Flight to Mt. McKinley

Betty and I had made reservations for a flightseeing trip to Denali with a loop around Mt. McKinley for Thursday, June 4. You have to make reservations ahead of time to ensure seats and then hope for decent weather. The weather has been generally good while we have been in Alaska but Mt. McKinley is so high, 20,320 feet, that it makes its own weather. Moist air moves up from the Pacific to the south and as it rises and cools, turns foggy. The mountain is shrouded in fog about 70% of the time during summer season. We got our first view of McKinley as we drove down from Fairbanks last week and it was clear. When we rode the bus through the park on Tuesday, it was mostly clear with just the top a bit foggy. We arrived at Talkeetna on Wednesday and stopped by Talkeetna Air Taxi. (http://www.talkeetnaair.com/) They suggested that ought to go that day since the weather was so great. We agreed and they rounded up enough interested people to schedule a flight.

We took off at about 6 PM which is about five hours before sunset around here. There were eight passengers so they took their big plane. It is a Dehavilland Otter built in 1954 and perfectly maintained. This one had been upgraded with a turbojet engine and new electronics. It is an STOL (short take-off and landing) aircraft popular with bush pilots in remote areas like Alaska. The pilot asked who wanted to sit in the co-pilot seat. Me and another guy volunteered and I won the coin toss so I got the seat for most of the flight around the mountains and the glacier landing. I was pumped!

Betty was just behind me in the passenger cabin.

Talkeetna is about 70 miles southeast of McKinley and as soon as we were air born we were sure we had picked the right day. The pilot's commentary was like flying with a professor. He knew of the area's history, culture, biology and geology. It was not only a thrilling experience but a learning experience.

In the background are Mts. Foraker, Hunter, and McKinley. In the foreground, the Tokositna and Ruth glaciers.

I had seen pictures of the Grand Canyon, but the pictures didn't do the real thing justice. I can say the same about flying around these mountains.

Mt. Everest is 8000 feet taller than McKinley but the land that surrounds Everest is very high. McKinley rises 5000 feet higher above its surroundings so it presents a bigger climbing challenge. Prior to this year 36 climbers have died attempting to scale McKinley. While we were here a 37 th was lost and presumed dead. We flew over a base camp shown below. We were not able to see any climbers on their way up.

McKinley and the surrounding mountains are simply huge chunks of granite. No soil, no plants.

It has the highest verticle wall in the world and climbers come from all over the world to give it a try.