In July 2025, following a dream and a travel nurse contract, I packed my bags and moved to Anchorage, Alaska. The plan was simple: stay three months and get out before winter rolled in. But plans have a way of changing in Alaska. Almost a year later, I’m still here, gripped by the state’s wild beauty and endless opportunities for adventure.
As a longtime raver, I quickly noticed that Alaskans prioritize outdoor excursions over nightlife and other kinds of entertainment that folks in big cities take for granted. When glaciers and mountains are in your backyard, a weekend backpacking trip often takes precedence over a night at the club. And with many parts of Alaska lying closer to Russia than to Los Angeles, touring DJs often skip the state entirely, leaving a noticeable gap in live music exposure between Alaska and the lower 48 states.
To get a proper dance music fix, I assumed I’d always have to leave the state and the nature I’d grown obsessed with. But when a video inviting music lovers to a rave in the snow-covered mountains appeared on my timeline, my prayers for a quality dance party in Alaska were answered. The DJ behind it: Taylor Mapes, an Anchorage-born artist on a mission to build a music career from one of the scene’s most rugged outposts—his hometown…