yah, I am terrible at replies on here. I meant to nest MM0EFI’s comment above as part of the reply. Alaska is an amazing area, I have been to both Gates of the Arctic and ANWR (pre SOTA days), and now that the XYL and I are permanent nomads, taking the Van up North is definitely on the list. I love riding up front in the bush planes when I can! Enjoy it up there!!’
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That’s awesome on Gates of the Arctic! Alaska is amazing, hope to catch you on the airwaves.
Yikes, I wouldn’t trust my life to a lucky 9mm shot when confronted with a grizzly of any gender.
When I hiked Glacier NP, a large sign made it very clear that a really large caliber handgun might do the job.
I also agree you look at the POTA program if nothing else than to get awareness of the challenges operating so far north. I’ve chased a few Alaska pota activators.
There’s a great contest station at the town of “Santa Claus”. Always get a kick out of working him.
Good luck and remember the goal is not the peak but getting home safely.
Paul
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I’ve been a mountaineer and rock climber my entire life. When I found him radio and summits on the air, it just made sense. I’ve made it home safe thus far, had a few close calls, but that’s all part of the adventure. I don’t know how fun it would be for me if there wasn’t some risk involved. Like I said, bear spray is always the most effective because you can paint a wall between you and the bear. The problem with high caliber revolvers or it’s a high risk high reward situation. It really going to get one shot before the bear eats your face. Hi caliber revolvers are heavy so you need to have the strength to hold it long enough to aim accurately, and if it’s a full-size grizzly bear in a charge, you’re probably dealing with about 35 mph coming toward you. With an elevated heart rate most likely standing on uneven ground, possibly in snow hitting that shot is pretty hard to do. The idea of subcompact nine and 10 mm rounds is definitely not as appealing when you think about the thickness of grizzly, bear skull or the amount of fat they have. That being said high capacity feels really good you can shoot a lot. I don’t know there’s an exact science of this, and you can hear an opinion, every which way, that being said I spray these days. I have a few different firearms, but I think I’m going to leave them at home due to the weight and how cumbersome they are. Many of these Alaska peaks will be physically challenging, there will not be room for any extra anything.
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Skip the gun and use a jet pack to exit!
To all intents and purposes those in CA can’t practically have guns in the wilderness nor anywhere as far as I can tell. Fortunately we are unlikely to encounter a grizzly.
The environmental irony is that the CA state animal is a grizzly and features prominently on our flag (we also appear to be a Republic) but predecessors have hunted the grizzly to extinction in CA.
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Well if nobody hears from me anymore the jetpack has failed. Come find me, probably under some snow somewhere cold.
On a side note I heard you in Scotland on 20m VARAC yesterday, AK is a first for me 
MM0ZFG
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That’s awesome, I am always on that mode. Propagation up here is wild! There is no telling where my signal goes.
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