Surfing & The Turnagain Bore Tide
The bore tide in Turnagain Arm is an amazing phenomenon that is seen few places in the world, a wall of water that rushes in on a clockwork schedule, vast and intimidating. So… why not surf it? On the next Outdoor Explorer, we’ll meet some of the hearty folks who ride that big wave, and talk about surfing the remote shores and big waves found all over Alaska’s coast.
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Skiing Skeetawk in Hatcher Pass | Outdoor Explorer
Meet Skeetawk manager, Megan Justus, and find out what's in store for the growing ski operation.
Scientists in nature
Scientists in Alaska spend weeks at a time in remote locations gathering information to better inform us about the world we live in. On this week’s show we learn from two USGS scientists what it’s like to work in the field.
Revisiting it’s OK to be a beginner in the outdoors
Do you remember what it's like to be a beginner at something? This week, on Outdoor Explorer our guest is Sarah Histand, she'll talk about overcoming the things that keep us from getting started, how to be a beginner when it seems everyone else is an expert, and functional strength at home.
A conversation with Lael Wilcox
KSKA: Thursday, Jan. 26, at 2:00 p.m. On the next Outdoor Explorer an interview with Lael Wilcox, whose life is one of Alaska’s most remarkable stories of physical accomplishment. Wilcox left to see the world on her bike, and never stopped, becoming a top endurance racer without really planning to.
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Ultra-Endurance Athletes
Jennifer Pharr Davis hiked the Appalachian Trail in 46 days, averaging 47 miles a day. David Johnston finished the 350-mile Iditarod Invitational in four days, running on snow. They’ll both join us as we try to understand what makes ultra-endurance athletes tick. Their accomplishments are almost super human. How do they get that way, and what makes them go?
KSKA: Thursday, Sept. 11, at 2:00 and 9:00 p.m.
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Dog training
In Alaska, dogs can be team members with mushers and also with hunters, using their abilities to extend our own. But first, someone has to let the animals know how to do those jobs. Judging by the dogs we've seen around Anchorage, many of us are not very good at training-- but our guests on the next show are. They work with upland hunting dogs and sled dogs to create an effective dog/human team.
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Outdoor Filmmakers
If you really love what you do outdoors, its natural to want to document that with pictures or video. Outdoor filmmaking is exploding as young people deploy equipment that is much less expensive than it used to be. This week on Outdoor Explorer we talk to adventure filmmakers. It goes beyond strapping a GoPro to your helmet.
KSKA: Thursday, Dec. 11, at 2:00 and 9:00 p.m.
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Making the Musher
On this edition, we ask what it takes to become an Iditarod musher, not by talking to the star, but with a conversation with a rookie and two handlers who work with top kennels. It’s the Iditarod for the rest of us.
KSKA: Thursday, March 5, at 2:00 p.m. and 9:00 p.m.
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.
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Arctic Winter Games | Outdoor Explorer BONUS EPISODE
It's Alaska's turn to host the biennial event celebrating the sports and culture of the people who live in the circumpolar north.
Bug Season Arrives
You’ve seen the t-shirts. The ones with a picture of a mosquito with the caption “Alaska state bird.” Mosquito season is upon us. Join host Annie Feidt and two entomologists to talk about what's biting us. We'll also learn about the ecological role the buzzers and biters play in Alaska's ecosystem.
KSKA: Thursday, May 22, at 2:00 p.m. and 9:00 p.m.
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Taxidermy
KSKA: Thursday, Jan. 11, at 2:00 p.m. Taxidermy turns out to be a complex subject with a lot going on. Who knew? There are even people getting animals mounted for display who don’t hunt. On the next Outdoor Explorer, we’ll have Alaska’s most famous taxidermist, who also made his name in reality TV, Russell Knight. And then a woman from the next generation of taxidermy who is helping making this old art form bigger than ever.
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Stand Up Paddleboarding in Alaska
KSKA: Thursday, June 16, at 2:00 We love how people keep inventing new sports and Alaskans keep finding unique ways to do them. The next show is a great example, we're talking about stand up paddleboarding and paddleboard yoga. A paddleboard is essentially a surf board for calm water, but as you’ll learn, paddleboards now are being used in Alaskan rivers and in the ocean. Finally, at the end of the show, we’ll hear a hair raising story from our live outdoor explorer show a few weeks ago.
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Father-Daughter Treks
KSKA: Thursday, May 5 @ 2:00 pm.
On the next Outdoor Explorer we’ll have two different father-daughter teams who reconnected through big adventures. One pair rode motorcycles from Alaska to college in New York, the other came from Wisconsin to build a cabin in northern Alaska.
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2020 Alaska Sports Hall of Fame
On this Outdoor Explorer, Harlow Robinson, executive director of the Alaska Sports Hall of Fame, will catch us up on
the Hall’s class of 2020. The planned induction ceremony for the event, the moment and the individuals to be honored
was slated for April, but the celebration has been delayed to next year due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Funding your outdoor lifestyle
Enjoying the outdoors can be done on a tight budget or with all the latest gear and gadgets. All you really need is a pair of shoes and a sense of adventure. But what about when you want to go on a big trip or you need to upgrade your jacket? On this Outdoor Explorer our guest is financial planner and outdoor enthusiast Mike Branham. We talk about finding balance between your outdoor pursuits and saving for your future, ways to maximize your gear budget, and more.
Dogs: Our Outdoor Explorer companions
Humans and dogs have shared physical and emotional lives for at least 9,000 years. On the next Outdoor Explorer we’ll
explore the science of the bond we have with dogs, the sports we enjoy together, and how an empathetic husky in Girdwood has become a hero to Crow Pass hikers.
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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Snow machine assisted skiing
KSKA: Thursday, Jan. 11, at 2 & 8 p.m. We have some fun people to introduce you to on the next Outdoor Explorer: twin brothers came in to talk with us. They're beer brewers, who are fanatic for snow machine-assisted backcountry skiing. This is where you ski or board remote powder slopes, but without spending the sweat to get there on foot or the money to get there on a helicopter--you ride out on a snow machine. There’s a ton of skill involved and a lot to learn, and these guys are great at talking about it.
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