Katie Bausler

Totem pole raisings are often times of celebration, dancing and drumming. But this one was somber.

A century ago, the Treadwell Mine crushed 26 million tons of rock, producing $70 million worth of gold. Then disaster struck.

Eaglecrest was born at the behest of ski patrollers and Forest Service colleagues Bob Janes and Craig Lindh, the father of world champion and Olympic medalist Hilary Lindh.

Alaska's senior senator needs to take a stand against some of policies of President Trump and his advisers.

“Everybody needs beauty as well as bread, places to play in and pray in, where nature may heal and give strength to body and soul alike.” — John Muir, The Yosemite DOUGLAS — When the National Park system was born 100 years ago this month, did its pioneers foresee that a century later these 58 wilderness … Continue reading Where every day’s the best day ever

Our kids’ skiing skills surpassed mine much sooner than I expected. By the time they hit middle school, they were confidently speeding down challenging runs and steep terrain. As teenagers, they became certified in avalanche and wilderness first-responder courses.

Jacques had a pretty darn good life -- made it all the way to 113 in dog years. That's 16, by human standards.

Though ice and snow might dominate outsiders' perceptions of Alaska, the water that flows through the state's rivers and the rain that falls from its skies create real connections for many Alaskans.

“What does Southeast Alaska feel like?” I asked a tourist from Southern California. His response: “It’s like you’re dropped in from outer space. All our expectations have been exceeded. It was breathtaking coming up the channel.”

Thanks to a rerouting of the jet stream resulting from a melting Arctic, Eaglecrest, like most ski areas in the western part of North America, is suffering its worst season ever. Perhaps the word “season” is too generous. Non-season is more like it.

I should be ashamed of slinking by colleagues at work or sneaking into plays just as the lights go down. But I’m in a perennial battle with the clock. There is just not enough time in a day to fit everything in. And it ticks me off.

Ours wasn’t any navy blue Extra Cab. It was the result of a vision my husband Karl had in 1990. He wanted to make our truck the ultimate road-trip machine. So he cut the Ranger in half and stretched the cab three feet.

In the middle of endless rainfall, it was easy to recall 2013, our sunniest in 22 years living in Southeast Alaska. Somehow, we endured it.