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Tuesday, March 23, 2004
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My longtime buddy, Doug Keil is featured in today's Daily News.
I've known Doug since 1976 when we were both on a three week Anchorage Community College trip to Egypt. We had a blast. And Doug was quite the rogue and still is.
Doug also works at GCI and over the years, we've served together on a couple of major company committees. He's great fun to work with - and the newspaper article is right - Doug is always dreaming up new ideas and approaches.
 Doug - what happened to your hair?!
Doug Keil holds his torch from the 1996 Olympic Torch Relay. The Challenge Alaska co-founder escorted the Olympic flame when it passed through Olympia, Wash.
(Photo by Erik Hill / Anchorage Daily News)
8:53:31 PM 
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In addition to the now annual Westchester Lagoon Ice Classic, I am also going to run a pool for the predicted date of the Mt. Castner meltdown. I haven't dreamed up the rules yet. But, it will basically consist of the day when Mt. Castner is reduced to a puddle - no visible snow remaining.
I'll post the rules, etc. at the same time I post the announcement for the Westchester Lagoon Ice Classic. But, below, is a picture of Mt. Castner that was taken today. It is a substantial geographic mass. It's my guess that it won't completely meltdown until mid June.
 Clem in front of Mt. Castner.
8:02:02 PM
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So Spring for the rest of you usually means flowers, leaves on trees, robins, etc. For us Alaskans, Spring usually means "Breakup" - which is a butt ugly awful three week muddy, slushy, yucky, dog poopy mess starting in early April that then leads into a three week period of dry awful brown dust. Finally, on Mother's Day weekend, leaves and a few very early flowers show up.
However, I think that Alaskan Spring actually occurs before Breakup. I propose we're in the midst of Spring right now. The days are longer - it's getting light at 5:30 AM and it doesn't get dark until 8:30 PM. The sun is higher and generates actual warmth - the temperature actually hits 40 degrees. And the days are crystal clear, sunny, and drop dead gorgeous. The snow is still deep but it's a brilliant brilliant white. Sunglasses are absolutely de rigeur.
Everyone is out skiing, skating, running, walking, or biking (on the hardpacked snow trails). And absolutely everyone is talking about the fantastic weather.
NOTHING beats a sunny day in Alaska in the "Spring."
7:53:49 PM
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© Copyright 2005 Stephanie A. Kesler.
Last update: 3/5/2005; 8:42:11 PM.
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