Springtime In Alaska

They say Alaska has four seasons: Winter, June, July, and August. The part about the long winters is true. But it’s also misleading. In reality, except for the dead of winter, the seasons change noticeably in Alaska every few weeks. In mid-February, you start to notice longer days. By early March, the days feel warmer. By late March, the snow starts to melt until we have full-blown breakup by the middle of April.

Then, there’s this magical time—usually the first or second week of May—where Alaska bursts into bloom. It all happens in the space of a few days, fueled by the tremendous solar energy delivered in the form of 17 hours of daylight.

I first noticed it when I came up in ’86 to climb McKinley. We flew onto the mountain in late April. For 4 weeks I lived in a lifeless black-and-white world of rock and ice. (Strangely, the only signs of life were humongous black flies carried by updrafts dozens of miles up the glacier where they ultimately expired.) When I flew back to Talkeetna in late May, I returned to a world of lush, vivid green. I recall how just smelling the sweet forest gave me an amazing sensation of being alive. 

Everyone’s feeling the same way in Anchorage this week. Things are turning green. It’s happening about a week early this year, and progressing a little slower than normal. But this picture pairs, which I took down the street, show the change in the past 6 days. 

It’s hard to explain to someone who’s never lived here the pull Alaska’s seasons exert over your emotions. Here’s a great short story on the eco-psychology of living in a place of extreme seasons.

Comments

[Jacob Carpenter]

great site! what a beautiful baby boy. what a talker a this age. perhaps he has a future in human and eco-advocacy (politics?)
he seems to have the brow of a man who could change the world. I'm so happy for your family.