Updated: December 22, 2023 Published: December 21, 2023
Visitors to the Glen Alps Trailhead of Chugach State Park take in a view of Anchorage before sunrise on Thursday. (Marc Lester / ADN)
Here’s a positive angle on the shortest daylight day of the year: Things are looking up. The potential for a brighter future couldn’t be greater.
But for now, we deal with the dark. In Anchorage, the winter solstice sun rises at 10:13 a.m. and sets at 3:41 p.m. for a whopping 5 hours, 27 minutes and 44 seconds in which the sun is above the horizon. It might be tough to tell when it rises in the south and sets in another part of the south, due to cloud cover that has seemed endless in 2023. And we’re not so daylight-poor compared to many in our Arctic state: Polar night will continue in Utqiagvik until Jan. 23.
Sure, winter sunlight can be stunning here, giving contrast to stark white pinks and the blue sky. But more often, night gives way to dim cyan, then a slightly less dim cyan. It can be a challenging time for many. Gloom can settle into a person’s mood, too, like haze that obscures the tops of office buildings. One might be suspicious of individuals who claim not to be bothered at all. Are they lying or bragging?
This week I set out to photograph the lack of light, inasmuch as it’s possible to capture what isn’t much there, to answer a question without words: What is the dark of winter like here? I leaned on the artificial light that supplants the natural in Alaska’s biggest city — the neon glow on the slippery roadways, over-the-top holiday displays, the walkers and skiers undeterred, and sparkles that cut through the fog.
On Friday, Anchorage will gain three deserved seconds of daylight. Use it wisely. We have much to anticipate. Happy winter solstice.
A school bus stops in the Government Hill neighboorhood and nearby holiday decorations glow on Wednesday. (Marc Lester / ADN)
A greenhouse at a horticultural complex at Russian Jack Springs Park glows pink behind icicles on Wednesday. (Marc Lester / ADN)
Morning traffic on Minnesota Drive streaks by Center Bowl in Spenard on Tuesday. (Marc Lester / ADN)
Mark Fouts showshoes on Blueberry Hill in Chugach State Park on December 21, 2023. (Marc Lester / ADN)
Cyclists head east on the Chester Creek Trail during a snowfall on Tuesday. (Marc Lester / ADN)
A sundog forms during a brief break in the cloud cover in East Anchorage on Wednesday. (Marc Lester / ADN)
An airplane wrapped in lights glows on a snowy morning near Lake Hood in Anchorage on Tuesday. (Marc Lester / ADN)
The Port of Alaska lights reflect in Cook Inlet on Wednesday. (Marc Lester / ADN)
Winter Brodie walks with her dog, Steve, on Blueberry Hill near the Glen Alps Trailhead of Chugach State Park near sunset on December 21, 2023. (Marc Lester / ADN)
Tanner Ortland skijors with his dog, Odin, on the Delaney Park Strip in downtown Anchorage on Tuesday. (Marc Lester / ADN)
City and holiday lights reflect in the glass facade of the Egan Center in downtown Anchorage on Monday. (Marc Lester / ADN)
Ice and water surround Cook Inlet Tug and Barge boats near the Anchorage Small Boat Launch on Wednesday. (Marc Lester / ADN)
Sunset light reflects of Turnagain Arm from beneath the clouds on December 21, 2023. (Marc Lester / ADN)
Cross-country skiers take advantage of lighted Hillside Ski Trails in Anchorage on Tuesday. (Marc Lester / ADN)
Trees wrapped in lights glow in Peratrovich Park on Fourth Avenue in downtown Anchorage on Monday. (Marc Lester / ADN)
Light from a downtown office tower reflects in a puddle along Fifth Avenue in Anchorage on Monday. (Marc Lester / ADN)
Buildings of downtown Anchorage glow under low clouds on Wednesday. (Marc Lester / ADN)
The sun sets in a view from Chugach State Park on December 21, 2023. (Marc Lester / ADN)