Bill Hatcher Photography

Mountain Biking across Alaska circa 1996

 

These are images are from a National Geographic magazine story I shot in 1996. My mission was to document three adventurers Roman Dial, Paul Adkins and Carl Tobin as they mountain biked the length of the Alaskan Range. They started at the Canadian border and rode 775 miles to Lake Clark in Western Alaska. The trip took them 7 weeks. I joined them on four segments of the trip. I photographed the start as well as the last week of the trip plus I joined them during the major mountain and glacier crossing sections of the trip. I utilized Alaska bush planes to rejoin the group.

The biggest challenge was actually riding and shooting. I would alternate riding in front, to the side or if I wanted to capture the landscape they were riding into I would hold back as they rode into the scene. Probably the most anxious moments on the shoot were the glacier crossings. Falling into a crevasses when riding across snow covered glaciers was a deadly hazard. In the photo below Paul has just stepped into small crevasse. He is tied to the other cyclist as well as to me. Notice how the rope is tight on Paul, If he plummets further a tight rope will keep us from being jerked off our feet. If he does fall into the abyss and our light 7 mm rope does not snap when shock loaded we will try to arrest his fall and then haul him back to the surface. On the trip I fell into two crevasses and I only needed to be pulled out of one crevasse. Romans advice was I should step more softly.

Another danger were the numerous river crossings. It's bad enough to fall during a river crossing and to be swept down river. This did happen to me once, but because the water is glacier melt and the air temp is in the 40's hyperthermia is going to set in fast. When I lost my footing on one river crossing. I heard Roman yell for me to hold onto my bike. If I lost a grip on on the bike it would be lost in the rapids. As soon as I made it to shore a bonfire was lighted and I was warmed up. During that particular swim I drown my Nikon f4 camera and the 24 mm f2.8 lens. I was left with one more camera body, my back-up body, and two lenses a 70-150 zoom and a 16-35 zoom. I didn't swim anymore rivers so the single body lasted until we reach our next supply 5 days later.

  What is amazing about this trip is it was my first trip to Alaska. The landscapes I passed through probably see a a handful of visitors a year if even that. The trip pressed all my buttons. The vast landscapes, the adventure and to roll through this country on a bike was truly extraordinary. 

 

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I have to hand it to these three adventurers they lead me with their extensive wilderness knowledge and strength safely through one of the most dangerous wilderness regions in North America. We had mishaps, Paul previously frost bitten feet were made worse by having constantly cold wet feet. The condition made it difficult for his to walk during the last few days of the trip. I lost nearly 15 pounds of body weight as I couldn't get enough calories with the freeze dried food and energy bars ration. Roman and Carl suggested I bring more snickers bars next trip.

It was also on this trip that I learned a lot about light weight packing, packrafts for crossing rivers and the importance of good organized logistics to keep everyone healthy and to insure a successful expedition. You go out into this country unprepared and inexperience you will suffer the consequences. Despite all of the hardship and the many long climbs with the bike on our back we did get in miles and miles of great mountain biking. What I didn't realize at the time was this thing we were doing, Roman called it "hell biking" was to become a popular world wide adventure activity. In 2018 it's got a catchier name, bikepacking and there are gear manufactures who sell to the growing number of people who chose to travel this way. I can say that this trip was maybe my second or third hell bike trip and 

 

today, 22 years after this trip I am still bike packing. Today my bike is a full suspension carbon fiber and I have a slew of specialty light weight gear to stash my goods for long over-night bike adventures,  but that's simple progress. What I really enjoy is with the passing years I have never lost the will to get out there and suffer to see beautiful new country.

 

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High Camera Angle of View

It's 4:41 am and two bike riders are moving through a cactus maze in the Sonoran Desert.

Dawn is starting to color the sky and I have my camera 20 feet up on a portable camera stand. There's no wind, but I have the stand stabilized by several ropes. The setup is stable enough for a sharp 25 second exposure as the mountain bikers ride through the scene. I do a few takes then move to the next location, the shoot is wrapped by 6:15 and we are off to Hotel Congress for breakfast at the Cup.

Nice when everything works out as planned.

Bike Burn

City biking has a few highlights. Rode through this recent burn on the North Shore near Sydney. This place seemed like a perfect spot to stop and shoot a photo. I had my little Sony RX100 camera and got the shot. Melanie wasn't able to ride through without getting covered in soot.

A Time for Show and Tell

I am off to the U.S. for a few weeks. My first stop is National Geographic Magazine in D.C. It's always nice to check in with my editors and others whom I work with at National Geographic. The visit is also an opportunity to reconnect, say hello as well as show some of the photography stories and projects I'vebeen involved in recently. They're a few stories to tell so I've put together a "show and tell"  from the

Sand Storm in Musandam, Oman

In my experience a sandstorm should include a raging wind followed by choking dust. The sand storm that blew in from Iran and hit Oman a few days ago came quietly during the night. The next morning it appeared like a white fog and five days later it is still hanging thick in the air. All week the flights into Kasab have been cancelled so we rented a 4x4 and hit the road for the seven hour trip via the UAE to Musandam. In Kasab I got my hands on a bike and was told Khor Nejd,  a small bay on the Masandam Peninsula, is beautiful in the morning. I guess I didn't have the right filter. I will have to return for that view on a clear day.

Bridge City Cycle

It's an urban jungle out there and I've discovered there is no better way of exploring the concrete trails and roads of Sydney than on my bike. I am especially impressed with Sydney's many bridges. Maybe Sydney should be renamed the bridge city. Below are photos riding around Sydney's two largest bridges the ANZAC and the Harbour Bridge from a view you won't see in a car. My thanks to riders Kath Bicknell and Mike Blewit of the Subaru/MarathonMTB team.

 

Perth, Western Australia

I am back from Western Australia and decided to wait to post images from WA since I was too busy to post on the road.

I only spent a day in Perth, this city is said to be the most remote big city in the southern hemishere. The photo here is looking at the city sky line on the banks of the Swan River. Take note of the cycle path, these cycle and walker dedicated paths are everywhere in Perth.  That gives this city big points in my book. I was up and around exploring the city for a couple of hours in the morning. Not much cycle traffic in the city at 5 in the morning. They don't recognized day-light savings out here so sunrise is at 5:10 am. That means i have to be up at 4 am to catch the sunrise. It's going to be some long days for me while I am out here.

This is my first time to Western Australia so there is some country to explore. I have four days to myself before I leave for my assignment into the bush. The first stop on my tour will be the Southern Forests of WA.

On Assignment: A look inside My Mountain Biking Photo Bag

I am packing now for a job next week in Western Australia. I am excited about this trip because it will be my first time in that country. Deciding what photo gear to bring for this shoot is tricky because the assignment includes a week of pedaling 400 km off pavement on trails with no support vehicle. Will I ever I do a photo assignment that was actually easy? The big challenge on this assignment is I will have to carry all my own gear. My solution is

three wheels

I am in the US for a few weeks and just now have a chance to record some of the sights and activities during my travels. My first stop was in Flagstaff Arizona to see my friend Steve Garro. Steve and I have done many bikes trips together. About six years ago Steve took a hit and lost much of the movement of his legs. That has not stopped his wheeled fun. He still builds custom bikes at Coconino Cycles and gets out on his hand bike. Here are some pics from a rainy morning in the San Francisco Peaks.

 

Steve tells me this mode of cycling is hard work, but it's a great way to get into the mountains. We had to run out of the mountains when the rain and lighting increased.

Sydneys First Mountain Bike Park

Sydney has a new mountain bike park, it's first. I went there yesterday with riders Nic Learmonth, Kath Bicknell and Melanie Bell to check it out.

It's located on Sydney's North Shore at the Golden Jubilee Sports Field in North Wahroonga and borders Kuringai National Park. You couldn't find a more spectacular setting for a bike park. The new park has three trails with a XC trail on the steep west facing hillside and on the hilltop there is the pump track and bike skills trail.

My vote of the coolest trail goes to the XC- flow track and it makes for some nice photos as well.

The park was built in a short few months by World Trail an outfit based in Queensland. These pro's from the far north know about trail building in wet country and how to build a sustainable trail in a place like Sydney where it rains hard, I have no doubts this trail is built to last. The park's official opening isn't until next month, but the trails were open and already busy with riders this weekend. The bike park links