Alaska

Natural Selection Ski Crowns Inaugural Winners At ‘Dream’ Alaska Venue

Published

11 months ago

April 18, 2025

Press Room

Natural Selection Ski Crowns Inaugural Winners At ‘Dream’ Alaska Venue

Craig Murray of New Zealand skis a line at the inaugural Natural Selection Tour Ski competition in … More Alaska

Natural Selection Tour / Chad Chomlack

Since Natural Selection Tour (NST) launched as a snowboard-only competition series in 2021, skiers have watched with envy as their single-board counterparts compete on the world’s premier big-mountain terrain, from Jackson, Wyoming, to British Columbia to Alaska.

In 2025, finally, it was skiers’ turn to get a firsthand taste of what NST is all about.

Starting this year, NST has expanded not only to skiing but also to surfing and mountain biking, aiming to crown the world’s best male and female athletes in all four disciplines.

“When I first saw the NST snowboard events, I thought that it was so cool, and I was jealous that we didn’t have something like that in freeskiing,” said French freeskier Manon Loschi, who took the win for the women in the inaugural NST Ski.

New Zealand’s Craig Murray earned the title of first-ever men’s champion.

At the heart of NST is the idea that athletes aren’t competing against one another so much as they’re competing against themselves, challenged by Mother Nature in some of the most awe-inspiring, inhospitable terrain on the planet.

That was certainly the case at Alaska’s Priority 1, a legendary big-mountain venue that has figured prominently in snowsports, including in NST founder Travis Rice’s The Fourth Phase (2016).

NST Ski 2025 was broadcast as live on Red Bull TV on April 17, showing off the venue’s massive spines and steep pitch, with riders’ lines spanning nearly 1,700 vertical feet.

“This is the ultimate venue,” said NST Ski event director Mike Douglas. “It forces riders to bring their full knowledge of skiing—freestyle, freeride, and the ability to adapt under pressure.”

Alaska’s Priority 1 is a legendary big-mountain venue

Natural Selection Tour / Chad Chomlack

Loschi, who had never been to Alaska or skied this terrain previously, didn’t mince words when asked to describe the experience of seeing the face for the first time.

“It’s definitely a crazy place,” the 23-year-old said. “It’s the most extreme terrain for skiing and snowboarding. Everything is big, steep and scary.”

Though Murray has skied Alaska, he had never dropped in on Priority 1.

“It was a wild feeling seeing it for the first time,” the 26-year-old said. “The experience was completed by flying into the extensive camp on a ski plane and landing on the glacier, then walking through the small city of tents and snow structures.”

After nearly a week of camping out on the glacier waiting for optimal weather conditions, 12 of the world’s best skiers (ranging from slopestyle Olympians to big-mountain freeriders, and everything in between) competed bracket-style in a contest that many said felt more like filming a segment.

The judges of the inaugural NST Ski competition—Sean Pettit, Dion Newport and Kristi Leskinen—evaluated riders using NST’s signature CREDO rubric (creativity, risk, execution, difficulty and overall flow), scoring runs in real time.

In the men’s final, Murray was up against close friend Sam Kuch. Murray’s run saw him link stylish 360s and flips, perfectly blending freeride and freestyle.

But Kuch put up a proper rebuttal, getting massive amplitude over a gap that spanned more than 100 feet.

“Dropping into the final with one of my best friends was beyond comprehension and the cherry on top,” Murray said.

The men’s field was rounded out by Markus Eder, Kai Jones, Kye Petersen, Colby Stevenson, Parker White and Max Palm (SWE).

Meanwhile, first-timer Loschi earned the women’s title despite her lack of experience in Alaska—and she did it against one of the most established veterans in women’s freeski, Michelle Parker.

France’s Manon Loschi skis a line in the inaugural Natural Selection Tour Ski in Alaska

Natural Selection Tour / Leslie Hittmeier

Maggie Voisin and Hedvig Wessel completed the women’s field.

“This is why Natural Selection matters,” said Parker, who also serves on the NST Ski athlete advisory committee. “It allows us to bring out the best in each other—watching Manon and the other skiers step up and progress skiing in real time like that was a moment I’ll never forget. Can’t wait to see how skiing evolves from here.”

The skiers felt like they were part of something special. “I was with so many people I look up to,” Loschi said. “It was crazy to be part of this; it was a dream.”

Murray said that NST adding a ski competition was an “amazing opportunity” for the athletes and “great for the sport.”

Indeed, it’s an exciting time for freeride. The Freeride World Tour just announced that next season, it will have a U.S. event for the first time since 2017. And this summer, the International Olympic Committee will issue a decision on whether or not freeride will make its debut at the 2030 Winter Olympics in the French Alps, after being recognized by the International Ski and Snowboard Federation as an official discipline in 2024.

These days, there are as many career paths open to freeride athletes as there are runs on a big-mountain face.

But athletes agree that there’s something special about NST, with its fusion of freestyle and freeride and its head-to-head format designed to root out the world’s best men and women in their respective disciplines.

“This is the kind of event that freeskiing was missing right now,” Loschi said. “The NST aligns so well with my vision of the sport and the creativity in the mountains.”

“Natural Selection organizes some of the best events that the outdoor sports industry has seen,” Murray said. “To be involved is a huge privilege.”

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Alaska

Musician performs under the aurora in Nenana — without gloves, in 17 degrees

Published

59 minutes ago

February 28, 2026

Press Room

Musician performs under the aurora in Nenana — without gloves, in 17 degrees

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) – A musician with Alaska Native roots recorded an hour-long live set in Interior Alaska beneath the aurora.

Chastity Ashley, a drummer, vocalist and DJ who performs under the name Neon Pony, celebrated a year since she traveled to Nenana to record a live music set beneath the northern lights for her series Beats and Hidden Retreats.

Ashley, who has Indigenous roots in New Mexico, said she was drawn to Alaska in part because of the role drums play in Alaska Native culture. A handmade Alaskan hand drum, brought to her by a man from just outside Anchorage, was incorporated into the performance in February 2025.

Recording in the cold

The team spent eight days in Nenana waiting for the aurora to appear. Ashley said the lights did not come out until around 4 a.m., and she performed a continuous, uninterrupted hour-long set in 17-degree weather without gloves.

“It was freezing. I couldn’t wear gloves because I’m actually playing, yeah, hand drums and holding drumsticks. And there was ice underneath my feet,” Ashley said.

“So, I had to really utilize my balance and my willpower and my ability to just really immerse in the music and let go and make it about the celebration of what I was doing as opposed to worrying about all the other elements or what could go wrong.”

She said she performed in a leotard to allow full range of motion while drumming, DJing and singing.

Filming on Nenana tribal land

Ashley said she did not initially know the filming location was on indigenous land. After local authorities told her the decision was not theirs to make, she contacted the Nenana tribe directly for permission.

“I went into it kind of starting to tell them who I was and that I too was a part of a native background,” Ashley said. “And they just did not even care. They’re like, listen, we’re about to have a party for one of our friends here. Go and do what you like.”

Ashley said the tribe gave her full permission to film on the reservation, and that the aurora footage seen in the episode was captured there.

Seeing the aurora for the first time

Ashley said the Nenana performance marked her first time seeing the northern lights in person.

“It felt as if I were awake in a dream,” she said. “It really doesn’t seem real.”

She said she felt humbled and blessed to perform beneath the aurora and to celebrate its beauty and grandeur through her music.

“I feel incredibly humbled and blessed that not only did I get to take part in seeing something like that, but to play underneath it and celebrate its beauty and its grandeur.”

The Alaska episode is the second installment of Beats and Hidden Retreats, which is available on YouTube at @NeonPony. Ashley said two additional episodes are in production and she hopes to make it back up to Alaska in the future.

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Alaska

Over $150K worth of drugs seized from man in Juneau, police say

Published

13 hours ago

February 27, 2026

Press Room

Over 0K worth of drugs seized from man in Juneau, police say

JUNEAU, Alaska (KTUU) – An Alaska drug task force seized roughly $162,000 worth of controlled substances during an operation in Juneau Thursday, according to the Juneau Police Department.

Around 3 p.m. Thursday, investigators with the Southeast Alaska Cities Against Drugs (SEACAD) approached 50-year-old Juneau resident Jermiah Pond in the Nugget Mall parking lot while he was sitting in his car, according to JPD.

A probation search of the car revealed a container holding about 7.3 gross grams of a substance that tested presumptively positive for methamphetamine, as well as about 1.21 gross grams of a substance that tested presumptively positive for fentanyl.

As part of the investigation, investigators executed a search warrant at Pond’s residence, during which they found about 46.63 gross grams of ketamine, 293.56 gross grams of fentanyl, 25.84 gross grams of methamphetamine and 25.5 gross grams of MDMA.

In all, it amounted to just less than a pound of drugs worth $162,500.

Investigators also seized $102,640 in cash and multiple recreational vehicles believed to be associated with the investigation.

Pond was lodged on charges of second-degree misconduct involving a controlled substance, two counts of third-degree misconduct involving a controlled substance, five counts of fourth-degree misconduct involving a substance and an outstanding felony probation warrant.

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Alaska

Sand Point teen found 3 days after going missing in lake

Published

1 day ago

February 27, 2026

Press Room

Sand Point teen found 3 days after going missing in lake

SAND POINT, Alaska (KTUU) – A teenage boy who was last seen Monday when the canoe he was in tipped over has been found by a dive team in a lake near Sand Point, according to a person familiar with the situation.

Alaska’s News Source confirmed with the person, who is close to the search efforts, that the dive team found 15-year-old Kaipo Kaminanga deceased Thursday in Red Cove Lake, located a short drive from the town of Sand Point on the Aleutian Island chain.

Kaminanga was last seen canoeing with three other friends on Monday when the boat tipped over.

A search and rescue operation ensued shortly after.

Alaska Dive Search Rescue and Recovery Team posted on Facebook Thursday night that they were able to “locate and recover” Kaminanga at around 5 p.m. Thursday.

“We are glad we could bring closure to his family, friends and community,” the post said.

This is a breaking news story and will be updated when more details become available.

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