Hummingbirds
KSKA: Thursday, March 30, at 2:00 p.m. Spring is coming, bringing birds back to Alaska, and perhaps most delightful and amazing of those returning is the hummingbird. These tiny birds with wings that beat faster than the eye can see cover many thousands of miles, migrating from Florida and Mexico to coastal Alaska. They are hardy and at the same time astonishingly light and delicate.
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Bristol Bay
KSKA: Thursday, March 23, at 2:00 p.m. In the whole world, there are just a few places where a confluence of environmental factors creates incredible abundance. One of those is Bristol Bay. On the next Outdoor Explorer, we’ll talk about the bay’s fisheries, the richest for commercial salmon and the regions' angling for enormous trout.
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Boat building
KSKA: Thursday, March 16, at 2:00 p.m. Boat building is much more than carpentry. Boats can be an extension of a builder’s heart, connecting to traditions and place, and relating a paddler’s physical and spiritual being to the ocean. The guests on this show are skilled craftspeople who have spent their lives building and repairing wooden boats, and building traditional Inuit kayaks.
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Summer camps in Alaska
KSKA: Thursday, March 09, at 2:00 p.m. On the next Outdoor Explorer, we’ll talk about summer camp choices, and practical considerations for parents in planning your kids' summer. Summer may not seem close today, but it is definitely time to begin scheduling your kids’ activities.
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The mountain climbing community
KSKA: Thursday, March 02, at 2:00 p.m. The conversation is about why and how climbers challenge themselves with Alaska’s mountains, but also how the experience affected them, helped them grow, and connected them with others like themselves. It’s a deep topic worth thinking about.
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Skijoring and winter dog care
KSKA: Thursday Feb. 23 at 2:00pm & 8:00pm. A dog can pull you on your skis faster than you believed possible. The feeling is much like dog mushing, but much easier to get into because you don’t need an entire team. In the first half of this show we’ll talk about skijoring, how it is done, and what it takes to start. In the second half, we’ll focus on the subject of dogs and winter, with tips for taking your dog on winter outdoor activities. Dog lovers should definitely stay tuned for the next show.
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The Tour of Anchorage ski event
KSKA: Thursday, Feb. 16, at 2:00 p.m. One of the biggest and best events of the Anchorage winter is a ski race that crosses the whole city, held the same weekend as the Iditarod start. It’s the Tour of Anchorage, and it’s coming up soon, with some of the nation’s best skiers and plenty of regular folks who just want to go the distance.
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Backcountry skiing
KSKA: Thursday, Feb. 9, at 2:00. Backcountry skiing comes in many varieties. On the next show, we’re looking at two extremes. On one end are the alpine daredevils who look for the hardest, steepest, most dangerous lines. On the other end are the touring skiers exploring our glorious mountain scenery by the most practical means available. These two ways of looking at skiing are for different personalities and different kinds of athletes with different goals, but Anchorage is prime for either option.
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Polar bear science and culture
KSKA: Thursday, Feb. 2, at 2:00 p.m. The next Outdoor Explorer focuses on polar bears. Polar bears are a unique symbol of the Arctic and their ability to thrive on the sea ice is a testament to the power of nature.
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A conversation with Lael Wilcox
KSKA: Thursday, Jan. 26, at 2:00 p.m. On the next Outdoor Explorer an interview with Lael Wilcox, whose life is one of Alaska’s most remarkable stories of physical accomplishment. Wilcox left to see the world on her bike, and never stopped, becoming a top endurance racer without really planning to.
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Avalanche equipment and rescue
KSKA: Thursday, Jan. 19, at 2:00 p.m. Everyone knows that winter backcountry travelers need to know how to avoid avalanches, how to prepare for them, and what to do if someone is caught in one. On the next Outdoor Explorer, we talk to experts about the right gear and how to use it, we'll also get a step-by-step scenario of what an avalanche recovery is like and what you should do in that terrible event.
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Sailing the Northwest Passage
KSKA: Thursday, Jan. 12, at 2:00 p.m. On Outdoor Explorer, we're fortunate to meet some of the world’s most amazing people, and that was especially true when Dario Schwoerer was in town to talk about his 100,000-mile sailboat voyage. On our next show we'll hear from Dario about his amazing family, some scary moments they've endured, and their hopes for our planet.
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Year-Round Bike Races
KSKA: Thursday, Jan. 05, at 2:00 p.m.
Biking is year round now, including bike racing. It’s a phenomenon that started here in Alaska and now has spread over the world. Folks are fat bike racing all over the US and in Europe. On our next show, we’re checking in on competition in our region.
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Revisiting Community Skating
KSKA: Thursday Dec. 29 at 2:00pm & 8:00pm. Here’s an Alaska moment. It’s a weekend afternoon, you’ve been stuck indoors all day, you see that beautiful winter light in the sky, and you say, ‘let’s go skating.’ Half an hour later, you’re gliding over a frozen pond with your neighbors. We're talking about ice skating, the casual community kind, where everyone can participate and enjoy a winter day with friends.
ANILCA
KSKA: Thursday, Dec. 22, at 2:00 p.m.
The national parks and refuges we enjoy today as outdoors people weren’t always destined to be conserved for these purposes. After Alaska became a state, the map was open as to which lands would be owned by Alaska Natives, the state government, or private owners. On the next show, we’ll look back into history, to the 1970s, to find out how it happened, as some lovers of Alaska’s wild places sat down with maps and drew lines that became the largest single conservation action in world history, called ANILCA. LISTEN NOW
Revisiting Small Game Hunting
KSKA: Thursday, Dec. 4, at 2:00. Small game can be an entry for young people into hunting, but it’s also is a tradition for sportsmen going back centuries and shows up in classic literature from all over the world. On the next Outdoor Explorer, the topic is hunting upland game birds and small mammals.
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Arctic Valley Ski Area
KSKA: Thursday, Dec. 8, at 2:00 p.m.
Arctic Valley is easily forgotten, because doesn’t advertise and is far off the beaten track, but it has the highest elevation, the fluffiest powder and some of the steepest slopes around. On the next show, we’ll learn about Arctic Valley, the changes happening there, and why you might want to go and try it out this winter.
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Shooting Champions
KSKA: Thursday, Dec. 01, at 2:00 p.m. Alaska produces some of the world’s best shooters, and two of them join us on the next show. These are athletes with shotguns who can perform incredible feats of concentration, blasting clay targets out of the sky with consistency that no one else on Earth can match. Like other elite athletes, these shooters have something special, in their case a level of concentration and calm that is hard to imagine.
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Sports Psychology
KSKA: Thursday Nov. 17 at 2:00 p.m. Successful athletes often say the mental game is as important as physical training, but what does that really mean? We’ll find out on the next show. What you’ll learn on the next show could make you a better athlete, and it can also make you more successful in life.
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The Alaska Range
KSKA: Thursday, Nov. 10, at 2:00 p.m. The Alaska Range is the most dramatic topographic feature in Alaska, and among the greatest in the world, with North America’s tallest peak. On the next show, we’ll be talking about the Alaska Range, and the effort to capture it in a new book. In the second half of the show we’ll have the treat of hearing from Art Davidson, a member of the first climb ever to summit Denali in the winter.
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