Alaskans love to climb. As long as its up, they’ll climb it. Why, you may ask? Because they can. But as you start climbing even small trails in the Chugach, you start to feel like you are missing something amidst this amazing scenery. Switchbacks. They don’t have any. Anywhere.
Although easier if you wiggle your way up the mountain, it certainly isn’t faster. For these mountain runners, it is all about speed. Most often the Crow Pass trail is at the limit of what an average hiker can do, and these intrepid souls do it in 3 hours. A hiker will stop and look at the spectacular views. These runners keep their eye on the prize – a snickers bar at the end.
On July 27, 2013 Alaskans celebrated the 30th anniversary of the fabled Crow Pass Crossing. It is a 24 mile race in the backcountry of the Chugach State Park between Girdwood and Eagle River. It is completely unsupported – all you have are 8 required items and your fellow competitors to keep you alive.
A group of mountain runners including myself, Matt Waliszek, and Doug Ketterer want to document this race through a feature film for the 2014 race. This video was the beginning footage of that project. I’m very excited to be behind a camera and hopefully in a helicopter for next years race, but also sad since I will not be running it. Since I won’t be at the back of the pack next year, I will get to see the front runners run through the cow parsnip. Our next steps include accepting sponsors and finding cool mountains runners.
Recently infatuated with running especially those crazy folks that run mountains, I have turned my lens to the hills.
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