Talkeetna and Denali Summit Flight

Talkeetna, AK is a small town at the confluence of three rivers the Susitna, Chulitna and Talkeetna. These rivers are mainly fed by melting glaciers and snow from the Alaskan range. The rivers look brackish gray and sandy most of the time.

The town is very small, with a population of less than 1000 people. All summit attempts to Mt Denali start here. Most of the summit tours and glacier landings start from the Talkeetna Airport. Talkeetna was our second stop in Alaska. We had spent the night in a cabin in Talkeetna, the cabins here are really cosy and I mean extremely small. On a cloudy and overcast morning we set out from our cabin the the Talkeetna Aero Services office, fully expecting our summit flight to be cancelled. There was a steady drizzle that morning. We were pleasantly surprised to find out that the weather was just fine and dandy above 12000 feet. While most other fleets were sitting grounded, Talkeetna Aero Services were running full steam ahead. This was probably because their planes are equipped with VFR and can fly through thick clouds. Not going with K2 Aviation had paid off, although I assume their summit tours were flying too?

Tip- if you decide to do the flight tour, pick the more expensive summit tour as you there are lesser chances of this flight being cancelled. The summit flights are equipped with VFR. Also, check the Alaska Tour Saver for buy one get one coupons.

We were seated in a 10 seater aircraft and took off on time. I had rented the Sigma 50-500mm f/4-6.3 APO DG for Canon and I was excited as this would be my first experience with this lens. It weighed what seemed like a ton and I had no tripod to mount this monster. As we took off we were greeted by views of the Susitna, Chulitna and Talkeetna rivers and the Denali wilderness as far as the eye could see.

Susitna, Chulitna and Talkeetna rivers near Talkeetna

After a brief passage through clouds, we were treated to our first view of the majestic Denali Peak. This photo below is from somewhere around 12000-14000 feet and about 15-20 miles away. Denali is the highest peak in the United States and in North America, with a summit elevation of 20,320 feet (6,194 m) above sea level. Measured base-to-peak, it is the tallest mountain on land. Measured by topographic prominence, it is the third most prominent peak in the world after Mount Everest and Aconcagua. Denali means "The High One" in the native Athabascan language. (Source- Wiki)

First Look: Denali Summit

As we continued to get closer, I was excited about the fact that it was a great summit day. There were no clouds in sight at 20,000 feet. The photograph below is the West face (I think) of the summit.

Denali West Face

We were to do two runs of the south side of the summit. We were here on the 4th of July which officially marks the end of the climbing season. Only 40% of the hikers make the summit every year. It takes around 3 weeks to make the ascent from the Kahlitna glacier.

Denali, coming around to the west face from the south face

In the next set of photographs, Im going to walk you through something amazing! Credit to the 50-500 lens- I was operating this lens at its far end and without a tripod. What do you see below-- Snowy valley? Not just that, look closer and you will see people.

Snowy valley in Denali? Look closer.....do you see people?

Ok, how about now? Those little specs you see are campsites. This is the 14000 feet camp- also called Advanced Base Camp on the West Buttress route. Notice the three tiny specs on the left of the photograph- three hikers walking out.

Advanced Base Camp, West Buttress route, shot from 21000 feet

Still dont believe me? The photos below are digitally zoomed in, in the first one you can see colorful tents surrounded by snow walls.

ABC, 14000 feet, photographed with Sigma 50-500mm f/4-6.3 APO DG for Canon

You can see people standing by their tents. (Digitally zoomed in)

After an exciting view of base camp, which lasted about a minute before the plane turned around, we were headed back from west to east to get another view of the summit. Excuse the poor photo, but it was shot from the plane.

Denali, North Summit and South Summit

I snapped some pictures of Kahlitna glacier which was partially visible through the clouds. I accidentally captured some one elses lens but it made for a nice effect.

Kahlitna Glacier

The next picture is not a great picture- a picture of high camp at 17500 feet. The captain uses his wing tip to point out these locations and it is hard to immediately see and locate what he is pointing at. This is the last camp before the summit attempt. I could have taken better shots if I knew exactly where this camp was. I was only able to locate the camp site on a computer while viewing these pictures. From the plane, this camp looks like some rocks. Here is a beautiful image of this campsite.

17500 feet, High Camp

As we descended down and around the Alaskan range we were treated to beautiful sights. The photo below is of a formation called "chutes"

Snow Chutes - photographed with Sigma 50-500mm f/4-6.3 APO DG for Canon

Here is another picture of the chutes but with the entire ridge in focus. This is quite a breathtaking sight!

Snow chutes with the entire ridge in focus

We flew around the Alaskan range for a few more minutes- Here is a another peak. I dont remember the name of the peak, although I think this is Mt Foraker

Mt Foraker

One thing you are constantly reminded of while you are in Alaska is how fast the glaciers are receding. Here is a glacier exiting, you can see the rocks around it carved by the glacier. Apparently the glacier extended all the way to the bottom of this range in the 1950s.

Glacier exit

After the summit itself, the most amazing views are offered by Ruth Glacier. The colors and formations on Ruth glacier can only be best experienced with your eyes.

Ruth Glacier

Ruth Glacier with medial moraine

Close up of glacier formation on Ruth Glacier

Ruth Glacier with lateral moraines in view

Ruth Glacier

Here is a super zoom shot taken to show the glue patches in the above pictures. These small blue lakes if you can call them that. The glacier reflects only the blue color and hence the water in these pockets take on a deep blue color. These pockets could be many hundred feet deep.

Ruth Glacier blue lakes

As we exited the glacier, we could see the change in topology. The formation below was much more densely packed and seemed deeper at the start of the glacier and tapered out as we exited.

Ruth Glacier snowfield formation

Just before the exit, the 50-100 feet cliffs of snow were all flattened out into almost plain fields of compacted snow.

Ruth Glacier exit

Ruth glacier exits into the northern end of Denali Wilderness. The contrast from dirty white to solid green is evident.

Denali National Forest

After a mind blowing tour of Denali Summit and the glaciers, we were back in the beautiful town of Talkeetna. America's beauty lies in it small towns. We were in Talkeetna town just after the 4th of July parade and the town center was crowded and colorful.

Talkeetna town, 4th of July parade

This oversized car participated in the parade

And of course, what small town is complete without its cafes and restaurants. This small cafe in Talkeetna had a nice outdoor seating with many local beers on the tap. Hint: the Alaskan  White is very good!

Local brews on tap/

As we strolled through the town center, we came across a small park with a Moose auction. These moosi were handcrafted and were being sold in the auction.

Moosi auction

All in all, Talkeetna offers a nice glimpse of a small Alaskan town. It is a nice mix of civilization and roads and rugged back country.

Next Blog - Denali National park
PS: The photos in this blog were taken from inside a plane looking out through a glass window. So please excuse any dirt or reflections.