Regular Mushing Magazine contributor Ron Koczaja is a musher and a mountain climber. Recently he combined his two passions into one trip. Here is an excerpt in Ron’s words: “The plan was to mush 50 miles up the Oolah Valley, which is the glacially carved canyon through which the Itkillik River flows on it’s way to the Arctic Ocean. It is a deep canyon with a wide, flat bottom running through high mountains from the continental divide to the arctic plains. The idea was to go up one of the forks at the headwaters of the valley and pick out a big mountain to climb. I had eight days.img::IMG_7776a.JPG::400Ron at home on a mountain topLook for Ron’s full account in an upcoming issue of Mushing Magazine.