Greetings from Rainbow Glacier Adventures. In this newsletter we have a story, a song, a letter, some cool images and an introduction to share with you. We hope your year went well.
The lady with the wavy hair shot through with grey:
A story by Joe Ordóñez
2025 brought profound changes and some revelations. It was a good year for Rainbow Glacier Adventures. With a professional and hyper-qualified team of guides and support staff, our company continues to soar. On a personal level, I took a step back from day-to-day management of the company. This allowed me an opportunity to explore some of my other interests, including philosophy, art and music. Even with the extra time to pursue my hobbies and reflect about the growth and future of Rainbow Glacier Adventures, I wasn't prepared for the question that the lady, with wavy hair shot through with gray, asked me this September when I was invited on a cruise ship as a professional artistBack in 2003, after decades working on small ships as expedition leader, naturalist and cruise director, I left shipboard life. My wife and I were starting a family and celebrating the birth of our first daughter, Stella. It was time to change.Since then, I’ve been offered a variety of roles on a number of intriguing cruise itineraries. I’ve turned most of them down. Then, last July, I received an email from a colleague I’d worked with decades before. Would I be interested in working as an Alaskan expert lecturer in September on a Blues Cruise featuring Joe Bonamassa?It was a six day cruise starting in Seattle and visiting Ketchikan, Sitka and Victoria, BC. Even though I had never heard of Joe Bonamassa, the job sounded intriguing, so I said yes. I was a different person since I’d left the ships. The world had changed since the eighties and nineties. What would today’s guests be interested in, and how could I best explain the story of the magnificent country they were going to experience? I prepared a series of lectures and port talks explaining the geography, native cultures, and nature of Southeast Alaska. I integrated my photography and music into my talks. I flew from Haines, Alaska to Seattle, WA to board the Norwegian Jewel. I felt prepared for the lectures and talks I was about to give, but I wasn’t sure if I was prepared for the large cruise ship experience. I had spent my entire career working on small ships, up to 200 passengers. The Norwegian Jewel carries up to 2,800 guests with another 1,000 crew members. I boarded a bus, arrived at the pier, walked up a ramp and went through security along with hundreds of other people. I felt anonymous. Then everything changed when I went to check in. A perky woman with curly grey hair and smile lines around her eyes greeted me. “I’m Joe Ordonez, from Haines, AK., I said. “Oh, you’re Wilderness Joe! We’ve been looking forward to meeting you. Do you have any questions? I plan on attending all your talks. Welcome aboard!” I had forgotten that the charter company had decided to give me a nickname for the duration of the cruise. “Wilderness Joe” seemed apropos. From that moment on, I felt at home and fell into the rhythm of shipboard life. The cruise was going well; my presentations were well attended. To keep my presentations feeling fresh and spontaneous, I invited questions from the audience before and after each talk. My question and answer periods covered the usual questions like:“Where is the best place to see whales on this trip? How can you tell a black bear from a brown bear? How tall are the mountains we’re looking at?”Midway through the cruise, after departing Sitka, I noticed a lady in the front row of my presentation. She had wavy dark hair shot through with gray and was smartly dressed. The combination of her designer glasses and her furrowed brow caught my attention. She raised her hand. “What do you think is the most pressing problem facing Alaska today?” she asked. I’ve never particularly liked that type of question. Answering such a question honestly yet succinctly is challenging and fraught with pitfalls. I make a point to avoid politics when working with folks on vacation. On the other hand, this type of question offered a chance to provide some insight into how I approach ecological issues and problem solving. As I paused to think, little beads of sweat built up on my brow. I took a deep breath.“I think the biggest problem facing Alaska, and our general society, is that our daily lives are woefully disconnected from Nature. I’ve spent my entire career immersing people into nature and facilitating experiences where people get direct access to nature. And it's been a worthwhile endeavor!”Her eyes narrowed, she tensed her shoulders and shot back…. “Surely there is something more….. with all that is going on in Alaska today, something that you think is more important than that.” I’d given my answer and she had rejected it. I felt like I was a politician getting pressed for the truth by George Stephanopoulos.Why is she pressing me? What should I say? I wondered.I felt a circle of sweat forming on the armpit of my brand-new white Ralph Lauren button-down shirt I’d bought at Macy's specifically for this cruise. I decided I needed to go deeper. The answer I’d given her was the same answer I would have given during my cruises back in the eighties and nineties. But now I was different. I was a husband and father, and a business owner. The world had changed. Rather vague concepts that were projected to be threats in the future back then were now being felt all over the world. Alaska, because of its location in the northern latitudes, was experiencing disproportionate impacts from global climate change. Entire villages were being relocated in the Arctic because of intense flooding and shoreline erosion. The Alaskan crab fishery was in crisis as species were out- migrating as the ocean warmed. The vast majority of the old-growth forest in Southeast Alaska had been cut down, and yet there were still cries to open up the last remaining patches of big trees for logging. There are so many challenges, and the thought of solving them all was overwhelming. The idea of identifying the single biggest problem was a challenge in itself. As an ecologist, I saw all the problems as being interconnected. All these thoughts flashed through my brain in a few seconds. I looked directly at the women with the curly dark hair shot through with gray. I decided, then and there, to drop my guard and go deeper.“You’ve asked me about the biggest problem facing Alaska today,” I began, and turned from the woman to the entire audience in the room. “Identifying and taking on big problems can feel overwhelming, daunting, even paralyzing. It might seem easier to do nothing than to do something.“From my heart, I know that something must be done. I’m married, my wife and I have two daughters, and I feel an obligation to them, and their entire generation. I want to make the world a better place not just for their generation but for the generations that follow. “I believe in looking for local solutions for big problems. For example, the place I call home, Haines, Alaska, is home to the Chilkat River, the Chilkat Bald Eagle Preserve, and the Chilkat people.“Up and down the Pacific coast, one river after another has become polluted and no longer supports wild salmon. The waters of the Chilkat River are still pure. Wild salmon still work their way upstream every summer to spawn in the pure waters. “A toxic mine is proposed upstream of the Chilkat Bald Eagle Preserve. Exploration has already begun. This mine would pollute the water, poison the salmon, and destroy the way of life of the Chilkat Natives, who have served as stewards of the river for thousands of years. I could not stand idly by and watch this happen in my backyard. I decided to do something. I decided to take action. “I used my own money to self-publish a book, Where Eagles Gather. It tells the story of the Chilkat Bald Eagle Preserve and details the threat of this toxic mine. I personally train our team of guides and employees on this issue to make sure they understand what is at stake. “Then I go one step further. I not only give our guides permission, I encourage them to advocate to keep the waters that flow through the Chilkat Bald Eagle Preserve pure. I firmly believe that if we each look for ways to contribute on a local level, the end result will be a better world.”My shoulders relaxed, and I looked directly at the lady with the dark wavy hair shot through with grey. At first she seemed stunned, then her face lit up and she started to applaud. The rest of the crowd joined her.I’d taken a chance, I’d spoken my truth, and it had paid off.The Song:
Through my conservation education efforts, I've come to realize that different modes of communication touch people differently. I decided to write a song to spread the message of resistance to the Constantine Mine. The song is entitled "Stop the Mine." Here is a link if you want to check it out: https://galleries.vidflow.co/2lywc0i1Lyrics to "Stop the Mine":
The Letter:
The most recent news on the Palmer project is that the latest owners have sold. The new owners are claiming that it should be fairly straightforward to move the project forward. But they need to get enough money from investors. Together with Marke Sogge, former director of the Haines division of the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, Cindy Buxton, local geologist, Gershon Cohen, Alaska clean water advocate and I recently signed onto a letter that we hope to get published in the Canadian newspapers. The letter details why investing in the Palmer Project is a bad idea. Read the entire text through this link here: Link2025 Photo Competition
This season we tried something new: a friendly photo contest designed to bring our team closer together and strengthen their connection with Skagway and Haines. Since we offer photography tours, it only made sense to turn the lens around and let our guides showcase Alaska from their own perspective.The contest was a hit across the board, with photography guides, rafting guides, and even office staff jumping in to participate. It quickly became clear this would become a new RGA tradition. Scroll down to explore some of the incredible submissions, and check out our site to see each month’s winning shots.2025 Photo Competition Winners: https://tourhaines.
Photo by: Holden Pierce August Photo Competition: Wild Encounters
About the shot: Holden spends much of his free time at Summit Lake in Canada, just a short 25-minute drive from Skagway. It was there that he captured this beautiful moment of a mama bear with her three cubs.
More of Holden's Work: backcountryvows.com
Photo by: Joe Uchytil July Photo Competition: Guides in Action
About the shot: Being Joe's first season in Alaska he has been actively summiting the nearby peaks in Skagway. This is one of those occasions. Joe and the peaks.
More of Joe's Work: jpuchytil.com
Photo by: Karla Kennedy June Photo Competition: Bloomin' June
About the shot: You can always count on Karla to be out there chasing the best shots. She went out nearly every day to capture this winning image of the Savannah Sparrow, showcasing the fresh growth in June.
More of Karla's Work: karlakennedy.com
Photo by: Pat Kennedy June Photo Competition: Bloomin' June
About the shot: One of Pat’s favorite times of year in Alaska is wildflower season. Every summer, Pat returns to the same stunning view to photograph the landscape as it bursts into bloom.
More of Pat's Work: www.instagram.com/pat.kennedy.
Photo by: Joe Uchytil July Photo Competition: Wild Encounters
About the shot: Feel the same joy Joe did while capturing this sweet moment between sibling fox kits.
More of Joe's Work: jpuchytil.com
Looking forward to 2026 with RGA
One metric used to rate a company is to look at the return rate of the staff. RGA has a very high return rate of employees (about 80 percent). We currently have a few positions advertised and a talented pool of applicants to choose from. I have already interviewed half a dozen candidates and have been impressed with their resumes and their enthusiasm. I am confident we are going to have a strong team next summer and that’s a good thing because 2026 looks to be another great year for RGA. The biggest recent development with RGA is that we have hired a new general manager. After years of hard work and dedication, Michelle Zeiger has decided to step down. We want to take this opportunity to publicly thank Michelle for all her years of service. Michelle will continue to work for RGA but she will be taking out more time with her garden and other projects at their home across Mud Bay.Our new General Manager is Nikki Aledo. Nikki brings years of experience and a deep-felt commitment to excellence to RGA. We are looking forward to her tenure as GM. Here is Nikki in her own words
“What an extraordinary journey life continues to lead me on. I like to see my life as a great big book, with each year as a new chapter waiting to be filled with stories I'm excited to tell. Rainbow Glacier Adventures is now part of not just one, but three incredible chapters of that story, and I couldn't be more grateful. From my very first interaction with RGA, I could tell it was a good company filled with good people. The values they stood for aligned closely with my own, and that made saying yes an easy choice.
Our mission is "to connect our guests with Alaska through our caring, capable, and committed team," and I believe in it fully, not because it was handed to us, but because we created it together. I remember when we sat down as a team to define what really mattered, and this is what we chose. To me, it’s not just a statement. It’s a goal we strive toward each season, together.
RGA seeks passionate people who stay true to their values while continuing to deepen their understanding of how to protect and share the beauty of this place and its community. That spirit of care and consistency is thanks in large part to the example set by Joe and Edie.
I’m excited to grow with Rainbow Glacier Adventures, to learn from it, contribute to it, and be part of what’s next. RGA has already played a big role in my story, and I look forward to the chapters still to come.”
- Nikki Aledo--------------------------------------------
Thank You
Thank you for your continued support and interest. We always love to hear from you, please reach out at any time. We hope to see you back in Haines or Skagway soon!- Joe, Edie, Nikki and the entire RGA team