My Breathtaking Glacier Landing on Denali

I recently returned from a 13-day cruisetour in Alaska where I had many adventures. But the one I'm most likely to be talking about for the rest of my life is my breathtaking glacier landing on Denali.

Our plane was a robust de Havilland Turbo Beaver on wheel skis operated by Fly Denali, Inc. (http://www.flydenali.com/) that looked like it could handle the rigorous flying conditions of the Alaska wilderness. Since I am a licensed private pilot, I was happy to be ushered into the co-pilot seat.

Shortly after we took off, I could see the magnificent Denali looming in the distance. It was hard to believe that it was over 65 miles away. Our pilot, Bruce Minter, gave us many opportunities to take photos of Denali as he turned the plane so that everyone could get the perfect angle on “The High One.” We were flying at 12,000 feet as we approached the South Peak of Denali and I was awestruck by the gorgeous scenery—, rugged peaks, dancing clouds, sheer cliffs decorated with flowing bands of snow and gorges on which glaciers seemed to drift restlessly.

After several minutes of skirting the clouds looking for an opening to Ruth Glacier, Bruce decided to look for an opening to Eldridge Glacier, our alternative landing site. This didn’t look promising either and after consulting with other pilots flying around Denali, he decided to approach Ruth Glacier from a different direction. Bruce was bound and determined to give us the glacier landing we were all longing for and to do it safely. Throughout all of this maneuvering I was struck by how calm it was in the Alaska Range. Given my experience flying in the Sierras around Lake Tahoe where I often encountered turbulence, I was surprised at how smoothly we cruised in this mountainous terrain.

As we descended under the clouds on approach to landing on Ruth Glacier, which is located on the south side of Denali, I felt like we were on the dark side of the moon. Bruce told us that one of his prior passengers had compared it to Jurassic Park and the description seemed to fit. It was a cool 40ºF when we exited the plane into the deep snow. Even with the snow boots that Fly Denali had provided us, it was difficult to walk steadily or gracefully. Nobody cared as we were all giddy about just being there.

More photos of my flight to Denali