Adak, Birthplace of the Winds

The March 24 Mountaineers meeting will feature a talk by Tanja Pietraß on adventuring in the far Aleutians. Two Alaska adventure buddies (Raz and Tanja) set out for Adak — a windswept Aleutian island closer to Russia than the continental U.S. Once home to a major naval base, Adak now stands as one of America’s most remote and hauntingly beautiful frontiers. Here, volcanoes rise through the clouds, rain falls horizontally, and the lush landscape feels alive under your feet.

Armed with ultralight gear (which the Aleutian wilderness quickly humbled), we pushed through three backpacking trips and multiple day hikes across raw, untamed terrain. Our talk dives into the logistics of getting there, what it takes to explore this far-flung island, and the story of an adventure we’ll never forget.

Tanja grew up in Bavaria where she spent spring and fall vacations hiking in the alps with her parents, skiing in the winters. Her love for the outdoors has inspired her many adventures all over the world, including bike touring, climbing, high altitude mountaineering, whitewater canoeing, caving, cave diving, skiing, snowboarding, and her current favorite, backpacking. Her latest passion is to explore the most remote corners of the arctic U.S.

We welcome all to this Mountaineers’ meeting on the regular fourth Tuesday of the month. The social hour, with cookies, begins at 6:45 PM and the program at 7:00 PM. The presentation will be in-person at Los Alamos Nature Center; the slides will be live-streamed on Zoom. Registration is required to Zoom and recommended for in-person – we would love to see your smiling face. Registration details are available at https://peecla.app.neoncrm.com/np/clients/peecla/event.jsp?event=64490&.