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| Summit party, composed of American tourists tagging along for the flight, by the DeHavilland Beaver at the Talkeetna airport. |
On a clear summer’s day on June 13th, I left Calgary and flew to Anchorage. I would try and meet up with another party on site, or climb the mountain solo, via the West Rib, the Cassin Ridge, or if conditions weren’t good, the West Buttress.
The flight from Calgary to Anchorage was fantastic, flying directly over the heavily glaciated, Antarctic-like coast range the entire way. From the airport a shuttle provided by the hostel I would be staying at drove me to the town of Talkeetna, situated at 350’ elevation and roughly 115 miles north of Anchorage. Talkeetna is the staging place for all flights into Denali National Park and this cool little town is home to veteran Alaskan climbers, bush pilots, mushers and the like.
I got up early the next day, July 14th, and headed for the airport, where I picked up a radio for weather forecasts and emergency, and made arrangements to fly in. The air taxi service, K2 Aviation, told me I could fly in this morning, as the weather was clear. After a last greasy breakfast and great views of Denali, over 100km away to the north, I loaded my gear into the Canadian built 1954 DeHavilland Beaver with four American tourists, and at 1:30 in the afternoon I was at basecamp at 7,200’ on the southeast fork of the Kahiltna glacier.
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| Summit party, composed of American tourists tagging along for the flight, by the DeHavilland Beaver at the Talkeetna airport. |
The flight into basecamp is just as spectacular as anything on the climb itself. The 30-minute flight flies north towards Denali, over spectacular and aptly-named one-shot pass, and then follows the Kahiltna glacier to a landing strip packed in the snow on the southeast fork of the Kahiltna. Spectacular views of the Alaska range, the Ruth Gorge, and surrounding peaks make it well worth the $375 US (2001) return trip.
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| Looking northwards at Denali and the massive Talkeetna glacier viewed from the flight in. Thin wispy clouds partially mask Mt. Foraker to the left. |
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| Arriving at basecamp at 7,200’ on the southeast fork of the Kahiltna, and looking east. My fellow tourist team members not looking too fit, I guess it would be a solo attempt. |
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