One must from time to time attempt things which are beyond one’s capacity

Pierre-Augusta Renoir 

A thrilling adventure!

Jeanne and I usually celebrate her birthday in Talkeetna, a charming town north of Anchorage, between Christmas and New Year’s. But this year, a friend invited us to their cozy cabin nestled north of Talkeetna, about 30 miles away. We left the day after Christmas, arriving before the sun dipped below the horizon at 3:30 p.m. Bud, our friend, picked us up in his snow machine with a trailer, ready to take us the mile to the cabin. Bud and Lulie, who have owned the cabin since 1988, spend most of the winter season there. They’re always welcoming visitors, so we felt right at home.

One of the best parts was that there was enough snow to ski! Anchorage has snow in October, but the warm weather in late November and beyond has melted most of it. The temperatures have been too warm to even make snow for the ski trails and jumps. Ice has been present, and falls are a major concern. But luckily, the studs around the tires of our bikes made it safe to explore the trails.

Bud and Lulie’s cabin is a true gem, and Bud takes great care of grooming miles and miles of trails. Jeanne and I decided to go out just as the sun was setting for a lovely ski. The next day, everyone thought a good ski was in order. Bud wanted to do a 4-5 mile loop to build up his strength on his new hip. Both he and Lulie are passionate about their dogs and have even competed in international ski touring events. Bud wanted to go skiing with his dog and suggested that I follow his tracks since there was only a couple of centimeters of fresh snow. The temperatures were perfect, around -5 C (25 F). I decided to give it a try.

Bud took off, with me not far behind. Of course, he was gone quickly, out of sight, but his tracks and the dog tracks were quite visible. The sky was a bit cloudy, but the forecast looked promising.

So, I was just enjoying the peaceful skiing through the flat country. It was amazing to see the swamps of summer covered in snow. The scrub black spruce trees stood tall, almost reaching the sky, with barely enough limbs to catch the new snow. About 2 miles into my ski, it started snowing, not exactly what I had planned. It was coming down pretty hard, maybe 1-2 cm an hour. If it kept up, I’d be buried in no time! The ski tracks were getting covered, but I could still see the snow machine width pack.

I kept going, but the snow started falling even more, and the visibility dropped to 2-3 miles. I could still hear the road of the Parks Highway between Anchorage and Fairbanks, but I knew if it snowed much more, the sound would be muffled. The snow was definitely coming down more than a centimeter an hour. In 5 hours, my skis would be buried unless I lifted them up.

Then, I started thinking about the Donner Party. Would I be in the same situation as those unfortunate souls caught in the Sierra snow? Those folks either saved themselves or some of them by resorting to cannibalism. Oh my, this is getting a bit scary! I moved on the ski trail, crossing another snow machine track, and the ski tracks were gone for that meter of crossing. Donner Party thoughts kept coming to mind.

Then, I realized I was all alone, unlike the Donner Party, where they had 147 morsels to choose from. I decided to keep going, the snow starting to lighten up a bit. The GPS said I was starting to turn back toward the cabin. I passed another friend’s cabin, but I knew he was still in Anchorage for the holidays.  

So, I had this wild idea to try and free my foot from the trap. I mean, I’ve heard stories of animals chewing off their limbs to escape, right? But then I realized, ‘Uh-oh, this is gonna be scary.’ And guess what? I hadn’t even had a shower in 24 hours! My foot was totally out of commission. I was stuck! But then, the snow stopped falling, and I decided to take a deep breath and brave the elements. I made it back to the cabin, about 45 minutes behind Bud. Bud and I had a blast gathering water from the spring a few miles away using the snow machines. It was such a fun task! On our way back, we ran into the three ladies who were returning from their ski trip. Jeanne was absolutely thrilled about skiing, calling the conditions ‘pure butter’.  

Yesterday Bud drove us to the road where we left our car, and we proceeded to Talkeetna.  We are now celebrating Jeanne’s birthday at the cabin in downtown Talkeetna.  Beautiful day, sun is blasting down from its 4 degrees above the horizon.