During the last four days no flightseeing tours have left Talkeetna due to unsafe conditions (dense clouds while flying small craft between mountain peaks yields poor outcomes). This morning we are thrilled to learn that there has been a break in the weather overnight and that our flight is scheduled to go. We skip our B&B continental breakfast in favor of a more robust and delicious meal at the Roadhouse Inn (I had raspberry and walnut sourdough pancakes – a house specialty) before making our way to the airport. People describe the Denali Park tour as the most amazing flight of their lives. We went in with very high expectations and still were not prepared for the magnificent grandeur we witnessed. The photos and brief video below do not do justice to the experience but may give you a sense of the environment.
After exploring the various glaciers and mountains including a 360 degree view of Mount Denali from the air we landed on Ruth’s Glacier where we had about 30 minutes on the snow covered ice to take in the majesty of the surroundings. The landing involved a series of highly banked turns with our wingtips seemingly feet from the adjacent mountains as we weaved our way down into the valley containing our glacier landing site. The instant the plane’s skis made contact with the snow the captain made a high G-force left turn before running out of glacier and setting us into position for take off. That maneuver triggered an adrenaline rush equivalent to what I remember from my skydiving days.
Denali Flightseeing from Carl Calabria on Vimeo.
For anyone considering a visit to Alaska I would endorse a flightseeing tour of Denali and glacier landing as a must include activity (weather permitting). Upon return to Talkeetna we immediately set off for the Matanuska Glacier, our primary destination for the day where we have a guide scheduled to meet us for a private tour of the glacier and ice climbing instructions for me.
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After being fitted with the necessary crampons and boots (special ones with inflexible sole required for ice climbing) we drove to the base of the glacier and began our ascent. The Matanuska Glacier is a 27 miles long by 4 miles wide valley glacier which flows about 1 foot per day. It is the largest glacier accessible by car in the United States. Our guide, Reese, educates us about glaciers and instructs us as to the proper techniques for ascent and descent as we tour the massive blue toned chunk of ice.
Jeanine is content to man the cameras as I do a little bit of technical ice climbing. Reese belays me on an 80 foot ascent which includes traversing a crevasse that is easily 100 feet deep. Very thrilling and very tiring.
As we descend the glacier we encounter another climbing group who have discovered a porcupine stranded on an ice ledge, miles from his native habitat. We collectively decide that absent a rescue this animal will die in short order. The rescue of this porcupine will be the subject of an entire post that I will prepare after returning to Concord.
It has been a long day filled with more beauty than one can imagine. We opt for a Palmer hotel, soft bed, and the opportunity to watch more Olympics over the planned evening of camping in a nearby forest.