| Posted in: Land Package, Planning
The Surprises of Winter Experiences
Blog post by Joe Hall, Vice President of Fleet Operations
Joe Hall, the Vice President of Fleet operations for John Halls’ Alaska, splits time between Minnesota and Alaska, overseeing all motorcoach operations. His knowledge and love of Alaska is secondary to his love of motorcoaches. When Joe is not overseeing all motorcoach operations, he loves to spend his time on the Mississippi River bass fishing.
He actively operates the John Hall’s Alaska winter programs that started in 2014. Joe continues to be instrumental in the development and implementation of winter itinerary options, while focusing on continuing to improve the destination and visitor experience year after year.
“Thank you to JHA longtime partners for helping develop and refine the winter experiences. When they can easily say no, they have continued to embrace ideas and bend over backwards to make sure John Hall’s Alaska has the best winter product available to visitors.”
John Hall’s Alaska family recognizes the incredible industry partners, especially during winter, but we also recognize the immense amount of support from JHA travelers. We also recognize the most important individuals, our guests, including first time visitors to Alaska, repeat travelers with John Hall’s Alaska and even repeat winter travelers with John Hall’s Alaska. You know a product is incredible when the same tour is taken over and over!
Favorite Parts of Hosting Winter Tours
Joe has been hosting March winter trips since 2014 spending six weeks in Alaska from February through March. In the early days, he worked directly alongside John Hall III and now alongside our resident Alaska expert, Matt Lowe, as of the last five years. Working alongside someone like Matt Lowe showcases the true friendship that exists, only enhancing the guest experience. Working together in Alaska for these two is the opportunity to both share a love of Alaska, but also work with one of your best friends.
While that feature has fierce competition, there are other surprises awaiting guests as they travel to Alaska. Because of the quiet nature of winter verse summer, every detail seems significantly more personal during winter months. It is often the first time we have seen our partners since September or October. With the additional light, comes additional excitement and an authentic small business, true family feel from both tour partners and John Hall’s Alaska operation. Smaller groups with black label experiences make taking in the energy from JHA Tour Partners even more personable. “This tends to be what John Hall’s Alaska clients remember most when traveling home from Alaska.”
The goal of John Hall’s Alaska is to always ensure visitors fall in love with Alaska the same way John Hall Sr. did in 1955 traveling with our grandfather. As I take people to the airport, I am continually in humbling awe of the genuine excitement experienced by guests during their time in Alaska. This is most often apparent as guests see things they never expected to witness in their lifetime, like aurora borealis dancing across the sky, the excitement of the dog mushing teams down 4th Avenue as The Iditarod kicks off, winter flightseeing and landing on the ice in front of Knik or Mount Denali’s massive glaciers or taking part in winter activities like snowmobiles (snowmachines as they say in Alaska), hiking, skiing the slopes of Mount Alyeska or feeling the wind on your face traveling by dog sled during the Alaska adventure.
What surprised you about winter?
Winter in Alaska always amazes me. No matter if you’re seeing the Aurora Borealis for the first time or for the 10th time, there is a magic to the experience. One item that continually takes me back, no matter how many times I see them, the sky changing so quickly from pitch black to a flurry of colors filled by northern lights. This isn’t just a slight green stripe through the sky, rather the northern lights dancing and filling the entire sky, lighting up the world with its colors. Aurora borealis doesn’t just sit on the horizon, rather fills every corner of looking up to the horizon and left to right.
Growing up in Minnesota, I always assumed Alaska was just colder based on the pictures. This still holds true for so many who desire to visit during the winter. However, there is a certain difference between experiencing parts of Alaska with a damp cold verse a dry cold. Like we hear down south “it’s a dry heat”, the same is true for a dry cold. Negative temperatures in Fairbanks are often much more tolerable versus conditions around Anchorage which produce a damper cold. John Hall’s Alaska prepares all guests with proper winterwear, but knowing the difference between the dry and wet cold will make a difference on guest comfort level of traveling to Alaska in the winter while being able to get outside and experiencing it during the time presented. The last surprise is of course the wildlife. Most animals hibernate or head south for the winter, but by March, things are starting to return to spring and summer. Moose can be spotted anywhere, in fact the lower elevations tend to be especially good during the winter months. Watch out even in town! The whales, both humpback and orcas, return to Kenai Fjords National Park and can offer some of the best sightings in Seward area and Resurrection Bay as they return from winters in warmer waters. Sheep creep on the mountains, often a bit lower due to the snow levels and the Beluga Whales of Turnagain Arm seem to be as visible as ever during this time.
Appeal of adding Coldfoot and Arctic Circle?
There is a certain appeal or romance with rural locations in Alaska. Sometimes these locations may be the most challenging to access but the adventure far exceeds any obstacles. Coldfoot Alaska is one of those magical places and we are extremely excited to expand the JHA winter offerings. “Spending an entire week chasing aurora in the best locations around Alaska with an entire itinerary designed to this – I couldn’t imagine anything better!”
The Brooks Range provides a breathtaking and peaceful experience. As visitors head north from Fairbanks, they soon experience the jagged covered mountains which provide the perfect backdrop for winter photo opportunities and northern lights dancing across the sky. If it is even possible, being in the remote Brooks Range makes the Aurora seem to be enhanced even more.
Coldfoot is a remote location that is going to give visitors the true feeling of many things – how big Alaska really is, how remote Alaska locations can truly be, but also how much beauty and land there is north of Fairbanks. Most summer programs and visitors are limited on time and don’t visit that far north. Further, the accessibility of these locations can also be challenging. It takes the right company, with the right partnerships, to provide these amazing opportunities to visit somewhere that is so off the beaten path yet will provide such an incredible experience.
Why would you recommend they visit now?
Aurora Borealis is a bucket list item for most people. There are only certain places in the world to experience northern lights at their strongest and most colorful pallet. When thinking of experiencing it, Alaska is often overlooked compared to similar destinations like Iceland and Finland. With Alaska right in our own back yard, there is no need to journey overseas. We might be biased, but also believe Alaska provides a far superior all around winter experience compared to anywhere else in the world.
2025 provides a year of the peak solar cycles, which happens every 11 years. Much like the eclipse experiences, it is about being in the right place at the right time to take advantage of a natural phenomenon. With the heightened solar cycles, the activity and opportunities are also heightened. Winter and aurora season travel in Alaska has expanded immensely in the past 10 years. Winter travel remains a wonderful and welcoming place with the expansion of visitor offerings. Visitors can take advantage of a variety of experiences around the state, yet remains slightly quieter time versus other peek months. While there is so much to see in Alaska, and often those visitors coming during Aurora season have been before, there is so much more opportunity to witness the incredible state with a winter visit. The opportunities are endless around Alaska!
Winter and aurora season travel in Alaska has expanded immensely in the past 10 years. Winter travel remains a wonderful and welcoming place with the expansion of visitor offerings. Visitors can take advantage of a variety of experiences around the state, yet remains slightly quieter time versus other peek months. While there is so much to see in Alaska, and often those visitors coming during Aurora season have been before, there is so much more opportunity to witness the incredible state with a winter visit. The opportunities are endless around Alaska!
What Is Next for John Hall’s Alaska in Alaska’s Winter
John Hall’s Alaska is proud to evaluate the programs following each year, ensuring that guest feedback and evaluations results are taken into consideration. “We are always trying to make the visitor experience with John Hall’s Alaska better.”
As we look forward to 2025 and beyond, we are excited to continuing showcasing The Iditarod Sled Dog Race. 2025 also marks the 100th Anniversary of the original serum run from Anchorage to Nome, saving the community from the Diphtheria outbreak. While the race celebrates the Alaskan activity of Dog Mushing, the race and and serum run share the history of using the same incredible path to Nome. Help celebrate the incredible venture to save a remote community while embracing one of Alaska’s favorite past times and lifestyles, dog mushing. John Hall’s Alaska looks forward to the celebration of a truly, one-of-a-kind piece of Alaska and United States history. We love the experience, the athletes (the dogs) and the kindhearted and energetic dog mushers.
For 2025, John Hall’s Alaska also looks forward to continuing to support Alaska’s rural communities during the guest visit. John Hall’s Alaska is proud to feature a gourmet Alaska chef visiting an Alaska community during the guest fly out to an official Iditarod checkpoint, sharing food and supplies with the community members as a thank you for welcoming the John Hall’s Alaska guests into their hometown.
“At John Hall’s Alaska and through myself, we vow to stick with what has worked and made the winter experiences successful. We also vow to continue refining the winter product offering to maintain the best aurora, winter multiday experiences available to Alaska visitors. We are honored to be among the best in Alaska, especially operating during snow and Aurora season, all of which is possible due to our incredible guests and one of a kind Alaska partners. “
Interested in booking a winter trip to Alaska? Give us a call at 800-325-2270 or book your trip now through our booking request form.