The Valdez School for Wayward Girls The first-ever all-women heli-skiing camp in Alaska’s central Chugach Range attracted a motley crew of diehard skiers. Valdez may never be the same. With the Alaskan sun still burning at 8 p.m., soft-spoken Karen, an actuary who works on retirement plans, assessing financial risk and calculating pensions, climbs up […]
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About Helen
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The Great Rad North
Exploring Red and Fernie, British Columbia means radical skiing among snow ghosts and moss-covered pines. Even in my wildest dreams I could not have imagined such a place. Mountains where you ski among 20-foot ghosts and moss-covered pines on downy peaks high above a sea of clouds. A land where the moon shines brighter than […]
Camping is For Babies
Any mom will tell you it’s hell just mobilizing a trip to the grocery store when you have kids. But camping with a baby? How hard could it be? Crickets. Coyotes. Wind rustling through the trees. The snuffling of deer outside the tent. This is the symphony of sounds I relish when I’m tucked inside […]
Llama Trekking with Kids
Backpacking Near Silverton, CO, with Four-Footed Friends It was a sublime moment. Deep in the woods, the fire had burned down to glowing coals. Our sticky-faced children munched contentedly on perfect s’mores, the marshmallows uniformly toasted and gooey. Pine cones popped in the fire. And nearby, the llamas grazed quietly in the bushes. We were […]
