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Arrigetch Peaks, Brooks range, Gates of the Arctic National Park

Arrigetch Peaks of the Brooks range, Gates of the Arctic National Park, Alaska

Canon 5D Mark II, 24-105mm IS L (35mm) 1/1250 sec @ f 8, ISO 400

I've long wanted to see and photograph the Arrigetch Peaks of the Brooks range, and a recent visit only increased my desire to return for a more thorough session. It's a good 2 hours plus one way trip in a small plane north from Fairbanks, with plenty of weather and terrain to navigate along the way. For those who are not familiar with this wonderful sight, the Arrigetch Peaks are rugged granite spires in the central Brooks Range.

Arrigetch Peaks of the Brooks range, Gates of the Arctic National Park, Alaska

Canon 5D Mark II, 24-105mm IS L (28mm) 1/1250 sec @ f 8, ISO 400

The name means 'fingers of the outstretched hand' in the Inupiat (eskimo) language. I can only imagine that their appearance is under constant change with lighting and season, making them a truly dynamic subject. Hopefully this summer, I can make another attempt, and time it for optimal lighting. Lots of variables need to line up in order for that to happen.

Mountain views

Lightplay on a mountain ridge in the Alaska range.
Canon 5 D Mark II, 24-105mm L IS, (102mm) 1/800 sec @ f4.5, ISO 400

I've been doing some aerial photography recently, thanks to a friend and willing pilot, Hugh Rose. Do to low light we elected to not land on a glacier in the Alaska range, even though we were all packed with winter gear, ready to spend the night and do some hopeful aurora borealis photography. It's amazing how much gear one needs just to spend one night in the mountains! So, we did get great vistas on the flight to and from Fairbanks. In particular, Mt. Deborah, Hess and Hayes, are stunning peaks that highlight the Alaska range--the most prominent ones visible from Fairbanks. I included a similar shot that I posted last year, taken in autumn. It shows the contrast of seasons well.

Alaska range mountains
Canon 5 D Mark II, 24-105mm L IS, (85mm) 1/640 sec @ f5.6, ISO 400

Mt. Hayes and the Alaska range mountains
Canon 5 D Mark II, 24-105mm L IS, (100mm) 1/320 sec @ f4.5, ISO 800

Mt. Hayes and the Alaska range mountains in autumn

The meltdown begins

Stream in the Alaska range mountains
Canon 5D Mark II, 24-105mm f4.0L IS, 1/400 sec @ f13, ISO 200

The heat of the spring sun bears forcefully upon Alaska's winter landscape. Daylight increases at a rate of about 7 minutes per day, and while the snow is thick in many places, it can't resist the marching summer season. On a snow machine trek into the Alaska range a few days ago, the brilliance of a clear day not only revealed opening water in the mountain drainages, but a potent sunburn on the face as well. The grizzly bears that make their winter dens in the mountains are ending their long hibernation in accordance with natures amazing synchronicity.

Alaska range mountain ridges

Canon 5D Mark II, 24-105mm f4.0L IS, 1/640 sec @ f13, ISO 200

We did not see any bears however, save for one set of tracks that went on at length over the mountain slope. They will be waking soon however, slumberous and hungry. Breakup, which is the term used in Alaska for the transition from winter to summer--since the season called spring is ever so short if calculable at all--is a messy time with rapid melting and wetness everywhere. But most people, are anxious for the sun's warmth, and the increased pace of summer.

Caribou in the Brooks range mountains

Caribou on the mountain ridges of the Brooks range--all the little brown dots in the foreground, I'm guessing perhaps 1000 in this group.
Click on the image to see it larger.

Thanks to a generous friend, colleague, pilot, Hugh Rose, I spent an afternoon flying over the Brooks range looking at caribou along the mountain ridges. These are reportedly from the Porcupine caribou herd that migrates across the Brooks range and eventually reaches the calving grounds of Alaska's arctic north slope. Aggregations of 100 to 1000 animals could be seen feeding on the windswept mountain ridges where I presume access to food was a bit easier than the heavy snow-laden lowlands. The Brooks range is always an experience of immense wilderness. The mountains go on and on, with scarcely a node of human habitation. Conditions were far from optimal from almost every perspective but I grabbed a few photos that show how mobile and hardy this animal is, able to trek the high and low country and travel for miles. The vista of a large group of caribou migrating in a long line eluded us, although we saw many tracks revealing amazing photo ops if the timing was right.

The never ending mountain ridges of the Brooks range mountains.

Trucking on the Haul road

Truckers travel the Haul road north of the Brooks range, arctic, Alaska.
Canon 1Ds Mark III, 500mm f4L IS, 1/500 sec @ f8, ISO 400

The James Dalton Highway was built as an access road to the Arctic ocean during the days of the of the Trans Alaska Pipeline construction. It still serves the main purpose of supplying the oil fields of the arctic north slope coast. Its a rugged road, and passes through some formidable country, particularly in winter. I often hear weather alerts of road closures due to wind and snow, and flash floods in the summer months. Before travel, checking current road conditions is essential.

The truckers that navigate this route routinely (500 miles between Fairbanks and Prudhoe Bay) do so in all types of weather. There is often a dramatic scene of a trucker cruising the road, which helps depict the emptiness and ruggedness of this region. The highway traverses the Brooks range via Atigun pass, the highest road pass in Alaska.

Nearly every trip north for me results in a cracked windshield, and my last trip was no exception. Heavy snow and high winds can quickly obscure and diminish the road to one lane, or simply impassable. Snow drifts, once plowed, can rebuild in a matter of minutes. This was the case recently but I could find no place to pull over to position myself for good photography, and it was too dangerous, with limited visibility to just stop in the road. So, you don't see any of those cool-could-have-been-photos. Plus, it was minus 20 degrees and ripping wind.

Oddly, ice is purposely put on the road during the winter to stabilize surface material, arctic, Alaska.
Canon 1Ds Mark III, 16-35mm f2.8L , 1/320 sec @ f18, ISO 200

Road markers help distinguish the shoulder during snowy conditions, arctic north slope, Alaska.
Canon 1Ds Mark III, 100-400 (220mm) mm f5.6L , 1/500 sec @ f18, ISO 400

Caribou trek across the tundra as a trucker passes through Atigun canyon, arctic, Alaska.
Canon 1Ds Mark III, 100-400mm f5.6L (130mm) , 1/400 sec @ f7.1, ISO 200

Trucker climbs the road through Atigun Pass of the Brooks range, arctic, Alaska.
Canon 1Ds Mark III, 100-400mm f5.6L , 1/640 sec @ f10, ISO 200

Heavy winds create drifts in seconds on the Dalton Highway, arctic, Alaska.
Canon 1Ds Mark III, 100-400mm f5.6L , 1/640 sec @f9, ISO 200