Ultima Thule Lodge

Spring is Here! Check out what's been happening in the Thules.

Mon, 09 Apr 2012 00:00:00 +0000

It’s another beautiful day in the Wrangells. Sunny. Blue bird. Not a cloud in the sky. Normal for this time of year, but never tired of. Combined with the unusually massive amounts of snow and remarkably stable slope conditions the scene has been one of utter snow monster bliss here in the Thules.

Already two weeks into the 2012 season and time is literally flying by as the props spin busily each day.

At the beginning of March Paul and Alpha took off to chase the Iditarod. This year the passenger was a reporter from a Nome based radio station and they followed the front of the pack racers for up-to-the-minute coverage.

The Otter has been working hard helping NASA and The University of Alaska Fairbanks study the movements of glaciers all the way from the Southeast panhandle to our local massifs. This is an extensive yearly project and ongoing throughout the summer.

Now all the planes are home and all the people too. Ultima Thule has been dug out and warmed up. There’s wood smoke in the valley and a full table each evening in the main lodge.

Our perennial Swiss friends, Ruedi and Reto are here and the second annual Andrew McClean Wilderness Ski Week was a huge success. Five clients descended over 35 thousand vertical feet and earned those turns with another 22 thousand feet climbed in just five days. It’s not too early to starting thinking about your plans for spring 2013… The third annual AMWSW is filling up early.

It’s good to be back in the company of our extended family members, Bill Jarrell & Piper and Kevin Ditzler and to welcome some new faces into the crew for this season. Already the work is plentiful and plans for new lodge projects are underway.

Last year we updated and upsized every bed in the Guest Cabins. This year you’ll be snuggling into feather top mattresses in excess of King and XL Twin sizes. Last year the Guest Sauna underwent a complete transformation and three of the cabins got beautiful new bathrooms. Already this spring the Otter and the main lodge building got decked out with new leather seating and more luxurious upgrades are in store. At Ultima Thule we believe that your creature comforts should be indulged after your senses are overwhelmed by nature!

Now the rhythm of skiers and climbers passing through Ultima Thule is as natural as these endlessly sunny days. We’re enjoying the peacefulness that winter still holds over the landscape but look forward to the green months when the daylight is unlimited and the possibilities are boundless. It’s promising to be another dynamic year in these mountains.

The adventure begins and we hope to see you here, in the Thules, soon! We'd love to hear from you so get in touch anytime!

-The Claus Family

The Wrangell Mountains... On Your Coffee Table!!

Mon, 26 Dec 2011 00:00:00 +0000

Ruedi Homberger or "The Snow Monster" as he's better known in the Wrangells, has been a perennial fixture at the lodge during his favorite season, spring skiing, for close to 20 years. He and his Swiss family have become dear members of the extended Claus Clan. Over the years Ruedi has documented the goings on and the seasonal moods of this wild kingdom. It is now our privilege to see his unmatched collection of Wrangell Mountain photographs honored in such a beautiful way. Thanks to the writing and artistic input of Jona and Jon Vanzyle (also fixtures in the Claus Clan) this coffee table book stands out as a glimpse into a world few people see.

If you have enjoyed the photos on this website, then pick up a copy of My Wrangell Mountains and you’ll be blown away. Available through your local book seller or University of Alaska Press.

FROM THE PRESS:

FAIRBANKS - Flipping through the pages of “My Wrangell Mountains,” a new book featuring the work of Swiss photographer Ruedi Homberger, will quickly send readers searching for adequate superlatives to describe what it contains.

End to Another Great Season

Tue, 01 Nov 2011 00:00:00 +0000

What a great year! The really good ones seem to go by in the blink of an eye and this was just that. We were lucky to share our home and this incredible wilderness with new friends from all over the globe. Over all the weather was fantastic, giving us endless days of sunshine at the lodge and many beautiful afternoons to fly across the biggest glaciers and cruise the Pacific coast line. Fall was abundant, yielding an incredible harvest of blue berries, raspberries and high bush cranberries, plus a surplus of veggies from our garden.

As the seasons change it’s a welcome break from the busy pace of summer and a time to enjoy our own travels and adventures to far off places. The planes are sleeping in the hanger and a caretaker is keeping the lodge as the snows begin to fall.

This winter will see the family going in many directions, starting with Morocco where Donna and Ellie will be presenting the lodge to an elite array of travel designers at the PURE Life Experiences Travel Show. Then Paul and Logan will come over to join Donna and continue on to visit old friends throughout Europe and Africa.

Ellie and Ben will be checking out the coastline in Mexico for a few months and Jay will be hard at work in the Northern parts of Alaska flying cargo to many small villages with Ryan Air.

Grandma and Grandpa are holding down the fort in Anchorage and taking care of all the dogs! Thanks Granny and Pops!

A big thanks also goes out to the other wonderful people who help make Ultima Thule the special place that it is, our fabulous extended family who work hard to keep the place and planes running! Piper and Kevin, Tal, Bill, Loni, Dee, Cia, Collie, Arturo and Elisa, Joe, Andrew and everyone else who comes and goes throughout the summer. Well done and thank you!

And to our guests, here’s to an inspiring 2012. We hope to see you next year!

All the best from the Claus family

PS. Keep checking back, we’ll be updating this blog throughout the winter from various locations.

New Sauna at Thule!

Sun, 02 Oct 2011 03:07:05 +0000

An Alaskan sauna is not so much a steam room as it is a full bathhouse. In the bush where running water and electricity are luxuries most people do without, the sauna is as much a place of relaxation as it is a room that replaces a shower.

If you’ve ever been to the lodge then you probably have a fond memory of an evening spent soaking in the wood heat on the sauna bench. While the old building did its job well, we decided this year that it needed a bit of a facelift. So at the hands of our extremely skilled carpenter, Kevin Ditzler, the old sauna was transformed from a traditional rustic bathhouse into a finely detailed self-spa and relaxation building. A custom copper sink was installed for mixing hot and cold water and the old pot on top of the wood stove was replaced with another beautiful custom creation.

Check out these photos. Better yet, come test the new sauna for yourself and discover the self-spa products that make the experience unique and incredibly rejuvenating.

Made here at the lodge from minerals as natural as silky river mud, Alaskan Glacial Skincare is crafted and bottled by our very own Piper Kuntz. Products available to enjoy in the sauna and at home include, sugar scrubs, moisturizing creams, aromatherapy steam bags, conditioning lip moisturizers and, of course, the authentic glacier mud mask.

There’s nothing better after a day in the wilderness, than an evening visit to the Thule Sauna.

Granny and Ben run the McCarthy 1/2 marathon!

Tue, 06 Sep 2011 19:01:07 +0000

Our marathon running granny does it again!

At 77 years young she’s competed in almost 30 full marathons and a pile of halfers to boot. This was her 4^th running of the McCathy halfer and second annual with grandson-in-law Ben. Ben goes along to keep away the local black bears and provide moral support! It was a beautiful day and the fall colors were bursting as they crossed the finish line, hand-in-hand, shaving a full 8 minutes off their time from last year!

Way to go champs! We love you!

Alaska's Ultima Thule Lodge to attend PURE Life Experiences Travel Trade Show in Morocco.

Wed, 01 Jun 2011 00:00:00 +0000

Operating strictly on a by invitation only basis, PURE Life Experiences is the world’s leading networking platform and market place for the Experiential and Transformational Travel economy.

Ultima Thule is excited to take part in this premier marketing event.

Donna and Ellie are heading to Morocco in November to let the travel industry know that at Ultima Thule we draw from our lifetime of experience to give our guests the experience of a lifetime.

Want to know more about PURE? http://www.purelifeexperiences.com

Introducing the NEW THULE BLOG!

Sun, 04 Sep 2011 00:00:00 +0000

This is the longer version of the post, the whole story....

This is where we'll be bearing our souls and sharing our secrets.

Well not really. In fact, if you really want to know what's going on out here I suggest you come visit because none of us at Thule are true blogers at heart.

But, you never know, it could get interesting so stay tuned.