As usual ... I'll post ski trip info here when I ski someplace new.  I try for no repeats on this web site.

The National Weather Service in Alaska will apparently be adding many more weather forecast zones.  So for example, instead of just one forecast zone for the Susitna Valley, this large area will be divided into 8 forecast zones.  More info here.

I will add the new NWS forecast zones to the home page of this website when they become available.  The new forecast zones were supposed to be available this September, but have been delayed until March 2025.  That might work out well for skiers ... as it is just before spring skiing season where you often want the most accurate weather forecast that you can get.

Like last year, we will be spending much of the fall and early winter outside of Alaska ... with van, bikes and hiking shoes.  So far this year we have visited 13 states (AK, MT, ID, WY, UT, CO, KS, MS, AR, OK, TX, NM and AZ) and 4 provinces (YT, NWT, BC and AB).  Will be back to Alaska when the good part of winter shows up.  A few pics from recent van-wandering ...

After leaving Alaska, our van wanderings this year eventually delivered us to Bentonville, Arkansas (see above).  Bentonville claims to be the 'Mountain Biking Capital of the World'.  The trail systems in the Bentonville area are impressive and they are all linked together.  Fun riding is found on singletrack sprinkled with limestone ledges in their oak forests.  This vibrant city is definitely dialed into biking.  And you can sense the pride Bentonville has for its biking infrastructure.  It's a great place.

But as far as being the 'mountain biking capital of the world' ... it seems that is a subjective call for some people, like me.  If I travel to a location to bike, I prefer awe-inspiring natural beauty to be surrounding the trails I ride.  And the Ozark Mountains just don't have that compared to the sandstone towers, arches, mesas and slickrock of the Utah high desert areas.  I often grumble about the traffic and the mass of humanity that has taken over Moab.  But once you get out on the trails of the greater Moab area ... it's truly a special place.  So for me at least ... Moab is still is the 'mountain biking capital of the world'.

A memory:  About 50 years ago I was at a US Ski Team fall training camp in Cooke City, MT.  And as with life events of the past, you never forget the unique stuff that happened.  Like the day-off from skiing that we spent hiking around the hills near town (there wasn't much snow).  That day a kid from the Aspen ski club was crossing a tailings pile below an old mine shaft ... and slipped and fell.  As he was getting up he noticed a gold nugget next to his hand.  So of course he picked it up.

He was very excited about finding the gold nugget and was showing it to everyone.  It was impressive.

That night an old guy at the bar at the hotel we were staying at said he would give him $100 for his gold nugget.  Everyone knew the old guy was low-balling the value of the nugget.  So no sale was made.

But let's say the value of the nugget back then was 3 times what the old guy was offering.   $300.  Back in 1976 the price of gold was around $120 per ounce.  So doing some division and rough rounding, the nugget may have weighed around 3 ounces.  What would that nugget be worth in 2024?   Answer: about $8000.

Imagine being out for a hike.  Slip.  Fall.  And then notice an $8000 gold nugget next to your hand.  That would make for one memorable hike!

Note:  When I was in Cooke City, MT recently, I looked up on the mountainside to the north side of town and the tailings pile where the gold nugget was found was still easy to see.

Challenge accepted.  Here is a Norwegian that knows nothing about cross country skiing.  She is a beautiful and athletic Norwegian, that has never even heard of cross country skiing.  But she is a horse you say?  Yes, she is.  And she is a full-blooded Norwegian.  A Norwegian Fjord Horse.