You might be wondering why we would choose to go to Alaska in the winter, just a few days after the shortest day?

Turns out, if you ask the locals, they prefer winter. The rivers and northern bays are frozen and snow covers the ground, meaning getting from A to B is more simple, and can be a straight line as the crow flies instead of being tied down by asphalt roads.

And what's better? 9 hours of sunrise and sunset, every day. Its just beautiful all the time.

So, what's it all about?

Some skiing at Aleyska.

This was no good. The visibility was so poor due to fog that I got vertigo skiing uphill (yes, I was supposed to be going downhill but hey who knew in the fog?), and the skiing actually improved once the night-skiing lights came on at 2pm. But, the views were nice.

Dogsledding

Yep, we had to try it. Turns out getting the dogs harnessed and ready is a huge ordeal, and while you are on the trail one is pooping every 5-minutes. But, the dogs ran a marathon in about 2.5hours, pulling us, and didn't even seem that phased after. I would say that is man's best friend!

New Year's and Anchorage

A bit drowsy for being a huge holiday, but we still had fun.

Chena Hot Springs

Nothing like 105-degree water in 30-below air temperature. We also decided the hills out back would be a great place for a hike. So what does 30-below feel like? Nothing. And that is the danger. The air is so cold that you do not notice all the heat leaving your body. Once the heat is gone, you start to realize you are so cold you cannot get it back they way you can when its 0-degrees. Instead, shivering, jumping-jacks, etc, don't really help. Instead, layering lots and lots of clothing makes all the difference. And off we went. Just in time for the 2pm sunset.

Alaska in the winter – just as great as it sounds