Summer camps in Alaska
KSKA: Thursday, March 09, at 2:00 p.m. On the next Outdoor Explorer, we’ll talk about summer camp choices, and practical considerations for parents in planning your kids' summer. Summer may not seem close today, but it is definitely time to begin scheduling your kids’ activities.
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Women and minorities in the outdoors
Women and people of color have traditionally been underrepresented in outdoor activities. That is changing quickly. On the next Outdoor Explorer, Lisa will be talking with women and men who are in the vanguard of the movement to open the outdoors to all people.
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Ski jumping in Anchorage
KSKA: Thursday, August 17, at 2:00 p.m. It’s late summer in Alaska, so of course the topic of Outdoor Explorer is ski jumping! We'll visit ski jump practice on a warm summer day so you can hear how remarkable it is to hear the wind in the skis. We'll also talk with the head coach to learn what it takes to get up the courage to go down those ramps.
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Beachcombing and ocean currents
KSKA: Thursday, March 01, at 2 & 8 p.m. We're excited that we got to sit down with the guests on this week’s Outdoor Explorer to learn about the strange, circular ocean currents swirling around the North Pacific. These currents sometimes carry Asian debris to Alaska shores and, as we’ll hear, bring pieces of Alaska shipwrecks to Hawaii. We have a serious beachcomber and an oceanographer who used this information to change our view of how the ocean’s work.
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Ski swaps and Hatcher Pass Lodge
Winter is coming, and that means it’s ski swap time! This week on Outdoor Explorer, we'll talk to Sparky Anderson about how to buy and sell your outdoor winter gear at your local ski swap. Sparky is the head coach of the UAA Ski Team. And in the second half of the show, we’ll be speaking with Hap Wurlizer, proprietor of the Hatcher Pass Lodge.
Making the Musher
Rookie mushers come and go. It takes countless hours and training to become an Iditarod great. On the next episode of Outdoor Explorer, we're talking to a handful of mushers who are on that journey. They scoop poop. They cut up a lot of raw meat. It's not glamorous work, but they're chasing down a dream as Iditarod sled dogs gun it for Nome.
KSKA: Thursday, March 5, at 2:00 and 9:00 p.m.
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Chugach National Forest Town Hall Meeting
Chugach National Forest, and especially Prince William Sound, takes in some of the most extraordinary scenery and protected wilderness in Alaska. Charles Wohlforth shares what he learned when he attended a public meeting on changing management of the Sound, and you'll hear from people who think that’s both a good and a bad idea.
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Peter Steele: A doctor on Everest
On this Outdoor Explorer, we’ll go to Whitehorse, Yukon Territory, to visit with doctor, mountaineer, and author Peter Steele. He was the team doctor for the 1971 International Everest Expedition. We’ll discuss Peter’s adventures as a mountaineer, a husband, and a father, his friendship with Eric Shipton, and his observations about large Himalayan mountaineering expeditions.
ANILCA
KSKA: Thursday, Dec. 22, at 2:00 p.m.
The national parks and refuges we enjoy today as outdoors people weren’t always destined to be conserved for these purposes. After Alaska became a state, the map was open as to which lands would be owned by Alaska Natives, the state government, or private owners. On the next show, we’ll look back into history, to the 1970s, to find out how it happened, as some lovers of Alaska’s wild places sat down with maps and drew lines that became the largest single conservation action in world history, called ANILCA. LISTEN NOW
Returning to activity after a Covid infection
On this Outdoor Explorer, the journey back to activity after a Covid infection. Our guests will include the team physician for the University of Washington football team who has been researching the impacts of Covid on athletes, a physical therapist who treats post-Covid breathing issues, and an Ironman athlete who has had his season turned upside down.
Wild Trails with Brad Meiklejohn
What is it like to be an avalanche specialist? A conservationist? A wilderness traveler? A Buddhist? Brad Meiklejohn is a long time Alaskan who has written a new book titled The Wild Trails that explores these topics and more. Join host Paul Twardock and Brad for this great conversation.
Outdoor art
On this Outdoor Explorer we’re talking about art. Alaska’s nature is a powerful inspiration for many artists, like painter Steve Gordon. Steve’s vivid images of birch trees and stream banks are among our favorites, capturing the light and grace of quiet places and somehow heightening the feelings they create. Steve will talk about how he makes those paintings and how his many years of boy scout camping trips influenced that work.
Thanks for listening!
Outdoor Recreation Access in Anchorage Vol 1
On this next Outdoor Explorer, our guests are Jeff Landfield and Paxson Woelber from The Alaska Landmine. The two journalists have reported extensively on disputed access to public lands in Anchorage. Our conversation focused on the history and battle for access to Chugach State Park from the Stewart Trail.
Changing maps
KSKA: Thursday, October 19, at 2:00 p.m. The old, increasingly inaccurate maps Alaskans have used for decades will soon be gone, as our state is being completely remapped. On this next Outdoor Explorer, we’ll learn how the changing climate has made the maps we all use outdated and even unsafe, and the huge effort to fix that. We're talking maps with the people who use them, make them and study them.
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Beluga whale count
KSKA: Thursday, September 21, at 2:00p.m. For the next Outdoor Explorer, Charles joined the beluga count, when more than 12-hundred people gathered at viewing sites around Cook Inlet and made 260 sightings of whales. Citizen scientists recorded the location of pods, their movements, and even the identity of individual whales. The main thing about the day was being outdoors in the sun with a lot of other people who love this place and were eager to learn more about these magnificent animals.
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Walking Across America: Advice for a Young Man
Andrew Forsthoefel set out at age 23 to walk across America, East to West, 4000 miles, with a sign on him that said, "Walking to Listen." This hour, co-produced with Jay Allison, tracks his epic journey. It's a coming of age story, and a portrait of this country -- big-hearted, wild, innocent, and wise. Outdoor Explorer returns next week.
KSKA: Thursday, July 2, at 2:00 p.m. and 9:00 p.m.
Cultural journeys
Outdoor Alaska is a place to learn -- learning skills like skiing or paddling; learning to hunt and survive; or learning about the environment for science. On this edition of Outdoor Explorer, we’ll talk to people who are sharing these kinds of knowledge in new ways -- scientists learning from from Alaska Natives, and elders eager to tell about radical changes they see in the environment where they live.'
KSKA: Thursday, Oct. 22, at 2:00 p.m. and Oct. 29 at 8:00 p.m.
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Foraging for Edible Foods in AK
KSKA: Thursday, September 01, at 2:00 and Thursday, September 08, at 8:00 p.m. Alaska may not be a huge farming state, but it is full of food, and not only for meat eaters. The woods and beaches are rich in edible plants and fungus that can be delicious and not difficult to find. As we’re going to learn on the next show, many of Alaska’s edible plants are extremely common and preparation is easy.
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Travel and Fly Fishing
KSKA: Thursday, June 29, at 2:00 p.m. Fly fishing is the art of catching fish with style. It’s about the journey, not the destination. But going to exotic destinations can be a big part of it. On the next Outdoor Explorer, we’re talking about traveling for fly fishing with some very accomplished anglers.
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