Train and ferry to the outdoors
We Alaskans have a unique way to get into the backcountry, on our state-owned railroad or ferry system — two of the most fun forms of transportation around. On the next Outdoor Explorer, we’ll celebrate how the train and ferries can get families out to adventures hiking, skiing, paddling, floating and exploring in some truly exotic places. We’ll learn about the opportunities, and how you can do it with your family.
KSKA: Thursday, Oct. 1, at 2:00 p.m. and Thursday, Oct. 8, at 8:00 p.m.
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Revisiting wildlife hazards in context
The terror of being attacked by a bear is a nightmare for many outdoors people, and a lot of time is spent worrying and planning for it. We’ll put wildlife hazards in context. What should you know to be safe, how can you improve your chances, and why aren’t you thinking about all the other things that could get you, and that are a lot more common.
Alaska Sports Hall of Fame: 2019 Trajan Langdon Award recipients
In 1974, Andy Beardsley was 10 years old and new to Anchorage. He was figuring out his way around his new school, Rogers Park...
Bird migration in Alaska
Every spring millions of birds stream into Alaska from all over the globe to feed, mate, and raise their young. On this Outdoor Explorer features Dan Ruthrauff with the USGS Alaska Science Center and Melanie Dufour with the Kachemak Bay Shorebird Festival.
Alaska Ski for Women
The Alaska Ski for Women is one of the biggest women’s ski events in the World, and it’s happening in Anchorage on February 5th! This week on Outdoor Explorer, we’ll talk with founder Sally Burkholder, about its beginnings more than two decades ago. And we’ll also talk with Director Molly Mylius about this year’s event.
Avalanche Prediction in Chugach National Forest
It’s been a bad year for avalanches in south central Alaska, with several deaths occurring in the mountains. Still, we have more information to avoid avalanches than ever before. On the next Outdoor Explorer we'll visit with the Chugach National Forest Avalanche Information Center to learn how the staff there studies the snow and predicts whether or not backcountry activities will be safe, and what you need to know for your own adventures. KSKA: Thursday, March 17, at 2:00 and Thursday, March 24, at 8:00 p.m.
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Climate change in Alaska
On this show we hear from several guests about climate change and its impact on the sports and recreational activities that so many of us love. We cover how the climate in Alaska is changing, what these changes mean for all Alaskans, and what we as individuals can do to help combat climate change.
80 years of climbing, skiing, and boating with Sepp Weber
Sepp Weber has climbed, skied and kayaked for 80 years, mostly in Alaska. Join him and your host Paul Twardock as Sepp shares his stories on Outdoor Explorer.
Adventures with Chuck Sassara, by Air and by Sea
Chuck Sassara first arrived in Alaska in a VW bus in 1955 with his wife Ann. They built a life that encompassed aviation, government and business and witnessed the beginnings of statehood and the growth of the Alaskan community. We'll talk with him about some of his adventures and about his book, “Chuck Sassara’s Alaska – Propellers, Politics and People,” on this weeks' next Outdoor Explorer. KSKA: Thurs., Jan. 21, at 2:00 p.m. and Thurs., Jan. 28, at 8:00 p.m. LISTEN HERE
Viewing coastal brown bears
We’re talking about bears on Outdoor Explorer. Our region of Alaska happens to be the best place in the world for ordinary people to get out in the woods and see lots of gigantic bears. The coastal brown bear can grow to enormous size, but while they are gorging on the salmon that make them so large, they don’t pay attention to anything else. Visitors to certain key streams can get very, very close. We’ll talk about that experience, and the life of the bears.
KSKA: Thursday, Sept. 24, at 2:00 p.m. and Thursday, Oct. 1, at 8 :00pm
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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.
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How a love of design helps this graphic artist promote outdoor accessibility | Outdoor Explorer
Along with placing winter single track trails, Aurora Hablett uses geographic data to create maps in shapes with GPS visualization.
Fireweed 400
Close to the middle of nowhere, on the Glenn Highway at Sheep Mountain Lodge, 750 cyclists will take off for a race to Valdez, 200 miles away, an amazing highway ride, largely downhill, across some of Alaska's most beautiful country. And then the most competitive among them will turn around and ride back up the mountains another 200 miles to the starting point. We're focusing on the Fireweed 400, a unique, inspiring and fun summer event for the best cyclists and for a bunch off ordinary mortals who just want to challenge themselves.
KSKA: Thursday 7/11 2:00 pm and 7:00 pm
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The outdoors and personal growth
On this Outdoor Explorer, we’re going to talk about how time spent outdoors can help us grow. Adrienne Lindholm has written a book about her path from mountain newbie trying to prove herself to becoming more interested in the journey. Carey Carpenter is campaigning for longer recess for Anchorage school children, and she’ll also talk about how outdoor adventures helped her cope with breast cancer. Lastly, we'll hear a story about getting more minorities to be interested in going outside.
Thanks for listening!
The evolution of the fat bike
In this era of unpredictable snow, the fat bike has quickly become a standard part of Alaska winter life. Biking on snowwas recorded as early as the Klondike Gold Rush but it is only in the last 30 years that bikes specifically made for thesnow have been developed.
Iron Dog
HOST: Charles Wohlforth
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BROADCAST: Thursday, February 12, 2014, 2:00 – 3:00 p.m. AKDT
REPEAT BROADCAST: Thursday, February 12, 2014, 9:00 – 10:00 p.m. AKDT
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Wheels on Ice: Cycling in Alaska 1898-2021
This Outdoor Explorer features the book "Wheels on Ice," a collection of stories from the gold rush to present day. The book is a compilation of stories edited by Jessica Cherry and the late Frank Soos. Jessica and author Andromeda Romano-Lax join host Paul Twardock to discuss the book and its stories.
Writing About Alaska
KSKA: Thursday, Nov. 3, at 2:00 p.m.
The next Outdoor Explorer will be focusing on writing about Alaska. We'll have two of Alaska’s best and most successful authors in the studio, each of whom have told stories that take into account the terrain and landscapes, the myth and grandeur of the state, in both fiction and in non fiction.
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Revisiting Whale photography with Bill Hess
KSKA: Thurs., Aug. 3, at 2:00 p.m. Bill Hess is a photographer who has immersed himself in the Native cultures of the Arctic for decades, and came back with extraordinary images and stories. His book “The Gift of the Whale” is a classic on the subject of Inupiaq hunting. And he’s also a humble and funny person to talk with. We're revisiting this episode from winter of 2015.
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Sonja Wieck: Tales of Toughness
What happens when an 18-time Ironman athlete comes in second in her age group at the world championships and wakes up realizing she’s still the same person she was the day before?