Bible of state statistics gets 26th facelift

One of the most popular books in Alaska history is out with a new edition -- and subsequently, fights will be settled in a more accurate fashion.

The Alaska Almanac is back for its 26th edition, which was released late last month.

It contains virtually any fact about Alaska imaginable, meaning when someone starts arguing that Denali State Park is the largest in the state, it only takes one flip of the page to correct them that it is Wood-Tikchik State Park, with 1.6 million acres.

The first version of the book was published in 1976, and in the ensuing 25 editions, the facts have been updated to reflect the current statistics of Alaska.

"We love the book and keep it in the shipboard libraries for basic information and settling fights," writes the U.S.D.A. Forest Service.

Right alongside The Milepost, there haven't been more authoritative books published about Alaska. Between the two publications, there is no fact left untold, no area left unvisited.

The Alaska Almanac gets high marks from book critics as well.

"The best guide to bring to Alaska," the Boston Globe reported.

Visitors to Alaska can use the book as a guide, as the numerous maps illustrate where state parks are, how to get to certain places, and interesting highlights about each location. But residents also find the book interesting for a number of reasons.

"It holds the latest traveler contacts and Web sites, as well as employment and cost-of-living statistics," publisher Graphic Arts Center Publishing Company boasts in a press release. "Some facts don't change: Mount McKinley hasn't gained an inch. It's still holding up the sky at 20,320 feet. And yet other facts call for annual updates."

The interesting tidbits contained in the book range from standard statistics to advice.

For example, according to the book, when trying to photograph the aurora borealis, "try to keep your exposures under a minute -- 10 to 30 second exposures usually work best. For best results, bracket widely."

The updated edition reflects the online world as well. Web sites are included with many of the listings, something that wasn't found a few years ago.

Even the "wacky wisdom of Mr. Whitekeys" section (funny items from around Alaska) shows this technological bent.

"A new Web site, ilovealaska.com, lists the top 101 reasons to love Alaska. The reasons were ranked according to votes cast on the site. According to the survey, 'wildlife' is not as important as 'snowboarder chicks' and one should never underestimate the popularity of 'because my mother-in-law is 3,000 miles away,'" Mr. Whitekeys writes.

The book is available in most bookstores already, and is also available at online book stores.

Published by Alaska Northwest Books, a division of Graphic Arts Center Publishing Company, The Alaska Almanac is $12.95.

It was edited by Heath Lynn Silberfeld and compiled by Nancy Gates.

The cover illustration is by noted Anchorage artist Mindy Dwyer, who has illustrated and written several books.

For more information, check out the Web site www.gacpc.com, the publishing company's Web site.

What do you mean there's no snow? There was last year

This winter everyone is talking about how warm it is, and about the crazy weather.

Using the Alaska Almanac, you can definitely find that this winter is abnormal and way above average in terms of temperatures, and well below average in terms of snowfall and precipitation.

But just think back to last St. Patrick's Day -- March 17, before you dig out the shorts and T-shirts from the closet.

Southcentral Alaska found itself under a blanket of snow that day, just when everyone thought it was spring.

In one day, nearly three feet of snow fell from Kenai to Denali National Park, and everybody was scrambling to find out if the snowfall was a record or not.

It was, meaning the Alaska Almanac would have to be updated for 2003.

In one of the new entries for the Alaska Almanac, Mr. Whitekeys, of the Fly By Night Club in Anchorage, makes a comparison of last year's record snowfall that is sure to raise some eyebrows.

"The one-day record snowfall of 28.7 inches last March 17 weighed 866 million pounds per square mile.

"The weight of each square mile of snow is the same as a line of Jeep Cherokees 759 miles long, which would stretch from Girdwood to Whitehorse in the Yukon Territory," Mr. Whitekeys writes in the book.

Members of the Iditarod Trail Committee are no doubt praying that a similar snowfall takes place in the next few days, although the weather reports strongly suggest warm weather will remain for at least the next week.

This winter, you could drive those Jeep Cherokees around in the mud rather than in the snow.