I knew I was taking a risk at starting and ending an aurora tour in Delta Junction from Anchorage. Fairbanks is so much closer. In fact, I had at least one potential participant not sign up because of this. Why did I do this? I knew the mountain landscapes, the unique and special photo opportunities of glacier features and ice caves were all worth the extra time driving north to Delta Junction from Anchorage. In the end I think I made believers out of our participants.
If we run this tour again, I wouldn’t do it any differently. There is just too much outstanding mountain scenery from Anchorage to Delta Junction to bypass. Besides, good aurora displays, especially around the equinoxes, do happen south of Interior Alaska. All you need is a clear night. And, we had several.
The Talkeetna and Chugach Mountain Ranges make for great aurora foregrounds and our group got to experience that for sure. The ice caves this year were stunning and we had a stellar morning shooting aerials over Matanuska Glacier. The weather is always a challenge in Alaska and this spring was no different. Despite the challenges and exceptionally low snow year, we ended up with 4 nights of aurora! The first night was a little biting at -6 to -10, but the other nights were warmer being in the single digits to the teens above zero.
I love the eastern Alaska Range and we scored on a nice sunset and with some moody and dramatic clouds. We picked cozy and quiet accommodations in Delta Junction that would help with daytime sleeping and charging up for the next night’s aurora chasing. We also had a beautiful and comfortable afternoon hiking up Castner Creek and enjoying the splendor of the Alaska Range. I hope the resulting landscape images in the gallery below speak for themselves.
HIGHLIGHT REEL
AURORA & WINTER MOUNTAIN LANDSCAPES IMAGE GALLERY
“Thanks so much for a wonderful trip. You two really delivered what you promised—the drives through the mountains, sunrises and sunsets, two amazing helicopter trips, wonderful places to stay, and most of all, the auroras.
Judy K (Palo Alto, CA)