings.

“My favorite part of the trail is from the Yukon to the coast, from Kaltag to Unalakleet.

When I hit the coast, it’s kind of my back yard. I feel real comfortable on the coast.”

—MIKE MORGAN

2018 Iron Dog winners Chris Olds and Mike Morgan.

Puzzle Page Solution (to puzzle on page 43)

Hatcher Pass Polaris put some fun into the raffle by donating a 2017 Polaris 600 Switchback Pro S snowmachine, which is sure to bring a smile to the second-place raffle winner. White Spruce Trailer Sales added to the prize list with a 10-foot Aluma tilt trailer package, while Alaska Specialty Equipment/Bailey’s is offering up a $2,500 gift card. Team CC donated a $1,000 shopping spree to either of their locations, and Chevrolet Buick GMC of Fairbanks rolled in with a set of Blizzak tires. Rounding out the prizes, AMSOIL and Klim teamed up to offer gift cards and gear to the top three winners.

Earning a chance at your own homestead, or to win any of the raffle prizes, costs only $60. Iron Dog will hold the drawing on April 2 in Anchorage and you need not be present to win.

More information: 907-563-4414; www.irondog.org.

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Hans Moody

Giving back as a way of life A great company is based on great people doing their best every day.

Hans Moody is such a person, now in his second decade as a ramp service agent for Ravn Alaska in Kodiak.

Hans is very matter-of-fact about his job.

“I unload and load airplanes—I’m a baggage handler. I started in 1997, when I was 24 or 25.”

Born-and-raised on Kodiak, he’s worked for Ravn and its predecessor airlines for half his life.

It’s more than moving bags.

“We help out with the cargo department and the ticket counter, when passengers need help with bags.”

He is kind, a hard worker and is well known in the community of Kodiak.

His wife and 13-year-old daughter are the center of his universe and love their Kodiak home.

“In the summer we get out for long drives, go to see what bears we can find!” he laughs.

“I played for 5-6 years and then the person coaching it wanted to do other things and I was asked if I wanted to coach. I’ve been stuck with it every summer since!

“My wife used to participate, and she went to the world games one year. And we remember the year when the winter games But their real passion is Special Olympics. were in Anchorage, when Susan Butcher Both Hans and his wife competed as was still alive and brought her dog team to Special Olympians when they were younger, the opening ceremonies.” and they are passionate about giving back That chance encounter reinforced his to that program. commitment to Special Olympics and the “Now in the summer my wife and I both importance of fostering that program. participate in bocce. I’ve coached our team for a number of years and the last two years “We are trying to recruit more younger kids for Special Olympics, because our current in a row we took first place.” athletes do grow too old to compete.”

Bocce is an old-world lawn bowling game Working in a small community and hub like that is all about strategy and has ancient roots.

Kodiak requires teamwork, he says.

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“Everybody gets along great. We do our job and try to do the best we can and help each other.

“For example, if the ticket agents need help, or getting luggage, we help. And we try to help the passengers. When they first walk in the door and see you, that is their first impression of the company. If they ask for help or advice, we help them. That’s how we show what kind of company we are.

“Even if having a bad day, still have to treat customers with respect.”

Kodiak is a close-knit and caring community, he reflected.

“If somebody needs something, everybody pitches in to help each other.”

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