‘The temperature is half a dozen degrees below zero; moisture freezes in the air and falls down on us like a glitter shower....’ The USA’s 49th state can be cold, but there are plenty of places to wrap up warm. Travelling from Anchorage out to historic fur-trapper towns and a Russian trading post, Pearson encounters frozen rivers and vintage planes, log cabins and wild salmon, and a cast of gritty but welcoming local characters. He’s also in time to witness the start of the Iditarod, the world-famous sled-dog race across a thousand miles of tundra and ‘Alaska’s answer to the Tour de France’. An epic but fragile wilderness that’s under threat from climate change.
Listen and subscribe to our ‘Escape Routes’ podcast episode on St Petersburg on iTunes, Spotify or download on Android.