Introducing the Summer 2014 Faculty and Staff

Annie Boucher July 17, 2014

Jeffrey “El Jeffe” Kavanaugh

Hi, I’m Jeff Kavanaugh. As Director, I have the privilege of overseeing this incredible group of students, staff members, and faculty members as they make their way across the icefield. I am an Associate Professor in the Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences at the University of Alberta, where I investigate the dynamics and hydrology of glaciers and their response to climatic change. This research has taken me to glaciers in Alaska, British Columbia, Yukon, the Canadian Rockies, Arctic Canada, and Antarctica.

Ben “Partanimal” Partan

This is my eleventh summer on the icefield, where my primary role is to maintain the buildings and snowmobiles. My background is in carpentry, chemistry, electric wiring, furnace-cleaning, public relations, teaching, maple syrup production, and scientific logistics. This fall, I’m starting a Master’s in Earth Sciences at the University of Maine in Orono.

Stanley “Stan The Man” Pinchak

Hi, I am Stanley Pinchak. It is my pleasure to again join JIRP as auxiliary staff, and as member of the JIRP Temperature Project this field year. I enjoy sharing my knowledge and Icefield experiences with the students as well as learning from them. It is the opportunity to learn from the staff, faculty, and students which brings me back. Having the chance to get in some turns over the summer is an added bonus.

Matt “Rat King” Pickart

My name is Matt Pickart, and I’m one of the safety staff this year. This will be my third summer on the icefield; I was a JIRP student in 2011 and I joined the staff last year. I’m from Falmouth, Massachusetts, and I graduated from Dartmouth College last year, where I majored in Earth Sciences. [Editor’s addition: Matt was voted Most Eligible Bachelor on the icefield in 2013.]

Zach “Surefoot” Miller

Hi! I’m a native Juneauite, and a third year JIRPer. My greatest feats on the program have included being Santa Claus for the first annual JIRPmas celebration in 2012, acting as a leader in glacier haute couture, constantly sharpening the cutting edge of punnery, coming in second in the 2014 Staff Week Outhouse Yodeling Competition, and running logistics for the program in 2013. [Editor’s addition: If there is one adjective to define Zach Miller, it could only be “subtle”.]

Jon “Port-a-Jon” Doty

Hi, my name is Jon Doty. I am currently working on a Master of Forestry degree at the University of Maine. I was a 2013 JIRPer, and was thrilled to join safety staff this year and complete another traverse. After such a low snow year this winter, the icefield may be very different; I am excited to observe these changes and facilitate a safe and enjoyable crossing for everyone.

Annie “Boo-shay” Boucher

My name is Annie Boucher, I grew up in Brooklyn, NY, and went to college at Carleton College in Minnesota. I just finished my first year of teaching elementary and middle school science in New York City, and I’m excited to start my Master’s in Earth Science at UMaine in the fall. This is my third summer with JIRP, and I’m most excited about getting to know all of the fabulous students this summer while we dig snow pits!

Mary “Gnotty” Gianotti

Hi my name is Mary Gianotti. I grew up in Juneau and will be a senior next year at Boston University with a major in Earth Science and a minor in Environmental Science. The first half of my summer was spent in the Wrangell-St. Elias National Park training to become a National Outdoor Leadership School backpacking and glacier mountaineering instructor. I am excited to work various research technician positions between NOLS contracts after graduation. This will be my second summer up on the icefield and I am extremely happy to be back here with such wonderful students, faculty and staff!

Kate “Can’t Lie” Baustian

Hey, I’m Kate Baustian! Like Matt, this will be my third summer on the icefield and second as a part of the FGER safety staff (with my five other super cute friends). In the JIRP off-season I live outside of Salt Lake City, Utah, where I enjoying skiing and exploring the desert Southwest. This summer, I’m looking forward to working with another brilliant, eclectic group of students while strengthening friendships with returning faculty and staff.

Christopher “Babycakes” McNeil

Hey, I’m Chris. Originally hailing from Essex, MA, I’m currently working towards a Master’s degree in Earth Science at Alaska Pacific University. My favorite things about JIRP are skiing in shorts, digging as many mass balance pits as humanly possible, and thinking about science. When it comes down to it, skiing and science are the two most important things going through my head.

Chris McNeil is probably listening to Sail on repeat.

Newton “Newt” Krumdieck

Hi, my name is Newt. I enjoy long walks along the power lines and evenings by the fire in a good pair of slippers. My hobbies include blacksmithing, turning bowls on a lathe, and lending out my ice screws to fellow JIRPers. Things that truly matter to me are my family, girlfriend, and dogs. While my eyes aren’t glued to the Taku Towers, or turned towards the Gilkey Trench, my time will be spent helping Ben Partan with camp repairs.

Introducing the Summer 2014 Graduate Students

Annie Boucher July 16, 2014

Saskia Gindraux

Hi! I’m Saskia Gindraux. I graduated a few months ago in with a degree in Physical Geography and a minor in Glaciology from the University of Zurich, Switzerland. This will be my first summer participating in JIRP, and I’m really looking forward to applying what I have learned, and mentoring students with their scientific projects. I am very excited to live on the icefield for six weeks surrounded by this stunning landscape!

Saskia's friend is jealous of her icefield adventures!

Kelly Hughes

Hi there! I’m Kelly Hughes and I’m currently finishing up a Master’s Degree at Portland State University in Portland, Oregon. I grew up skiing and climbing the Rockies in Colorado, and am ecstatic to be spending the summer on the ice. I’ve traveled to Antarctica twice for research, but studying glaciers in Alaska is proving to be equally as cool!

Kim Quesnel

Hey I’m Kim! I just finished my first year as a Master’s student at Stanford University studying Environmental Engineering with a focus on Environmental Fluid Mechanics and Hydrology. Growing up in the mountains near Lake Tahoe, California, I’ve always loved playing outside, and I can’t wait to spend the next two months living on the icefield. This summer, I’m really excited to see glacial hydrology in action, to work with the students on their projects, and to perfect my telemark turns!

Introducing the Summer 2014 Surveyors

Annie Boucher July 15, 2014

Scott McGee

Hi, I’m Scott McGee from Anchorage, Alaska. I’ve been here since before there were glaciers. Every summer, a crowd of students and faculty come to the Icefield for a few weeks. As I’ve almost memorized the regional geography, I’m happy to help these scientists safely traverse from Juneau to Atlin. In addition, I like the survey work, which gives me an excuse to explore those rare niches of the Icefield that I still don’t know.

Martin Lang

My name is Martin Lang, and I’m from Munich, Bavaria (Germany). I got sucked into the world of JIRP and the gorgeous Icefield in 1989. I have not succeeded in escaping since (well, I really never tried to). In the real world, I work as a surveyor for a small but cutting edge company doing high-precision kinematic 3D surveys. This minor obstacle does not allow me to be on JIRP every summer, so I come back on a regular irregular basis. I’m looking forward to supporting the surveying this summer, and working with the fantastic student crew we have up here.

Paul Winter

Hello, my name is Paul Winter. I just finished my first year as a Master’s student at Beuth Hochschule Berlin (Germany) studying geodata recording and visualization. I also love mountains, and on this program I found the perfect combination of connecting both worlds. The first two weeks in this incredible glacier world were just awesome. I’m excited to see more and broaden my mountaineering and glacier travelling skills.

Interview with Jay Ach and Karen Grove

Annie Boucher July 11, 2014

By Luc

As new JIRP participants, we are learning the lay of the land at Camp 17. College students who purely specialize in ramenology are learning to cook for all 46 camp members. Those of us accustomed to flushing toilet paper are learning to use trash bags instead. The numerous names of previous JIRPers contained on the boards of the cook shack remind us of the hundreds that have gone through this initiation into JIRP before us. In addition to the students and staff, Camp 17 houses many guest faculty including Jay Ach, a JIRP student in 1973 who is currently a Environmental Manager for the Port of San Francisco. Jay experienced the same hardship we experienced on the hike to Camp 17 and has been giving us insight into changes and similarities from the past to the present. Jay remembers the infamous devils club puncturing and tearing skin. Currently, Camp 17 has a double wide outhouse with a wall separating stalls. When Jay was a student, there was a two-story outhouse. Unfortunately, this no longer exists. Apparently, the upper stall of the two-story outhouse was favored over the lower stall. Pilot bread serves as the staple of every JIRPer diet. In addition to Jay’s nostalgia over the JIRP staple food, he mentioned the packaging has not changed since the 1970’s.

Jay had the pleasure of introducing his wife, Karen Grove, to the Camp 17 adventure. Karen is a geology professor and head of the Earth & Climate Sciences at San Francisco State University. After years of hearing Jay’s incredible adventure in JIRP, she decided to see what all the hype was about. Karen will be sharing her knowledge with the students on paleoclimate; looking at climate in the past in comparison with today. Even though there is currently zero visibility and sideways rain at Camp 17, Karen remains upbeat and enthusiastic. This is a testament to the tradition of positive group dynamics of JIRP, and the connection that stretches generations of JIRP, from 1973 to 2014.

Hike to Camp 17A

Annie Boucher July 10, 2014

By: Gillian Rooker

All I can say about Camp 17A was that it was quite the treat. Just imagine sitting and looking out at a beautiful scenery of snow-capped mountains and a river streaming down from a nearby glacier. You want to sit and admire the view longer, but after a couple minutes, once you’re done you grab some toilet paper, wipe, stand, pull up your pants and step out of the door-less outhouse into the fresh crisp air… minding the gaping hole in the floor as you go. That is what Camp 17A was, the perfect mixture of beauty beyond comparison and rundown quaintness.

The beautiful view from Camp 17A. (Photo by: Stan Pinchak)

The camp was comprised of one building (a shack) and an outhouse (door-less). Even so, I loved it! My travel group took 12 ½ hours to get to 17A, hiking through forests of Devil’s Club (a plant similar looking to tons of other plants, except with thousands of tiny thorns), across ice-cold rivers, up the vertical swamp (with mud that went up to one’s knees), finally reaching an altitude of 4500 ft. After all of that, I would have been happy sleeping in a damp cardboard box. Even if I had not done that hike though, I still would have enjoyed staying at camp 17A. Honestly! It made me want to move out to the middle of nowhere and build a tiny shack of my own… probably a little nicer though, and with less rat poop.

A welcome sight: Camp 17A! (Photo by: Stan Pinchak)

It wasn’t just the camp itself that I liked, though, but the bonding that took place with my hiking group and I. After all the suffering we shared on the hike, being able to sit down in a semi-warm room with everyone and have a good old time with them while eating a bowl of mac-n-cheese was priceless. Friendships and memories were forged on that hike and in Camp 17A that I will not forget anytime soon… maybe when I get old and start to lose my memories though… but that won’t be for a while, so I’m still good for now.

The unforgettable trek to Camp 17A. (Photo by Stan Pinchak)

Notes from a Flatlander: Ascent to Camp 17

Annie Boucher July 10, 2014

By: Erik

My native Estonia boasts the highest peak in all of the Baltic States: towering above the landscape on her lonely quest to bring down the moon and the stars, she alone makes a dash for the heavens and stops just short of a thousand feet above sea level. There are no mountains in Estonia.

A wanderer from such a flat country thinks in two dimensions: he can head north or south, drift east or west. Of course he moves around in the world and sees other places, and in the back of his mind he will come to know another way: up, up and away.

It is not the old way, though. Over time, he will get used to the z-direction as one might get used to a helicopter taking into the air: it becomes a fact of life, but also remains a miracle. The way up still holds on to its mysteries almost as well as the way down, to the dark chasms of the deep.

Thus it is strange to start in the rainforest and end on top of a glacier barely ten hours later, passing through every biome in between – such is the hike to Camp 17. At least I have the tendency to think of a rainforest as equatorial, in spite of all the evidence to the contrary, which further deepens the impression of ecological breadth that the hike makes. According to my two-dimensional northern hemisphere intuition, such breadth can only be achieved by thousands of miles of horizontal movement: all the way from the equator to the pole. We completed that traverse, one fourth of the Earth’s circumference, in less than half a day – forget around the world in 80 days, I bet we could do it in two!

Though one vertical mile is thus worth thousands of horizontal ones, a vertical mile does not always come cheaply – famously so. Seldom is this more obviously evident than on the last stretch of the hike to Camp 17, a steep dash up the snow-covered slope of the Ptarmigan Glacier. At the end of a long hike, a featureless and seemingly vertical white wall yields only to a stubborn and methodical clockwork of steps, one foot in front of another.

It can be a source of frustration, no doubt. But in this clockwork, there are also things other than fatigue and frustration to look out for – nuances that only resolve themselves against a perfectly white background in the vast tranquility of the glacier, small things to divert a hiker’s attention from tiredness. In the step-by-step trance of the last ascent, a sharp-eyed hiker will catch the small deviations in the step of the partner trudging alongside him; he will notice the minute corrections she makes to deal with the small yet sensible changes in the consistency of snow into which she plants her foot.

Once I reached that stage of mindfulness, I don’t think any fatigue could have become an issue in many hours of hiking to come, should they have been coming. A self who could get tired was no more: he had been lost in the collection of observations unreachable in other circumstances. The moment when that happened was the beginning of this post.

Hike to the Mendenhall Glacier: A Test Run Before the Icefield

Annie Boucher July 9, 2014

By Kim Quesnel, Photos by Natalie Raia

After arriving in Juneau on Sunday, a day of initial hellos and lectures on Monday, and a visit to downtown Juneau and the Mendenhall Glacier visitor’s center on Tuesday, by Wednesday we were ready to get outside. It was pouring rain and not the warmest day, but we were all excited to test out our new gear and get accustomed to our mostly non-broken in boots. We started out relatively early and drove from the University of Alaska Southeast Campus where we were staying, to the West Mendenhall Glacier trail head where we started our hike. After unloading the school bus, we covered our backpacks with rain tarps, took out our trekking poles, and started up the trail. We initially hiked with our entire group- over 30 students, 6 junior field staff, Carrie’s dog Kiah, and a few “adults” including Jeff Kavanaugh (Program Director), Shad O’Neel (Board Member and this year’s JIRP Academic Advisor), Frank Granshaw (Environmental Science and Geology Professor at Portland State and Portland Community College) and Frank’s wife Annette. After a while, we broke into trail parties of 6-8 people to speed up our journey. We hiked through the mucky forest, across streams, up a rock face next to a waterfall, and eventually made our way to the terminus of the Mendenhall Glacier.

We had seen the glacier from the other side of the lake on the previous day, but that had barely prepared us for the gargantuan size of the Mendenhall when we were up close and personal. Since it was still raining, we ate our bagged lunches while we strapped on our crampons, took out our ice axes, and mentally prepared to get on the ice. We also put on all of our extra layers so that we would stay warm on the glacier, which is extra chilly due to the katabatic winds that pick up the cold temperature of the ice. We ascended the glacier in small groups after a short safety talk and we quickly learned how to trust our crampons and use an ice axe as our “third leg”. It was incredible being on the glacier for the first time. We were immediately dwarfed by the sheer size and greatness of the seracs, the peaks and valleys on the ice, and it was an amazing feeling to know that we were on our way to becoming mountaineers.

After a bit of exploring, which included a trip to the famous blue ice caves for some people, we decided that we were ready to head back to the bus. About half of the group headed back on the initial route, and the rest tried a different route. Although it was apparently a common hiking trail for tourists, we managed to take a few wrong turns before eventually ending up back at the trail head. We were soaking wet and exhausted, yet (almost) everyone was smiling ear to ear. We had just seen our first introduction to life on a glacier, and we couldn’t have been more excited to get up onto the icefield.

Mike’s Journey to Juneau

Annie Boucher July 9, 2014

By: Tristan

While Alex had quite an adventure with the bikers and the biologists travelling south to Juneau, Mike Staron from Bolton, Connecticut had quite a different journey. Seven days before JIRP, Mike finished packing up all of his belongings into his Subaru Outback (most were already in there to begin with) and began the long haul across the United States to Juneau, Alaska. Navigating by sun and stars (and a little GPS help) Mike drove by himself listening to “The Bernstein Bears go to Summer Camp” on repeat, most of the time wishing that he either a.) had a driving companion or b.) brought something other than “The Bernstein Bears go to Summer Camp”.

In Minnesota, the sky darkened over Mike’s Outback and a tornado formed right over his head! Although Mike’s car got quite the shake-down, the tornado did not touch down and he continued on his journey to reach Juneau. Intending to get a little pre-JIRP recreation in before the program formally began, Mike thought, “What better place to warm up to JIRP than Glacier National Park?” However, the weather had different plans and decided to dump 2+ feet of snow in the Park so Mike scrapped those plans and resumed chasing the sunset. (Since he was about to spend two solid months on glaciers, why spend his last few days of real summer wallowing around in the snow?)

Upon arriving in Seattle, Mike’s trusty steed ran out of steam and could go no further (the clutch blew). Luckily, this was the end of the paved road and Mike boarded a plane for Juneau. On June 23rd Mike was greeted at Juneau by 2+ feet of welcoming rain as well as the rest of the JIRP students. What a journey!

Students and JIRP alumni enjoy a barbecue on Eagle Beach in Juneau.

Staff Week 2014

Annie Boucher July 9, 2014

By: Zach Miller

As anyone who has left the icefield will tell you, there is an undeniable urge to get back to the home away from home as soon as possible. So this year we, the field safety staff: myself, Jon Doty, Annie Boucher, Matt Pickart, and Kate Baustain (Mary Gionatti, another field safety staff, had a conflict), decided that waiting to get back was out of the question. From June 12th-June 15th, we trickled into Juneau. On the 16th, we hiked up the infamous Lemon Creek Trail to Camp 17.

The View from Camp 17 at 4:45am. (Photo by Zach Miller

We were greeted by a group of greedy, yet friendly rats. Jack-of-all-trades/engine guru Ben Partan also appeared out of the mist, having been in camp for a few days working on a new fuel containment shed. For four days we hiked, skied, and trundled around the surrounding area and got ourselves ready for the icefield diet.

Jon Doty embraces the fresh snow. (Photo by Zach Miller)

We even did some work; we cleaned out all of the food tarnished by the winter and by the pack of rats. Furthermore, we erected the radio antenna and cleaned the annual piles of marmot feces at Camp 17A (Big thanks to the high school group last year that cleaned up 17A!)

Jon Doty sets the antenna in place. (Photo by Zach Miller)

On June 20th, we hiked out to meet the group of students in Juneau and to officially start JIRP 2014. More updates to come!

JIRP 2014: Kicking Things Off in Juneau, Alaska

Annie Boucher July 8, 2014

By: Kirsten Arnell, Columbia University

The past couple days in Juneau have been fantastic. We had a couple lectures on Monday at the University of Alaska Southeast (UAS) campus to introduce us to the program, making us even more eager to get up onto the icefield than we already were to begin with. We learned how glaciers affect all branches of the Earth system and humans – climate, ecology, oceanography, and even economics, to name a few. These lectures were just a small taste of everything we will be exposed to over the course of the summer.

I have really enjoyed meeting all of the people. There are 36 students total on the trip, from all over the place. I have loved talking to everyone, hearing about their interests, learning about where they come from and what they study. A handful of us, including myself, have already found some crazy “small world” connections with others who are here.

Participants of JIRP 2014 at the University of Alaska Southeast campus. (Photo by: Alexandre Mischler)

I’m super excited to be spending the next two months with everyone on the icefield. I can already tell it is going to be a riot. The group dynamics are fantastic, and the people are so cool! I can really feel the mutual excitement about science and about being on the icefield. It’s neat to be part of a group of people with so many common interests – which have brought us together to embark on such a terrific expedition – but who are also quite different in terms of each individual’s particular interests, personalities, and backgrounds.

I don’t think I’ve ever been part of such a group of people who are so similar to me in numerous ways. We’re all here because we love science, we love the Earth, and we want adventure on ice. Yet I know that I have a tremendous amount to learn from every single person on this trip, because we all have such unique sets of knowledge. As one Junior Staff Member said, with such a large group of people with their own particular interests, chances are we will have at our fingertips the answer to nearly every question or curiosity that arises, because someone in our group will know it. Without internet or much access to the outside world, together we will still be like our own walking “google” up on the Juneau Icefield. We are in this to learn together, and to share our knowledge with one another, and to do some incredible research. I can’t wait!

Juneau Icefield Research Program