2012
Flying to Anchorage, we rented a car and drove 100 miles north to the old mining town of Talkeetna, where its airfield has become the climber’s gateway to the Alaska Range sixty miles east.
The dominant peak, of course, is Mt. McKinley, also called Denali, the Athabascan name for The High One. At 20,320′, it is the tallest mountain in North America, and since it is situated nearly at sea level, its 18,000′ vertical ascent is the highest of any mountain in the world. Plus, being located at the furthest northern latitude of any major mountain range on Earth, it is also among the coldest and windiest places on Earth!
Flying into the Alaska Range, we landed on the same glacier where two weeks earlier seven Japanese climbers were delivered to begin their ascent. Viewing this mountain from above, it is little wonder, albeit tragic, that only one of the seven survived.
Yet as it was a clear day, our flight to Denali was just spectacular. It is said that only about one third of the people who visit Alaska ever see the top of the Alaska Range. What luck, as we had good weather for three consecutive days.
