Colorful aurora over an ice arch on Canwell Glacier.
On the night of November 30 - December 1, 2023, a rare combination of clear skies, strong aurora sparked by the direct hit of a coronal mass ejection (CME), a waxing gibbous moon, and a gap in my busy winter guiding schedule prompted me to plan my first backcountry aurora photo expedition in a couple years.
Early in the evening before the arrival of the CME, I started snowshoeing up Miller Creek toward Canwell Glacier utilizing a trail I had packed in the previous day. Models of the CME all agreed it would impact Earth around midnight Alaska time or shortly after, so I was mentally prepared to wait until 4am or later for the accompanying fireworks and planned to camp overnight at the glacier. With modest green aurora dancing through a gap in the clouds over the northern horizon, I cruised along the trail in the dark using a headlamp, flashing my light ahead periodically to check for moose. Luckily, I didn’t encounter any moose, but I did cross a set of fresh wolf tracks in the snow. The gentle hiss of water flowing in MIller Creek was the only sound.
While planning this expedition, one of my adventure buddies put me in contact with Shane, a friend of his from Fairbanks who also wanted to photograph the aurora in the mountains that night. I didn’t have a chance to meet Shane before I set out that night since he had a much longer drive, so he planned to catch up to me later following my trail. I estimated he would travel on skis about twice as fast as I would on snowshoes, so as I neared the glacier I started glancing behind me for a headlamp. I didn’t see him before I disappeared into the hilly terrain of the lower glacier, so I decided to leave him some notes in the snow indicating the time I passed by each spot.
I continued over a few steep hills to an area where I had found stunning ice caves in previous winters, breaking trail through pristine snow with the bright moon providing all the light I needed. As I topped one of the hills, I was surprised to see another track crossing the glacier in front of me, almost certainly left by a group of Dall sheep. After topping the last hill, I spotted a tall, thin arch of ice that would make the perfect foreground for my aurora photos.
Shortly after I began fishing my camera equipment out of my pack, I heard the sound of clacking skis echoing around the surrounding hills. Shane popped over the final hill a couple minutes later and sidestepped down to meet me just before midnight. We barely had time for an introduction before the aurora began to dance vibrantly across the sky and we both went to work photographing. I had no cell service to check the solar wind data, but the CME clearly hit right on schedule. Strong, naked-eye red auroras appeared in several patches of sky over the next few hours accompanied by swirling green. After the aurora finally subsided around 4am, I crawled into a nook under some overhanging ice nearby and nestled into my sleeping bag. The ambient temperature had dropped sharply, but the small space was insulated by the surrounding snow and ice of the glacier, which helped to keep me modestly warm.
Shane returned to the highway that night after dozing for only a short time. I woke up close to sunrise, tossed off my frosty sleeping bag and slipped on my boots and snowshoes, then wandered up the glacier to help my body warm up while looking for more ice caves. I found plenty of awesome sights, but didn’t bother to bring my camera. I returned to my campsite, packed up, and strolled back to the highway, marveling at the new frost on the landscape glinting in the morning sun.
My favorite shot from that night (located at the top of this post) became the December photo for the Greatland Graphics 2026 Aurora Calendar. I included some of my other best shots from that night below.
Shane poses with his headlamp on top of the ice arch opposite the bright moon.
I brought some firewood to use for photos (and to warm my hands while photographing) but the aurora went into a lull after I finally succeeded in lighting a fire.
Bright aurora dancing over the snowy hills on the glacier.
Shane silhouetted on top of the ice arch.
