Talkeetna Air Taxi

Come one, come all! Just come dressed up as a TV character. Think Jersey Shore, Gilligan's Island, Fat Albert, The Office, The Lone Ranger, MASH, Charlies Angels, Fantasy Island, Starsky and Hutch... the list can go on and on.

We work hard to keep things running smooth around here...

Team Salamander spent 10 fun days on the Pika, flying out July 1, 2011. Weather was in-and-out sun, allowing a total of 5 climbing days. The trend was toward evening clearing, with two days of full sun. The moats are in but with rain and warming things are quickly melting. There is still a decent snow bridge to the Gargoyle Buttress. The start of the first pitch had some ice which we attacked with ice axes (though one could climb with rock shoes and creative route finding). An Anchorage team replaced the webbing on the first 9 anchors last week. The Middle Troll has widening moats as well, but there are still a couple of intact bridges. The first 200' are loose gravel and boulders, and are not safe for more than one party to be on at a time. Lost Marsupials approach was straightforward. Summit ridge with corniced, soft snow. AMS arete approach without major crevasses, though the glaciers on either side are bare to the dust layer and snow cover melting fast. 

Climbers put to work when the pilot needs a good place to land. 
This morning over 30 climbers were waiting for a pick up.  This clamor of climbers paced the runway to pack down the fresh snow.
In order for to pick climbers up on glacier the planes need an area that is at least 1200 feet long.
Stomp Stomp Stomp...



National Park Service ranger John Loomis coordinated the quick stomp so the planes could get in and land at Kahiltna Base Camp.

Come fly with us!

It feels good to have clear blue skies again. The view coming into work today was spectacular. We've been flying all morning. Keep up the good thoughts for continued good weather.

Taking a scenic flight in May can be an amazing adventure.  Here is a photo that a scenic passenger shared with us and we thought we could share it with you.  The weather has been great for flying to the mountains.

A fabulous picture taken in the range. No wonder people love it up here.

Hello TAT folks,

Thanks for another great trip -- this year brought us a stormy stay at Kahiltna base camp.

Two pictures are from our visit to what should be a new Kahiltna classic, "Bacon and Eggs" on the Mini-Mini Moonflower (ca 1,500 feet to summit, AI4, maybe 4 plus right now?), first climbed in 2008 by Westman/Walsh and Giambrone/Einerson, and at least once since by Billmeier/Vilhauer. Other climbers may be interested to know that we used only ice screws on the route, and that as of 5/18 there were large snow mushrooms threatening the last pitch to the top, where we descended using only V-threads and leaving no cord behind, making six 70 meter rappels. The other is a kind of cool shot of one of your planes flying out, taken from around "Tower 1" on the SW Ridge of Mount Frances.  

Thanks again, I hope you all enjoy the rest of the summer season, see you again next go round!

Adrian Bender

Anchorage, AK