Talkeetna Air Taxi

The largest peak in North America allures us all with its size and beauty. Being able to fly next to Denali or land on one of its glaciers is a once in a lifetime experience for most. For some the urge to climb the mountain takes over. One hundred years ago the first climbers stood on the summit of Denali. It is amazing to think about how Denali expeditions have changed over the last 100 yrs. Below is a picture of Harry Karstens and Robert Tatum from the first expedition on Denali.

 

During this historical year there will be another first on Denali. Expedition Denali, as part of the National Outdoor Leadership School, will be a group of all African American participants. They aim "to inspire youth of color—and particularly African American youth—to get outside, get active, and become stewards of our wild places." Learn more about this inspiring journey here: http://expeditiondenali.nols.edu/about/

This year there will be several events and exhibits to check out around Alaska celebrating the centennial summit of Denali. Here are links to some of them:

http://www.uaf.edu/museum/exhibits/special/legacy/

http://www.nps.gov/dena/historyculture/1913.htm

Picture below courtesy of Tyler Westhoff.

 

Alaska has multiple earthquakes daily varying in magnitude. Last Thursday the 5th of July there was a rumbler felt here in Talkeetna. The magnitude registered at 4.29 and was 58 miles from Talkeetna. TAT pilot Tim Gossett was out on a scenic flight landing on the Ruth glacier. He caught this photo of an avalanche as a result of the earthquake.

We are more than halfway through the Denali climbing season.  Summit success rates have been a bit over 40% most in part due to the Denali weather, the biggest obstacle in climbing this mountain.

 Here are the current stats from the National Park Service. 

Climbing Statistics the 2012 Season	Mt. McKinley	Mt. Foraker
Number of Registered Climbers	1,166	12
Climbers Currently On Mountain	440	3
Completed Climbs	488	9
Number of Summits	212	0
Summit Percentage	43%	0%

 

 

We just love fan mail and Thank You Free Approved expedition for all of your beautiful photos.

This is from a group we flew into the Revelation mountains in April.  They had some stellar weather and caught some beautiful photos, that they have shared with us.  

"In the name of the Freeapproved Expedition members I would like to thank you all for your help and service flying us to our dream location in Revelation mountains and beyond. I hope the locations stays unpopular and not visited for yours to come :)

 

From what I have experienced, your service can hardly be improved. It is indeed so great, that there is nothing to add. If I try and search my memory, than the only thing there is left to do is for you to smile less being so kind, because smiling back to you makes my facial muscles hurt :)

You were truly amazing replying hundreds of my emails, tons of questions and other things such as receiving dozens of parcels and shipments etc.

I will make sure to recommend your company to everyone i know flying in that area and hopefully, we will be flying to you the next time we come to explore Alaska.

All the best from Freeapproved Team from Slovenia,

Anze Cokl"

Our first French group, 'Alaska Moose' just returned from their trip to the Bear Tooth.

They have  made a first ascent on a route they are calling "The Bear Skin".  Below is a very descriptive map of their route, which is also on file with the National Park Service office in Talkeetna. They said snow conditions were good, but during their trip the temperatures were warming up and the ice was melting a bit.

Congratulations to the group for establishing a new route, we will be looking forward to seeing them next time for their climbing expedition.

The Ruth has been a busy landing strip the last few days after a fresh meter of snow.  Once the drizzle stopped in Talkeenta and the snow in the mountains TAT flew all over Alaska to drop climbers off for their adventures. We have groups in the Buckskin, Gorge, Pika Ruth glacier and even into the Kichatnas.  They all know that TAT will get you there, and pick you up!  Current conditions around the range appear good with average snow pack.  Looks like there has been little to no freeze thaw yet.

Currently in the range, over half of our climbers came all the way to Alaska from France.

Here is a photo from when we dropped a group of 9 French off in the Kichatna Mountains.

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.