Team Last Second Catches their Flight on to the Kahiltna!!

The team was rousted on WhatsApp early in the morning. Get up, it’s warm and beautiful at base camp. We have to fly, now!

A few minutes later: be in mountain clothes, no time to change! We divided the team and stuffed bags and people into ski planes. We went through the motions of taking the traditional picture next to the plane, and piled in.

Our prop plane vibrated toward the range, there were cloud high and low ahead. We weaved through smaller mighty peaks that anywhere else would be the crown of a national park. Here in Alaska such a peak was gilding on the side of Denali. We landed and pulled bags and organized.

Final shake downs occurred, bags were lightened. Others pitched in to help bury our cache. We set out down into the white…

Teams appeared trying to catch a plane out, the were weathered and ragged, bags loaded catty-wompus. You can tell the mountain was tough on them. We passed them, and didn’t hear any planes land or take off in the clagg.

7700ft Camp 1 we pitched tents and ate and drank and slept.