Live from Alaska

[mdeane]

BRING WARM CLOTHES!!!! Sorry for shouting but I want to emphasize this as much as possible. This is a beautiful place. We are now in Seward having come down from Anchorage. It has been raining since Tue. and it is very cold. New snow today on the mountains. Had a fabulous helicopter trip up to the dog camp on the mountain and went dog sledding. What a fabulous experience.

 

If you will be in Seward I highly recommend Godwin Dogsled Tours. I cannot tell you how much we enjoyed this trip. The mountain was so lovely and being on the glacier was just an incredible experience. There are 50+ dogs at the camp with 5 mushers. So very interesting. It was very cold with sleet blowing part of the time so I just want to say, come prepared.

 

They are telling us this is the coldest summer ever. I believe it. We could not fly yesterday due to clouds and fog. Lucky to go this am.

 

Our ship, the Radiance of the Seas comes in the am. We are looking forward to further adventures. I will try to post as we go. Myra

[flashdog_1]

Thanks for reporting! Are you taking a Kenai Fjords trip before you sail?

[PennyAgain]

I'm hearing much the same from relatives who are sinking into depression with the apparent end of summer. Gloom has set in!

 

It's not the cold they mind when they see the Termination Dust coming down the mountains (new snow) but the gloom and the days getting shorter.

 

Anyone know where I can buy some cheerfully colored polar fleece clothes to send up there?

[Saintpat]

best fleece on the net is Lands End overstock section. I love the red, the hot purple, etc. That's what I'm taking to Alaska in a month, plus a really big bright red rain poncho with hood, so they can see me in the rain! Seriously, does it ever happen in Alaska that the "summer" returns for sort of an Indian summer in late August? You know, kind of a brief burst of summer before the real Autumn?

[mdeane]

Flashdog _1, No we did not do the Kenai Fjords cruise. Were to do it today and the seas have been 10-12 feet. The people at the desk there told me not to do it. I did see the boats go out but very few onboard. I suspect they only stayed in the bay. It is rough out there. Rain, rain and rain.

 

We had termination dust last night and folks are not happy about it. When we went up in the helicopter we immediately saw it and I can see it from our hotel. We are staying at the Holiday Inn and it could not be nicer or more helpful. They are great. We have a room overlooking the bay and all the small harbor. I am planning to watch our ship come in sometime in the wee hours of the am. I will try to get up to see it.

 

Again, bring warm clothes. I have not had my long johns off since I arrived 3 days ago. The wet rain does not help but we are going to ignore it and keep on going.

[maren91]

Thanks for posting. We are heading to Alaska on August 16th and also doing Godwin Glacier dogsledding and the Radiance of the Seas. Any and all information about your trip would be much appreciated!! Bon Voyage!!

[Yukon]

Seriously, does it ever happen in Alaska that the "summer" returns for sort of an Indian summer in late August? You know, kind of a brief burst of summer before the real Autumn?

 

Yes, it does happen sometimes - we're all praying for it to happen this year! BUT - "The current three-month outlook posted by the national Climate Prediction Center in Camp Springs, Md., calls for below-normal temperatures for the south coast of Alaska from August through October -- turning to above-normal temperatures from October through December." ( http://www.adn.com/life/story/473786.html )

[kk-l]

I've been following the weather reports on CC daily; thank you to everyone for giving us a heads up. A lot of the reports have been coming from Denali, Anchorage, Fairbanks, Kenai Peninsula...etc.

What has it been like on the Inside Passage and Glacier Bay? I've looked at the various weather websites and it looks milder and not as rainy in the Inside Passage towns/bays I've looked at.

I'm packing layers and shoes for cold and wet. BUT...having dutifully prepared for the frigid north...you know a heat wave will surely strike. So much for packing lighter.

[brunolvr]

This is pretty interesting showing current weather:

http://climate.gi.alaska.edu/Wx/current.html

[mytime53]

Yes, it does happen sometimes - we're all praying for it to happen this year! BUT - "The current three-month outlook posted by the national Climate Prediction Center in Camp Springs, Md., calls for below-normal temperatures for the south coast of Alaska from August through October -- turning to above-normal temperatures from October through December." ( http://www.adn.com/life/story/473786.html )

 

Figures...summer too cold to enjoy all the summer activities, and winter too warm to enjoy our winter activities. Bah, humbug!

[PennyAgain]

After all this discussion yesterday I waited until folks got home and telephoned Alaska. It was 48 degrees.

 

Another person who is working in the tourist industry is reporting a lot of seriously unhappy tourists who are not getting the vacation pictured in the brochures put out by the cruise lines!

 

His tips are down to about a third of normal.

 

Visitors are hitting the stores hard to buy warmer and dryer clothing.

[AkSusan]

Let's see in yesterday's paper, we've only hit 70 twice, over 65 I think 7 times and we won't even talk about rain. Then of course, when the mountains did clear (hadn't seen them for like 5 days) there was termination dust. Sorry to say but in my opinion this summer has sucked for us!

 

Susan in Anchorage :)

[kk-l]

This is pretty interesting showing current weather:

http://climate.gi.alaska.edu/Wx/current.html

 

Yes, that is a great site! Thanks so much. Doesn't look too bad down in the Inside Passage; kinda what I thought it would be.

Never heard of "termination dust" before, I had to Google it to find out what it was. If I see some I'll point it out to a fellow traveler and casually comment on the "termination dust" and sadly lament that it signals the end of summer...:D

Thanks to all of you on the boards for all this info. I feel the more you know the more you can enjoy.