Huts and parks
There are many ways and places to get outdoors in Alaska from car camping to
remote mountains and rivers. This show features an update on the Spencer Whistle
Stop near Portage, Alaska Hut’s plans for a world class hut system, and one on State
Parks and their 50 th anniversary.
Prince William Sound
We have two visions of wilderness a bit different than the gritty version you’re used to hearing. In the first half, we’ll hear from an author and photographer who created a new book about Prince William Sound. We'll also hear about new ways for people with disabilities to get out and enjoy nature.
Thanks for listening!
Outdoor Explorer from KSKA
In Alaska you can walk out your back door and embark upon an epic outdoor adventure. We live for hiking, mountain biking, bore tide...
The Olympics, athletes and their moms
KSKA: Thursday, Feb. 1, at 2:00 & 8:00 p.m. The winter Olympics are here, and Alaska is sending the most athletes ever. Half the nordic ski team is from Alaska, and six of those skiers are going with their siblings. We’ll talk with America’s top skiing siblings, Erik and Sadie Bjornsen, and their mom, Mary, and I’ll have Rosie Brennan and her mother, and Rose Mancari’s mother, too.
LISTEN HERE
Outdoor summer camps
On the next Outdoor Explorer we are learning about outdoor summer camps for kids. Once school is out camps are a ritual for many families, however camps have changed a lot in the last 20 years. Camps have become more professional and are not just a month living in the woods.
Seth Kantner: Living with caribou in Alaska
This week's Outdoor Explorer features Seth Kantner, Author of Ordinary Wolves and his latest book A Thousand Trails Home. Host Paul Twardock and Seth discuss his life and insights of growing up and living on the Kobuk River.
Spring Bird Festivals
It’s a sure sign of spring in coastal Alaska, the arrival of migrating shorebirds that flock so thickly they sometimes look like clouds. Several communities welcome the birds and visitors who want to see them and learn about them, and its a great chance to get out on the water early in the season and forget winter. On the next Outdoor Explorer, we’ll be talking about the spring migrations and the shorebird festivals coming up in the next week weeks.
KSKA: Thursday 4/18 2:00 pm and 7:00 pm 
Travel School: Parks of the northwest
On the next Outdoor Explorer, we will be joined by a family that took school on the road this winter. Jodi Harskamp and her husband Neal Stanbury, along with their children Tui and Leif and dog Nukka, traveled in their retrofitted truck to state and national parks across the lower 48 for a back to nature education.
Outdoor Explorer: Mountain biking Eagle River and the Mat-Su, the Alaska Mountain Bike Summit
On this Outdoor Explorer host Paul
Twardock welcomes Will Taygan with the Chugach Mountain Bike Riders and Rene Dervaes with the Valley Mountain Bikers and Hikers to discuss what is happening in Mat-Su Valley and Chugiak/Eagle River and the upcoming Alaska Mountain Bike
Summit.
Active vacations
In 2017, Men’s Health named Anchorage the most adventurous city in the United States. We do love to adventure in our state with our friends. We also love to travel; why not combine adventure, travel and friends into a vacation? On this week’s Outdoor Explorer we’ll be talking with avid swimmers, bikers and runners who combine their vacation with activity. And although we all love to spend some time on the beach doing nothing, there is no better way to see the world than through movement in the outdoors.
Thanks for listening!
Organic gardening and beekeeping
Gardening without chemicals turns out to be the right way, according to our next guest. Jeff Lowenfels has been growing things in Anchorage for a very long time, and through that experience he learned to get rid of anything that doesn’t naturally belong in his garden. We’ll also hear from a longtime beekeeping expert in Anchorage, who is even breeding bees able to make it through our cold winters.
Thanks for listening!
Trip planning and risk analysis in Alaska with Luc Mehl
Trip planning and risk analysis are key to safe and successful outings. Luc Mehl joins host Paul
Twardock to share his insights gleaned from his life time of adventures in Alaska.
Iron Dog
On the next Outdoor Explorer, we're talking about the Iron Dog, billed as "the world's longest, toughest snowmobile race." We’ve got racers in the studio who have done it, and won. And we’re going to talk about how you put on a race of this scale, which starts Feb. 21, and for the first time this year, will take off with a ceremonial starting line in Anchorage.
KSKA: Thursday, Feb. 12, at 2:00 and 9:00 p.m.
Listen Now:
Air Quality and Lung Health for Athletes
The air you breathe keeps you alive, and it should always be pure and healthy, but for outdoor athletes, air quality means much more, whether you’re an elite runner or if you are just huffing and puffing up a hill on your bicycle. On today’s show, we’re going to learn about both parts of this equation: the quality of our air in Anchorage and around Alaska, and how our bodies handle the air, including how our lungs respond to pollution.
KSKA: Thursday, May 21, at 2:00 and 9:00 p.m.
Listen now:
Sailing for adventure and fun
Today's show will inspire you with a sailing adventure, then help you learn about how to become a sailor with your family here in our part of Alaska. We’ll hear about an amazing adventure an Anchorage couple took halfway around the world, sailing from Seward, Alaska to New Zealand and back in two years. Then a sailing instructor here in our region, talking about how to become a sailor and make sailing a part of your life on Alaskan lakes.
KSKA: Thursday, August 20, 2:00 and 8:00 p.m.
Listen now:
Alaska Sports Hall of Fame
On this Outdoor Explorer our guest is Harlow Robinson, the executive director of Healthy Futures and the Alaska Sports Hall of Fame. On April 27, the Hall will induct the class of 2023. Harlow will tell us about the people, moment and event that comprise this year’s class, as well as the annual Director’s Awards and the popular 100 Miles in May.
Alli Harvey, traveling landscape artist
On the next Outdoor Explorer, our guest is Alli Harvey, outdoor columnist for the Anchorage Daily News and landscape artist. Alli is making a return to the show to share her adventures after picking up her new mobile art studio in Ohio. The custom-built Airstream trailer allows her to connect with the outdoors as she creates her paintings.
Anchorage Bike Trails
KSKA: Thursday, May 19, at 2:00 and Thursday, May 26, at 8:00 p.m.
Anchorage people love their bike trails. Still, while we want more, the trails we already have are worn out in places, and one trail had a bridge collapse. On the next Outdoor Explorer we’ll be talking with folks responsible for the paved bike trails, as well as a mastermind of the fun, world class single track mountain bike trails at Kincaid Park and on the Hillside.
DOWNLOAD AUDIO
Travel School #2: Parks of California
On the next Outdoor Explorer, we will continue the series Travel School with Jodi Harskamp and Neal Stanbury and their children, Tui and Leif. We will pick up their journey as they leave Oregon and begin exploring the parks of California. But just as they get started, they encounter trouble.
Winter Camping and Snowshoeing
The summer season for sleeping outdoors is short, but there’s still a lot of Alaska out there in the winter with wonderful backcountry recreation and easy travel on snowshoes, when the rivers are frozen and it almost never rains. We’ll be talking about winter camping and snowshoeing. It’s not as crazy as it sounds. You can be comfortable, have great access to the backcountry, and sleep under the most amazing dome of stars.
KSKA: Thursday 1/23 at 2:00 pm and 9:00 pm
Listen Now