WRANGELLMANIA
Your lead editor had a four day break starting New Year's eve, last week. We decided there would be no better way to spend it than to go spend time skiing and exploring with the best friend of the Alaska Progressive Review, Erik, who joins us in some of our outings.
He has a nice little cabin on a 10 acre plot, off the Old Edgarton Highway, near Copper Center. It sits on a bluff above the Copper River, with an incredible view of the river valley, giving way to the volcanoes of the Wrangell Mountains, which are protected in Wrangell/St. Elias National Park.
We had grandiose plans of flying around in Erik's Super Cub, but the weather turned unfavourable. It was too cold, below about -24C (-10F), the fabric covering the plane can crack. On all three days we were there, the temperature stayed below that, so we were shut out from flying.
Oh well, it's such a beautiful area, we weren't too unhappy.
This is the view looking north from the bluff to the Copper River below. 3661 metre Mt. Drum, an active volcano, would be visible further back, but for the low clouds. We were glad they were there, as without them, instead of about the -29C temperatures we were getting, it could easily have dropped to -40 to -45C. Which makes a big difference in the amount of face protection, and layering needed to be comfortable and safe, moving for hours out in that.
Once it does warm up, the Super Cub will be up and flying. These amazing little planes can land and take off in very short distances, enabling access to places not possible with larger float or ski planes. 
Erik's cabin has a nice outhouse. You might notice that there is no door.
That's because it has the nicest view I've ever seen from one. It was hard not to want to stay and enjoy the view whilst answering the call. But since it was around -29C or about -20F, there was some incentive to make it quick.We spent New Year's Eve at the Tonsina Lodge, a nice bar/restaurant owned by a Russian couple. But frequented by locals, a few of whom know Erik. We played pool, then at midnight, got to light off some fireworks given out by the bartender. Unfortunately, poor old Homer is not too crazy about them. He and Mattie had to stay in my car, and after the fireworks were over, all 37 kg of him was wrapped up in a tight ball by the gas pedal and clutch.
One of our aims for the weekend was to ski straight from the cabin, down to the Copper River, and toward the Dadina River. Erik had seen a cabin up that flying around once, and we wanted to see how accessible and far that might be. 
So, friday morning, we lit out from the cabin. It was about -27C when we left. We had to stay on the rim of the bluff for about 6 km or so. 
This is because there is a snowmachine trail that drops down a ravine in the bluff to the Copper River. Otherwise, it's just too steep to go straight down the bluff, and there's no path to the river, bushwhacking to it through the Taiga would be a chore. This is Erik on the way back up, you can see 
that it is too steep and narrow for skiing on, unless we put climbing skins on our skis. Which we did not have. So, we just took off our skis for the trip down, and back up.
that it is too steep and narrow for skiing on, unless we put climbing skins on our skis. Which we did not have. So, we just took off our skis for the trip down, and back up. 
It took about 90 minutes to ski the 6-8 km along the bluff, then drop down the ravine, and get onto the river. I was a little uneasy about the river ice. The Copper flows fast here in summer. And this winter hasn't been real cold. But we listened for the sound of running water, and couldn't hear any. Thus, we reckoned that the ice was at least 25 cm thick, and that there were no snow-covered leads lying in wait on our route. Of course, Mattie and Homer went ahead of us too. So, we made it across just fine. When we got to near the Dadina River comes in, it was time for a food/water break. So, we took a short break on the other side of this jumbled mass of ice. It was then we realized, it's quite a bit colder on the river, than in the woods adjacent, and certainly than higher up on the bluff. Homer and Mattie both were hopping a bit, their feet were cold
. And, our hands and feet were getting cold too. We think it was probably about -33C (-28F) down on the river. One thing always to keep in mind during winter traveling in Alaska is that cold air always drains down rivers, just like water. In the absence of any opposing winds from weather systems, there will always be at least a light down-river drainage wind. And, if the general wind flow is aligned with this, it will be much stronger. At temperatures of minus 20C and colder, this can be a serious safety issue. We were all getting cold at our food/water stop, and the day was getting along. It was after 1400 hours by the time we were refueled. Time to start heading back. 
It was a nice five hour/30 KM day. Which was pretty slow, since we had to walk part of it, up and down the ravine, and break trail, on the river. On the agenda for the next day, Saturday, was a drive to the little town of McCarthy, which lies at the end of a 120 km road from Kenny Lake, the nearest "town" to Erik's cabin. The part of this road from Chitina, to McCarthy, used to be the bed for the railroad that delivered copper ore from the mines of Kennecott, out to the world. Thus it is very narrow. The plan was to park near McCarthy, then ski up the 13 km to the "ghost" town of Kennecott, where the old mines and town, which were abandoned in 1938, are. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kennecott,_Alaska. 
48 km from McCarthy, we were warned that there was "overflow" on the road. This is when groundwater seeps up and constantly freezes, building up a large mass of ice. Blocking trails often, leading to cursing and groaning sometimes when backcountry skiing.
48 km from McCarthy, we were warned that there was "overflow" on the road. This is when groundwater seeps up and constantly freezes, building up a large mass of ice. Blocking trails often, leading to cursing and groaning sometimes when backcountry skiing. This big mass was at least 15-20cm thick over the road, but slightly spongy. So, Erik gunned the A.P.R.'s trusty 4WD Ford Escape, and just as we neared it, let off the gas. We just glided right across. A bit of a relief, as the ice sloped down toward a drop-off on the south side of the road there. There were very few people to be found in McCarthy for the winter, it is mostly a summer tourist destination. But Erik had a pilot friend to visit briefly there. We put our skis on, and started up the trail around 1400 hours, a little later than we wanted. Since by 1600, it is almost dark. 
The trail up from McCarthy was a nice, fairly wide one, packed down by snowmachine traffic. Ideal for a fast trip. Kennecott lies near the mountains in the far distance. It was a steady, but not real steep 10 km ascent up.
By the time we got up to the mines and buildings, it was almost dark. There are actually private residences mixed in, just before the mines, and a few of them had smoke coming out their chimneys. So a few hardy people must overwinter there. It was about -28C (-18F) for our ski, so I got iced up pretty good, working hard on our fast ascent.
We didn't spend too much time exploring in Kennecott, since it was almost dark. But it was very beautiful and peaceful there, and the old wood-fired powerplant and mine buildings were interesting. Sometime in February or March, when the days or longer, and it's warmer, we'll go back, and into the back-country behind, and around there. Some beautiful routes around glaciers and through canyons are accesible by ski from Kennecott.
It was a shame having to leave sunday, after having such good times skiing and exploring the area. But we decided to at least get a short 10 km run in on the bluff that day, before heading back to the World. It stayed cloudy, and about -28C, so we couldn't see the Wrangell volcanoes, but were not too sorry, since we'd rather run in -28C than -40C any day. That area is truly beautiful, and we will be doing some real, multi-day back-country ski trips around it later this winter, when we have longer days.
WHAT DO WE CALL THIS?
I found this article the other day, describing the Senate's version of the health-care "reform" legislation. Give it a read, and we'll offer our commentary on it.
Federal Enforcement To Be Used Against You, But Not To Protect You From The Insurance Companies
by Jon Walker
There is no better proof that the Senate bill is a massive giveaway to the health care industry than the radically different enforcement mechanism for the individual mandate and the new insurance regulations. This Senate bill will force you to buy insurance from only private insurance companies. It will use the power of the federal government in the form of the IRS to make sure you buy private health insurance.
While the Senate bill will technically put some new regulations on the books, it will not use the power of the federal government to make sure the health insurance companies are following them. Enforcement of new regulations is left completely up to the states, which, for the most part, have an extremely poor track record at this function.
This Senate bill will use the power of the federal government to force you to buy a very expensive product, but it refuses to use the power of the federal government to ensure this product meets even minimum standards of quality. It uses the sledge hammer of federal power to force middle class families to hand their money over to private insurance corporations, but handles the extremely powerful insurance companies with the soft kid gloves by leaving regulation enforcement up to the states. The imbalance of power between middle class consumers and insurance companies produced by this bill is shocking.
The House bill uses the power of the federal government in three ways to hold the insurance companies honest. It creates a national exchange with a national insurance regulation enforcement mechanism. It creates a national public health insurance option to serve as a check and benchmark for the private insurance companies. And, finally, it repeals the health insurance companies’ anti-trust exemption. These tools help put regular Americans on a more even footing against the private insurance companies.
It is both immoral and financially reckless to do what the Senate bill does. It uses the power of the federal government to force people to buy private insurance and gives the private insurance companies hundreds of billions in federal funds. Yet it does not use the power of the federal government to police the insurance companies to make sure they are not wasting the billions in federal funds they receive, or abusing their millions of federally mandated customers.
No one left, right, or center should accept this system which puts regular people in such a weak position compared to the private corporations with which they are force to do business. Attempts to justify the individual mandate by comparing it to Swiss, Dutch, or Belgian health care ignores the reality of those systems. Not other country forces people into such a powerless, subservient position compared to private companies. The Senate bill does not create social contract guaranteeing quality, affordable health care for everyone in exchange for mandating the buying of health insurance. It just forces people to buy a poor-quality product from an extremely wasteful, predatory, and poorly regulated industry.
© 2010 FireDogLake
The House bill uses the power of the federal government in three ways to hold the insurance companies honest. It creates a national exchange with a national insurance regulation enforcement mechanism. It creates a national public health insurance option to serve as a check and benchmark for the private insurance companies. And, finally, it repeals the health insurance companies’ anti-trust exemption. These tools help put regular Americans on a more even footing against the private insurance companies.
It is both immoral and financially reckless to do what the Senate bill does. It uses the power of the federal government to force people to buy private insurance and gives the private insurance companies hundreds of billions in federal funds. Yet it does not use the power of the federal government to police the insurance companies to make sure they are not wasting the billions in federal funds they receive, or abusing their millions of federally mandated customers.
No one left, right, or center should accept this system which puts regular people in such a weak position compared to the private corporations with which they are force to do business. Attempts to justify the individual mandate by comparing it to Swiss, Dutch, or Belgian health care ignores the reality of those systems. Not other country forces people into such a powerless, subservient position compared to private companies. The Senate bill does not create social contract guaranteeing quality, affordable health care for everyone in exchange for mandating the buying of health insurance. It just forces people to buy a poor-quality product from an extremely wasteful, predatory, and poorly regulated industry.
© 2010 FireDogLake
OK, having read the above article, now take a look at these commonly agreed upon:
Early Warning Signs of Fascism
Powerful and Continuing Nationalism
Disdain For Human Rights
Identification of Enemies as a unifying cause
Supremacy of the military
Rampant Sexism
Controlled Mass Media
Obsession With National Security
Religion and Government Intertwined
Corporate Power Protected
Labor Power Suppressed
Disdain For Intellectuals & and the Arts
Obsession With Crime & Punishment
Rampant Cronyism & Corruption
Fraudulent Elections
Remember, Benito Mussolini defined fascism as the marriage of corporate interests with the state, held by force, against any opposition. Where do you think the U.S. lies now, according to these signs and definitions. Are you alarmed? WE ARE. Cheers.
Early Warning Signs of Fascism
Powerful and Continuing Nationalism
Disdain For Human Rights
Identification of Enemies as a unifying cause
Supremacy of the military
Rampant Sexism
Controlled Mass Media
Obsession With National Security
Religion and Government Intertwined
Corporate Power Protected
Labor Power Suppressed
Disdain For Intellectuals & and the Arts
Obsession With Crime & Punishment
Rampant Cronyism & Corruption
Fraudulent Elections
Remember, Benito Mussolini defined fascism as the marriage of corporate interests with the state, held by force, against any opposition. Where do you think the U.S. lies now, according to these signs and definitions. Are you alarmed? WE ARE. Cheers.
