‘Sunrise over Bering’. Photo by Tanja Pietraß

BY WILLIAM PRIEDHORSKY
Los Alamos Mountaineers

The March 24 Mountaineers meeting will feature a talk by Tanja Pietraß on adventuring in the far Aleutians. Along with her Alaska adventure partner Raz, Tanja traveled to Adak—a windswept Aleutian island closer to Russia than to the continental United States. Once home to a major U.S. naval base, Adak now stands as one of America’s most remote and hauntingly beautiful frontiers, where volcanoes rise into the clouds, rain often falls sideways, and the saturated landscape seems alive underfoot.

Equipped with ultralight gear—quickly tested by the island’s harsh conditions—they completed three backpacking trips and numerous day hikes across rugged, largely untouched terrain. Tanja will discuss the challenges of reaching and exploring this remote destination, the practical logistics involved, and the story of an unforgettable expedition.

Tanja grew up in Bavaria, where she spent spring and fall vacations hiking in the Alps with her parents and winters skiing. Her lifelong love of the outdoors has led to adventures around the world, including bike touring, climbing, high-altitude mountaineering, whitewater canoeing, caving and cave diving, skiing, snowboarding, and her current favorite, backpacking. Her latest passion is exploring the most remote corners of Arctic Alaska.

We welcome all to this Mountaineers’ meeting on the regular fourth Tuesday of the month. The social hour, with cookies, begins at 6:45 p.m. and the program at 7 p.m. The presentation will be in person at the Los Alamos Nature Center; the slides will be live-streamed on Zoom. Registration is required for Zoom and recommended for in-person attendance—we would love to see your smiling face. Registration details are available here.