Denali National Park and Preserve Winter 2006 / 2007 VISITOR GUIDE Denali’s Winter Wonders – See Page 8 Winterfest — page 3 Winter Activities — page 4 2007 Trip Planner— page 12 Table of Contents “You don’t live Activities 3 Winterfest there all winter 4 Winter Activities in the Park do you?” Information (Yes, we do.) “But, what is there to do in 6 Winter Conditions, the wintertime in Denali? Isn’t the park Trekking and Safety closed in winter?” 7 Exploring the Backcountry Paul Anderson prepares The park is open year-round and there is for a winter trek. Feature Stories plenty to do here in winter, as you’ll see by reading the great articles in this Alpenglow! As snow blankets the 8 Denali’s Winter Weather landscape and darkness rules the days, park employees stay very 10 Mushing in Denali busy caring for the park, and for our winter visitors. Though we 11 Planning Your Trip have fewer visitors, we use this slower time to do our planning for next summer, and for the future of this special place. This winter we 2007 Trip Planner are finishing exhibit planning for the new Eielson Visitor Center, which is scheduled to open in 2008. We are also planning next 12 Bus System and Times season’s field studies that will help determine future vehicle limits 14 Camping and Reservation on the Park Road. The studies will quantify the impacts of traffic Information volume and patterns on plants, wildlife, physical resources, and visitors. This information will help us make the best decisions to 15 Denali Institute Programs maintain high-quality visitor experience while protecting park resources for this and future generations of Americans. Cover Photos: Hoar Frost ©Mike Giannechini Sled Dog ©Denali National Park Kennels Aurora Borealis ©Mike Giannechini In winter, activities are centered at the new Murie Science and Cyclists ©National Park Service photo by Gregg Bailey Learning Center, our Winter Visitor Center. A warm fire invites visitors to sit and chat, make new friends, share their adventures, and learn about Denali in the wintertime. Visitors enjoy cross-country skiing, snowshoeing, dog mushing, and skijoring along the Park Road and on the numerous trails in the entrance area. After January, watch for notices announcing Winterfest, a weekend-long celebration attracting young and old alike to have fun in the snow and enjoy Denali in its most beautiful season. Come join us for the experience of a lifetime! Paul R. Anderson, Superintendent N a t i o n a l P a r k S e r v i c e p h o t 2 o Activities Information Feature Stories 2007 Trip Planner 3 Lynx Grizzly Bear 007 Wolf 2 Look for grizzly tracks in the spring when bears when spring in the tracks grizzly for Look of out coming are hibernation. Moose Cantwell. RileyCantwell. visitors is open to Campground Creek hing to camp; however, campers are advised that the water the that advised campers are camp; however, to hing ging are available in the local area communities area local in the available are ging of Healy evening presentations evening demonstrations mushing dog clinics ski skate and classical, skijor, tours ski safetyavalanche training ecologywinter walk walks snowshoe contest sculpture snow carvingice demonstration kids for events more! much and d interfest is sponsored in part by is sponsored Service interfest Park National the enture, and the Alaska Natural History Natural Alaska the and For enture, Association. ates, times and other information, please call 907-683-2294 call please information, other and times ates, ogether with the Denali Foundation, Doyon/ARAMARK Joint Doyon/ARAMARK Foundation, Denali the with ogether an wis winter. the for down been shut have utilities sewer and W t V d www.nps.gov/dena. visit or ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? and Food free. are programs and activities All Winterfest lod National Park Service photo Owl e Great-Horned Snowshoe Har Ptarmigan Raven Caribou ese mammal tracks are commonly seen throughout the park in winter. in winter. park the throughout seen commonly are tracks ese mammal Come Celebrate Winter in Denali Winter Come Celebrate h T Some birds brave the cold, snowy snowy cold, the brave birds Some residents. year-round remain to climate Ice Carver Carl Eady poses next to his ice art. Winterfest Common Animal Tracks Animal Common N a t i o n a l P a r k S e r v i c e p h o t o b y M i k e G i a n n e What to do c h i n i in the Winter Viewing the Aurora Some Alaska Native groups believed that the northern lights were caused by spirits playing ball games in the sky. Early explorers believed them to be the reflection of sunlight off the polar ice caps. Modern research reveals that northern lights occur when charged particles from the sun interact with the Earth’s magnetic field, 50 to 100 miles above the Earth’s surface. The best time to watch the aurora is from 10 p.m. to 2 a.m. Skijoring Consider the joy of skiing. Imagine the thrill of dog mushing. Combine these and you have skijoring, in which skiers harness dog power to the delight of both. Skijoring now enjoys a pop- ularity all its own but traces its roots to Scandinavia, where it developed as a way to train dogs for Nordic-style mushing teams. Skiing Cross-country skiing is a peaceful, rewarding way to explore Denali, whether on an afternoon trip on sled dog trails along the Park Road or on an extended trip into the backcountry. Local creeks such as Riley and Hines (see map back page) freeze up, becoming ideal winter routes for accessing the park on skis. Telemark skiing and snowboarding involve long climbs on foot, but are becoming increasingly popular in Denali. Watching Wildlife Although bears, marmots and ground squirrels cope with winter by sleeping or hibernating, the rest of the park’s year-round residents are active throughout the winter. Moose frequent riparian areas with plentiful willow for browsing, while Dall sheep search for food on high ridges where the wind blows away the snow cover. The best evidence of animal activity is found in tracks left in the snow, where the daily drama of the struggle for survival is recorded for all to see. There’s Wildlife in Winter Too • These are minimum distance restrictions. Any distance that alters the behavior of an animal is too close. • Maintain the distance rules at all times. • Avoid wildlife during sensitive times such as when they are nesting, mating or raising young. 25 yards 300 yards Caribou, Moose, Dall Sheep, Lynx, Wolf, Fox, Bear 4 Coyote, Bird Nests, Baby Birds, Animal Dens Activities Information Feature Stories 2007 Trip Planner 5 Photo ©Bob Butterfield Photo ©Denali National Park Kennels le; and snow can be too mushy can be too snow le; and travel. for b icyclists can enjoyicyclists portions closed-but-plowed the s impassa k Skiers and snowshoers may snowshoers and snow Skiers favorable find often d b ee onditions at higher elevations, particularly elevations, higher at road the onditions once ehicle traffic; river ice is breaking up, rendering rivers and rivers rendering up, is breaking ice river traffic; ehicle c skijorers and Mushers Teklanika. or River Savage opens to generally Hikers winter. next until harnesses up the hang an of Road. Park the (April to mid-May) mid-May) to (April motor open for is not yet but plowed is being road The v cr Break-Up rtation best suited to northern winter northern to suited best rtation po country permit at the Winter Visitor Center. country Visitor Winter the at permit k ans tr f ver or Teklanika until the first snow, and hikers and snow, first the until Teklanika or ver e road closes in the fall and bus engines are bus engines and fall in the closes e road e o losed wildlife areas. losed wildlife h e is no snow. The road generally road The open to remains e is no snow. or the winter, hiking remains a possibility remains hiking winter, the as long or ain a bac e Ri nsult with park rangers for an update on conditions. on an update for rangers park with nsult set out from anywhere along this stretch of stretch this along anywhere from set out road, er t f en t ag h y Be aware that lack of lack that Be aware of is no indication snow h Be prepared to set your own course and be self-sufficient. and course own set your to Be prepared cept c v e mod a len i • Notify of someone date. return expected your and plans your • Co • For Extended Trips: • Obt For Day Trips: a ranger. to talk and Center by• Stop Visitor Winter the talks. or as hikes such activities for • Check of signs for forest activity. surrounding the wildlife • Search h he old Mount McKinley National Park, which includes the McKinleyincludes Mount old he which Park, National temperature; be prepared for winter’s arrival anytime, arrival winter’s for be prepared temperature; mid-October. after cold extreme for and Sa m ex s Late Fall/Early Winter mid-October) to (mid-September W as t landscapes. Dog mushing continues to be an excellent way be an excellent to continues Dog mushing landscapes. to 10. See Denali. page like regions wilderness remote explore Dog Mushing of cultures Native in the Developed and Greenland Canada, by adopted was mushing dog Alaska, as explorers European t Snowshoeing an activity was snowshoeing recreational A popular today, part ofessential many for living groups.