The Frozen Nuggett

28/02/2026

~oh how beautiful this life is~

it’s international polar bear day and oh does it deserve to be celebrated! founded this day to celebrate the time moms and cubs are snuggled up in their dens. this time is so important in the bears’ preparation for den emergence & the beginning of their new life without the comfy den protection. one half of alaska’s cubs won’t survive to see their first birthdays… let that sink in.

on top of that, over half of the dens are not accurately detected when it comes to the first step of industrialization -> which is currently a massive threat to our bears! I know it can seem far away and not important if polar bears are crushed out of their dens or their dependence on land-use increases as their sea ice habitat goes away, but I assure you IT MATTERS! It affects YOU! A loss of THE Arctic’s apex predator will have a ripple affect on your fish and your ecosystem!

it’s not lost on me that less than 1% of humans will see a wild polar bear, it’s also not lost on me how truly lucky I am to work for protecting them. But if you take one thing from this special day, take that we all have a roll in their protection!

small things you can do TODAY:
•reduce your dependence on fossil fuels by carpooling or walking/ biking to work
•build a fire over using central heating during these cold negative temps
•compost your food waste -> this is a small step that extends miles in decreasing landfill usage and the emissions that come from decomposition
•borrow first, shop used second, shop local third. over analyze literally anything you’re ordering online - controlling where your money goes matters!
•follow conservation groups to stay informed on what’s going on and how you can hep
•write a letter to literally anyone telling them drilling in the arctic refuge is a bad idea
•talk to people! Get the word out about why you care!

it’s exhausting knowing every-time you open social media or the news something bad is happening. take a positive out of today and know you’re doing something good for our planet! the polar bears thank you 🫶🏻

16/09/2025

It’s such a refreshing feeling - how a place can feel healing. It’s been a tough summer and returning to a special place, my special place, felt like the perfect place to end one chapter and start the next! I wasn’t expecting to feel so sentimental about a collection of glaciers, rocks and ice that make up tall pointy mountains, but let’s just say the mountains give you what you need sometimes.

My dream mountain, the goal I’ve devoted a lot of my life to, nearly broke me this June and it’s taken a lot to put the pieces back together. It’s brought a few new health diagnoses, new challenges, new doctor friends who have spent way too much time with me these last few months, and new uncertainties. It’s made me have to rebuild what some adventures look like & learn to re-trust my body in remote areas.

Returning to a place that holds so much for me: my first winter camping experience, my intro to mountaineering, so many adventures with friends who are more like family. It’s a place I’ve noticed so much growth from & a place I hope to return to forever and continue seeing growth 🫶

I’m thankful the adventures keep coming, that the mountains are always going to be there. I’m thankful for adventure partners I can lean on. But most importantly, I’m thankful for special places & for a body that gets me to them.

Hold onto those places that make you feel some kind of way & protect them at all costs!

And if you have gluten free, dairy free, seed oil free, heart healthy, low inflammation trail snack recommendations - I’m all ears 🤪

12/06/2025

to even have the chance to climb her is a dream come true 🫶 everything after that is an added bonus! WISH US LUCK WE’RE GOIN 🏔️

📍Denali

13/05/2025

one of those days where the weather wasn’t great but ya go anyway & this time it worked out for us (except getting completely turned around in a whiteout at the summit lol)

one day I’ll get better at sharing epic photos in real time 🫣 mentally Denali has been on the brain non-stop & it’s making it hard to do just about anything other than work, training & prepping

the Denali climbing season kicked off this week with climbing forecasts already coming in 😳 so until we’re back from the mountain in July, bare with me cause we’re just staying afloat over here lol

22/04/2025

happy earth day you outdoor lovers you!! 🏔️

working in the conservation field, it’s been a fight to say the least the last few months. it’s been hard to show up at work, train for a big mountain adventure & then show up online too. I’m so lucky to have a job where I get to watch for belugas, work to help Alaska marine species all while getting to explore this great state of ours too! But when one of those hurts, it really bleeds into the rest of your life too when work & passions go together so well like they do for me.

I’m also lucky to have you guys to chat with and help inspire & I know you love the outdoor world as much as me. So, I think it’s time to bridge together my work & this account a little more since we all really need to do what we can to help this wonderful earth we live on 🐋

I went through 8+ years of photos this morning remember all my adventures over the years and what really stood out was the gear I’ve used over the years. So I wanted to pin point some great examples of buying once after doing your research & these items can last ya so many adventures to come!

Happy earth day friends!! 🌎 we’re lucky to have her!

05/04/2025

glacier camp ‘25, oh what a time 🤩

21/03/2025

in honor of gearing up for a spring trip, I thought I’d share this post that was super well loved from last year’s trip!

If you remember from last year, it didn’t go perfectly according to plan and that’s how this year is starting to shape up too (that’s weather/ group dynamics for ya!) but nonetheless - glacier time with my friends cant be beat! I’ll probably do a little comparison on what I brought last year & what’s changing for this go round, but for now ->

here’s what I packed for a 7-day mountaineering trip:
• -40° sleeping bag
• air and foam sleeping pads
• MH Trango 2 tent
• down pants, puffy, down booties and overboots
• 2x baselayers (one thicker wool + one thinner synthetic)
• specific thick sleep baselayers
• lightweight mid layer
• fleece layer
• synthetic top layer
• bibs + windshell
• 3x wool socks (one thicker for sleeping)
• 2x beanie - one for sleep, one for outside
• BD big mittens, touring mittens and liner gloves
• helmet, goggles, glacier glasses, nose cover, hat
• avy beacon, shovel, probe
• HMG porter pack
• harness rigged for glacier travel
• ice screws, pickets, rope (with group gear)
• crampons, ice ax, snow saw
• whippet, ski pole
• 2.5 L water with insulators
• whisperlite stove + fuel + food
• inreach and radios
• wag bags and toiletries
• first aid
• pulk + pulk bag from
•skis, skins, boots

let me know if you’re interested in any specifics on gear! Have any spring trips planned?!

11/03/2025

19/02/2025

honestly I don’t even want to share these epic photos. an adventure I dreamt of for years that was way within our and our dogs limits and fitness levels turned into quite the ordeal ⬇️

it’s silly, as I was biking to the glacier yesterday, to this epic wormhole that wasn’t accessible by human power for years after a partial collapse, I was thinking about sharing this epic trip. Sharing to the Alaska adventure community that it’s now possible again. To be able to share in the beta & future trip planning of an epic ride to others who I know want to do the same. To be able to use our knowledge, outdoor ability and physical fitness to be the beta getters this go round…

“Nelchina glacier biking is back on!”
something along those lines of a caption got me excited as I was struggling hard to get to this epic location. The conditions were like mashed potatoes & we knew we probably weren’t going to make it. But when we were only 7 miles away, feeling good & already committed to the big hill down we’d have to climb back up, we went for it. Those were probably the hardest 7 miles I can remember. Sinking in the snow with every pedal, hiking the bike a ways… but we made it.

We spent maybe 10 minutes of a 12+ hour day at the wormhole, and that was some of the least favorite 10 minutes of the day (well, before the ending.. keep reading)

10 minutes, fighting time in the wormhole with 20+ people who all got there by snowmachine. Knowing we couldn’t waste time waiting, it was super cold in the valley and we need to get moving made the time at this epic spot stressful. But I do always say it’s about the journey, not the destination. it has to be that way, especially for a trip this big in February (and with bad conditions)

The snow continued to deteriorate (who knew that was even possible with how soft it already was?!) as the sun heated the valley. The dreadful 7 miles became even more dreadful, even with our strong ass legs and staying up on nutrition (something that saved us at the end). The dreadful hill came and we hiked a bike up and up, making sure the dogs stayed on the trail because…

continued in the comments 👇🏼