Visit Alaska in the Winter?! Definitely YES! -Part 2

If you go a (very) short distance east of Anchorage, you find even more snow than Anchorage has gotten. Similar to the post I did about finding some "real" snow around here a few posts ago, we went for a drive toward the Kenai Peninsula... to the town of Girdwood. While Anchorage has had 134.5" this winter, Girdwood (about 40 miles away) has had 372.6" through April. At the top of the Girdwood's ski resort (Alyeska), they received over 800" through April. Whew! Terrain really has an influence around here.

Looking east along Turnagain Arm... many a photo has been taken from this spot!

Looking kind of west/northwest...

Cliffs with ice... they get me every time! For a south-facing wall of rock, I'm extra impressed with how much ice accumulates here.

Low tide along Turnagain Arm...

These next 3 look like they're old black and white photos... kinda neat. Turnagain Arm at low tide... with ice chunks littered about.

I like the "mood" of this one.

This photo especially looks like it's from long ago, but I assure you this is from this year. Pretty cool, I think!

Now getting to Girdwood... a winter wonderland, it surely is!

I bet this person is glad they kept up with the snow blowing through the winter...

And this is what happens when the snowfall gets ahead of you. It appears clearing their roof to lower the snow load is higher priority than getting the truck out at this point. I'm sure that's a wise decision! Notice the ladder to get up on the roof on the right side of the photo.

Being around snow like this makes me almost giddy. And to think I went to college in NC to get away from harsh/snowy winters! I guess I had to get away from it to realize how much I love it, even in March after a long, deep winter in AK!

Some kids to give some size perspective...

And my personal favorite photo of Girdwood:

'Til next time...