Landed on the Ruth Glacier.

Hello, Adrian here.

I am writing you this blog from my tent on the Ruth glacier, Alaska!! How surreal.. We have a sat-phone hooked up to the MacBook and 3 solar panels soaking up the strong afternoon sun.

This morning we were enjoyed coffee and a full American sized breakfast at the Roadhouse cafe. Talkeetna, the last taste of civilisation for a while, before boarding the tiny Beaver ski plane that flew us on. Paul, the owner of Talkeetna Air Taxi, is a very skilled pilot and because the weather wasnÕt looking great this morning, he was called in especially to fly us on.

The flight in was something else! During the 40min flight we crossed the Alaskan tundra and over the foothills of the Greater Ranges. Paul took us on a route that included some very close fly-bys of some of the mountains out here, so the guys could get a better look at the conditions on some of the routes.

No fixed objectives yet, Matt and Jon are very laid back about what they hope to do, and only now, as we have established camp on the glacier can the scouting missions begin!

We're camped about 800m from the base of Mount Dickey, with many other faces a short ski journey away.

Matt has just melted some snow for tea so I'm off!

Tomorrow, the fun begins..

Adrian.

The Alaskan Gorge film is supported by Patagonia and Osprey Packs.

Filming in Alaska for Hot Aches latest climbing film

Hi there,

My name is Adrian Samarra, this is my first post on the Hot Aches blog so I should probably explain who I am. To see some of my past work, feel free to check out my site: adriansamarra.com.

I am an up and coming adventure filmmaker and only finished uni last Friday! I have been studying Media Production at the University of Lincoln for 3 years and a few weeks ago I received a very interesting phone call from Hot Aches. Having worked with them on and off for a few years now, cutting my teeth on some of the more local projects, I was naturally very happy when they called with an interesting proposition…

Adrian filming in Arctic Greenland, January 2012

Hot Aches are making a film this year in association with Patagonia and supported by Osprey Packs. We are going to be following the climbing adventures of Matt Helliker and Jon Bracey, two of Britain’s top alpinists, on their adventures in the Ruth Gorge, Alaska.

Matt and Jon. Taken from their website: vertigoguides.com

With many other projects in the pipeline already this year, Hot Aches decided to send me out with the guys to capture their efforts and hopefully bring back some exciting footage. I’ll be spending about 3 weeks out there, most of the time, in a tent on the glacier. For that alone, no end of equipment is needed, including solar charging units, multiple hard drives and enough batteries to sink a ship! Look out for a kit testing video in a few days, where I’ll let you know what I’m taking.

To keep me safe on the glacier and help me move around the gorge, John Baker (mountain guide) is also coming on the trip. This is really helpful as it means I'll be able to get more out of the trip by getting better angles.

After the trip, I’ll be editing the film and hopefully have it ready for festivals in the autumn.

As much as possible, there will be updates on the trip via the Hot Aches Twitter, so if you’re in to that, we’ll be using the hashtag #AKgorge

I am really looking forward to this trip and cannot wait to get out there. I must say, I feel very lucky to have this opportunity and for it to be my first project a week after finishing uni!

Adrian.