Welcome to the board, Tom... I hope you'll find it helpful in your quest to learn how to experiece Alaska's beautiful winters outdoors. Hopefully we'll have a better winter this year... last winter and this summer sure have been a bust for us!

Tom pointed out I do SAR work here... indeed we do alot of body recoveries in the winter. I get the feeling, since you laready live here, you do have at least some clue what an Alaskan winter is all about. I'm usually very stern with Outsiders who want to come pull a "Chris McCandless" type adventure in Alaska's backcountry.

I learned alot from the Mountaineering Club, though I don't have time for them right now. A great group of folks, and very experienced... if you really participate in their activities you my luck into a good mentor. Hang tough though, it can be a tough group to get in with sometimes.

If you have any questions, feel free to PM me here or on MySpace.

Peace,
MNS