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Sunday, June 20, 2021

Just like that… we woke up in Talkeetna and the clouds were gone. We scrambled on over to the airstrip at 8 AM and started putting on the big mountain boots. By a little after 9, we were up in the air in two glorious DeHaviland Otters… prop driven ski planes built in the 1950’s. The Alaska Range was visible in full from the moment we cleared the Talkeetna tree tops. Denali was spectacular and seemed bigger and steeper than in previous years. We flew straight at the peak and then moved a little West as we crossed into the mountains. Our K2 Aviation pilots eased the planes down on to the SE Fork of the Kahiltna Glacier at 7100 ft and we slid to a stop at basecamp. A few minutes of shuffling and shuttling loads in mushy snow ensued. We built our camp and got settled in before a day of light training and a review of glacier travel techniques. As the day proceeded, we went from hot sunshine to cool overcast, but the clouds didn’t rob us of the magnificent views of impossibly big and steep mountainsides. We watched a handful of ginormous avalanches drop off various surrounding mountains. We capped the day with a burrito dinner and an early bedtime. Our hope would be to get up in the night and climb in the cool part of the early morning tomorrow.

Best Regards,

RMI Guide Dave Hahn