British Columbia

by Andrew Hinkelman Tuesday, February 16, 2010 ANCHORAGE, Alaska -- She didn't make it out of qualifying, but Callan Chythlook-Sifsof nevertheless made history Tuesday. The Girdwood snowboarder became the first Alaska Native to compete in the Winter Olympics, taking two qualifying runs in snowboard cross. But a track made treacherous by poor weather claimed a number of riders, including Chythlook-Sifsof, who fell during her initial run but finished, then crashed again during the second run and did not finish.

by Andrew Hinkelman Sunday, February 14, 2010 ANCHORAGE, Alaska -- Jeremy Teela was the shining star among the Americans in Sunday's 10-kilometer biathlon sprint. The Anchorage biathlete finished ninth among 88 starters at the 2010 Winter Olympics. Kasilof's Jay Hakkinen was 54th. France's Vincent Jay won gold with a time of 24 minutes, 7.8 seconds. Emil Hegle Svendsen of Norway claimed silver and Croatia's Jakov Fak took Bronze. Teela's time was 1:13.

by Andrew Hinkelman Monday, February 22, 2010 ANCHORAGE, Alaska -- Kikkan Randall continued her strong performance in the Winter Olympics on Monday, pairing up with Caitlin Compton to finish sixth in the cross-country team sprint. The Americans were in eighth heading into the final lap, but Randall turned in a strong last leg to edge out Canada by 0.2 seconds in a photo finish and move up two spots. Randall and Compton finished their semifinal heat in third place to earn an automatic berth in the finals.

by Andrew Hinkelman Friday, February 26, 2010 ANCHORAGE, Alaska -- Jay Hakkinen and Jeremy Teela completed their 2010 Winter Olympics on Friday, helping the United States to a 13th-place finish in the 4x7.5-kilometer biathlon relay. Hakkinen, from Kasilof, took the second leg and Anchorage's Teela had the anchor. Lowell Bailey and Tim Burke had the other two legs. The United States was 13th after the first leg, 12th after each of the next two, and finally finished in 13th.

by John Carpenter Wednesday, February 17, 2010 VANCOUVER, British Columbia -- A bit of an Olympic controversy is brewing in Vancouver having to do with the Olympic flame. Spectators and the media aren't happy with the way the cauldron is barricaded away from people. They're especially upset about the ugly chain link fence they have to view the flame through. Olympic officials responded by opening a gap in the fence so cameras can take pictures more easily.

A warm southeasterly flow from the SE Panhandle through Southcentral and into the Southwest, will continue to bring above-average temperatures.  Bering Sea low pressure is weakening and being absorbed into a trough over the Gulf of Alaska.  An emerging area of low pressure over the North Pacific is bringing heavy rain to the Pacific Northwest coast and coastal British Columbia.  It is moving north and will rotate through the Gulf into the...

by Andrew Hinkelman Tuesday, February 16, 2010 ANCHORAGE, Alaska -- Jeremy Teela was unable to duplicate his success from Sunday in Tuesday's 12.5-kilometer biathlon pursuit. The Anchorage biathlete incurred two penalties in each of two rounds of standing shooting, sending him tumbling from his American-record ninth-place finish in the 10k sprint to 24th. Still, Teela was the top American finisher, well ahead of Lowell Bailey. Kasilof's Jay Hakkinen started 54th and finished 57th.

by Andrew Hinkelman Monday, February 15, 2010 ANCHORAGE, Alaska -- Holly Brooks made her Olympic debut Monday with a strong middle-of-the-pack showing in the women's 10-kilometer cross-country ski race. Brooks, a coach at Alaska Pacific University, clocked in with a time of 27 minutes, 17.6 seconds, good for 42nd place out of 78 starters. She was the third-fastest American behind Caitlin Compton (30th) and Morgan Arritola (34th). Anchorage's Kikkan Randall, who would have been the heavy favorite to be the fastest from Team USA, decided to skip the race to prepare for her strongest event, the sprint.

The Inside Passage’s waterways will be a little busier starting this summer. Disney Cruise Line said Thursday it will make an initial sailing to Southeast Alaska in May, then offer 14 seven-night cruises from Seattle in 2012. Beginning May 28 of next year, the Disney Wonder will visit Tracy Arm, Skagway, Juneau and Ketchikan, as well as Victoria, British Columbia. The company plans to work with local tour operators to offer excursion packages at ports of call, including glacier tours in Juneau, salmon fishing in Ketchikan and gold panning in Skagway.

by Andrew Hinkelman Thursday, February 25, 2010 ANCHORAGE, Alaska -- Kikkan Randall got the United States off to a strong start in the 4x5-kilometer team relay on Thursday at the Winter Olympics, but her teammates were unable to keep up the pace. The Americans dropped from fourth after Randall's opening leg to finish 12th. Sixteen teams competed in the race, which was divided into two legs of classic style followed by two legs of freestyle. Anchorage's Holly Brooks struggled against the field in the second leg, falling back to 13th.