Arctic Fireworks

Description

Arctic Fireworks is the culmination of weeks of planning, preparing, and dedication paying off.

I was headed to Alaska to cover the Valdez Ice Climbing Festival for Climbing Magazine in the month of February. I was able to book an extra week on to the tail end of my trip to really explore the most northern state in the US. I knew I wanted to go as far north as north would take me and that’s how I ended up near the Gates of the Arctic National Park, hundreds of miles from the nearest major city and well north of the arctic circle. After three days of cloudy skies and the end of my journey drawing near, I was worried I wouldn’t get the chance to see the northern lights at all on this trip. With very little hope of seeing any clear skies I headed for the highest point I could reach, the summit of the Atigun Pass, to pray for green and purple skies. Just when I had given up all hope and started to head back down the pass was greeted with this aurora firework show, green ribbons dancing across the skies just for me. I pulled to the edge of the road and captured as many images as I could with my nearly frozen camera.