Logistics

Getting to Talkeetna

We meet in Talkeetna, Alaska at 9:00 a.m. on Day 1 of your course. You will need to spend the night before the course in Talkeetna, which is approximately 100 miles north of Anchorage (2 hour drive). Talkeetna is a very small town with limited facilities; we advise that you arrive there with all your food and gear for the course already purchased.

From the Airport to Talkeetna, AK

Fly to/from Anchorage, Alaska (ANC). Flight reservations should be made as soon as possible.

Arrival: You should arrive in Anchorage one day before your course start date, landing by 4:30 p.m. at the latest. You may also consider arriving an extra day early to chase lost luggage and have a day to relax. All climbers should make a reservation with one of the shuttle services listed in this section to transport you from Anchorage to Talkeetna. Please make your shuttle reservations soon after purchasing your flights, as this shuttle can get fully booked.

We recommend you stay in Talkeetna the night before your climb begins. We advise booking your accommodations well in advance, as the hotels and lodges can fill up during the summer months.

Please download WhatsApp to your cell phone before arriving in Alaska. The evening before your Gear Check in Talkeetna our staff will start a group text message thread on the WhatsApp messaging app including all climbers as well as your lead guide. Please download WhatsApp and look out for our message the evening before your Gear Check.

Departure: Fly out of Anchorage after 1:00 p.m. the day after your course ends. You should plan to stay in Talkeetna the night that your course concludes. You can then shuttle from Talkeetna to Anchorage the next morning to catch an afternoon flight. These return shuttle reservations don’t need to be reserved before your trip, they can be set up with Talkeetna Taxi once you’ve flown back from the glacier at the end of your course.

Delays: Flights to and from the glacier are subject to delays at any time. Please note the possibility of having to remain on the glacier or in Talkeetna for an extended period and ensure your flight arrangements can be changed.

9:00 a.m. Meeting Day 1 of Climb

Orientation will start at 9:00 a.m. on Day 1 of your course at the Alpine Ascents facility, located just outside of Talkeetna. The Alpine Ascents van will pick climbers up from our list of Talkeetna hotels at 8:30 a.m. and shuttle to our facility. If you are driving yourself, this drive is approximately 15 minutes.

Climbers can store any personal belongings at our Talkeetna facility for the duration of their course.

About Food in the Mountains

Food Shopping

We advise you bring all food with you to Talkeetna as it is easier and more cost effective to shop before arriving. When shopping for expedition food, remember it is better to err on the side of too much food instead of too little! You should buy food for 1–2 days beyond your course. As part of your gear check, our guides will review your food and meal plan to ensure you are eating enough during the program. Please use the menu guide carefully and take time to plan all meals. We encourage you to call our offices with any questions.

Big Helpful Hint: As we fly into the glacier very close to our base camp, you can bring and eat many of the same foods you eat at home. Climbers wishing to bring home style meals should have experience cooking these meals on a camping stove in a wilderness environment. In many ways you can think of this as a place to bring “luxury food” as compared to other mountaineering/camping experiences in that you do not have to carry food a great distance.

A comprehensive menu planning guide can be found on the next tab on this page: Menu Plan

Overview

Food is one of the basic pleasures of wilderness travel. There are countless options for putting together healthy and delicious meals for long wilderness trips, depending on how much time, effort, and money you have to spend on preparation before the trip. Thorough meal planning and preparation is a must!

While all of our expeditions do include meals, our courses serve a broader function of teaching sustainability and self-sufficiency in the mountains. For this course, you will be responsible for bringing and cooking your own food. Guides will review all food items at the gear check. The shuttle bus from Anchorage “usually” stops at a grocery store in Wassilla for about 20 minutes. This is a great time to purchase heavy, bulky or fresh food items like canned goods, sauces, breads, blocks of cheese, meats, etc. We still recommend you bring a majority or your food from home to reduce both cost and time/stress involved in packing for 8-days in the Alaska Range.

For the 8 Day Alaska Mountaineering Course you will need:
7 Breakfasts
8 Lunches
7 Dinners

Emergency Rations: we recommend you bring 2 additional days of food in the event our return flight from the Alaska Range to Talkeetna is delayed by poor weather.

Basic Principles

Nourishment and mountaineering are inseparable. Climbing requires higher daily energy expenditure than many other strenuous activities. Eating well (and frequently!) sustains energy levels, keeps us happy, and helps us to combat the cold conditions and inclement weather we will likely encounter in the mountains of Washington. One of the most challenging parts of a mountain guide’s job is advising climbers on the types and quantities of food to bring on a mountaineering expedition. Unlike items such a sleeping bag where you have it packed or not, food is subjective.

Some climbers eat large quantities of food, some eat less. Some love dehydrated meals, while others do not as a result of digestion issues. As guides, we can’t tell you what you are going to like or how much you are going to eat. There is no way to tell you if you’re going to want 2,500 or 3,500 calories per day.

With that in mind, here are some general thoughts on food planning:

Too little food is terrible, but too much food is not the answer
Going hungry and/or having to live off the extra food of other climbers and guides is not fun. On the other hand, you don’t want to haul around food that will go uneaten. Consider the weight and volume of what foods you are bringing.

All food selection is a compromise between taste, weight, space
A block of cheese is easier to pack than a similar amount weight of shredded cheese because it is denser. Dehydrated meals are the lightest meals to pack and easiest to prepare, but if you don’t like them it doesn’t matter how light and easy they are.

Bring food that you like
Eight days is a long time to be unhappy with your food choices. If you don’t like a particular food in your home, it is unlikely you are going to start enjoying it in the mountains.

It’s your responsibility to check food preferences and amounts prior to your trip
Is 1 cup dry cereal with 3 tablespoons of powdered milk enough for one breakfast, or will you be happier with 1.5 cups? How much pasta should you bring for one dinner – 1 packet or 2? Trying out a few mountain meals at home will give you a much better sense of what to bring. Test out snack/lunch options before your course, too.

Sleds
In order to make our training as specific as possible, we will use sleds to navigate the glaciated terrain of the Alaska Range. One of the advantages to using sleds is to allow us to carry bigger loads compared to using backpacks only. This allows us to bring heavier, more luxurious food items on this training course.

Condiments
Salt, pepper, mustard, hot sauce, sugar, etc. are all great additions to any meal plan, especially if you are not using dehydrated meals (as they are already high in sodium). The lightest option is to pick up individual serving packets from the deli section at the grocery and store them in a Ziploc bag. Also, very, very small (1 oz.) plastic storage containers with screw-on caps can be purchased at most outdoor stores for condiment storage.

Hot Drinks
An essential part of breakfast and dinner for both hydration and well being. Coffee drinkers take heart – there can be decent coffee in the mountains! Starbucks VIA’s have become standard on mountaineering expeditions. A small portion of powdered milk and sugar can be added. Black tea, yerba mate, herbal teas, hot chocolate, and powdered chai are other options. Plan on bringing enough for 2 to 5 hot drinks per day!

Food Storage
Meats and cheeses are great foods for this course as they will not spoil – nature’s freezer (snow!) will be close to hand. Reduce excess packaging. Get rid of boxes, extra wrapping, etc. Ziplocks are great for repackaging food. A few medium-sized stuff sacks are great for organizing food while in camp.

Drinking Water
Consider bringing Nuun hydration tablets or other cold drink mixes to add to drinking water for electrolyte replacement during your course. *Please note the emphasis on hot drinks and other liquids in the menu. Staying hydrated while climbing is very important, and this issue is addressed in-depth while on the course.

Breakfast

Breakfast (~300 – 600 calories) x 7

Having a hot breakfast is important, especially in cold weather environments. Most climbers go with instant or quick cooking hot cereals like oatmeal or Cream of Wheat, or dry cereals and powdered milk mixed with hot water. All of these meals taste better and provide more calories when fortified with dried fruits, nuts, honey, butter, even chocolate chips! Tastier (and heavier!) breakfast ideas are included below.

For your course you should have 7 breakfasts. About half of these should be basic meals to carry higher on the mountain and the remaining can be more luxurious meals at the beginning if the trip when we are lower. Don’t forget your hot drinks!

Breakfast Ideas
– 1 cup of granola + freeze dried fruit + 3 tablespoons of powdered milk mixed with hot water
– 2 packs of instant oatmeal + dried fruit + nut butter
– Dehydrated breakfast meal (check serving and calories)
– 2 packs of instant grits + bacon crumbles + cheese + butter + salt and pepper to taste
– 2-4 powdered eggs + 4-6 strips precooked bacon + tortilla

Lunches

Lunch (~800 – 1600 calories) x 8

Lunch begins just after breakfast and ends just before dinner. It is the most important meal of the day and needs to have enough variety to keep you happy over your trip. Continuous eating of small quantities will keep up your energy levels for the whole day, especially on big travel/summit days where we will be on the move for 8 hours or more.

For your course you need lunch food for 8 days. Determining the amount of lunch food to bring is difficult to gauge on your first mountaineering expedition. General guidelines are given below. The rule many guides work with is the weight of your lunch food should be equivalent to the weight of your breakfast and dinner food added together.

Each day it’s nice to have a “real” food item. You may consider some of these tasty sandwich/wrap combinations:
1. Start with a hearty bread product: flatbread, bagel, naan, flour tortilla, croissant, or pita pocket
2. Add protein: hard cheese, Laughing Cow cheese wedges (no refrigeration needed), cured meat, black beans or hummus, nut butter (we like Trail Butter because it comes in a squeeze pouch), tuna pouch, or smoked salmon
3. Add flavor/texture: dried fruit, chips, hot sauce, mustard, or pesto. Also consider, a hearty pre-made sandwich, leftover pizza, or a burrito for the first day of the course

In addition, pack snack foods to supplement any sandwiches or wraps, such as:
– Nuts (cashew and almonds personal favorite – can buy in 1lb quantities at Trader Joe’s)
– Jerky – beef, turkey, bacon, salmon, and tofu jerky are all great options
– Dried fruit (Trader Joe’s has an excellent selection prepackaged by weight)
– Peanut butter filled pretzel chunks
– Trail mix
– Cheese sticks/squares
– Plantain chips

For summit day or big travel days (approximately 4 on a 8-day Course) focus on energy rich food. On these days we travel for roughly an hour between breaks. At each break you should be eating 200-300 calories (or about 1 energy bar). These days can have 4-8 breaks. These foods include:
– Energy bars – focus on bars with real ingredients. We love Probars, Pure Organic, Kit’s Organic, Larabar, and Chia Bars. If you are ambitious, try making your own!
– Energy chews (Shot Bloks or the like)
– GU’s, Cliff Shots, etc.
– Candy bars (Snicker’s are a favorite of most climbers)
– Gummy bears

Dinners

Dinner (~800 – 1200 calories) x 7

For the greatest preparation and cooking ease, freeze-dried food is an option. Usually, these foods only require adding boiling water, and are ready within minutes. Downsides to freeze-dried food are the cost, an increase in single-use packaging which must be packed out, uninteresting flavors or textures, gut issues from poorly re-hydrated meals, constipation, etc.

With slight more effort but vastly reduced cost, any supermarket can be tapped for a wide variety of wilderness-ready prepared foods. Items like Knorr rice or pasta entrees in envelopes cook in 5 to 10 minutes, and are very tasty. It is best if you experiment ahead of time at home, so that you know which you prefer. For those with a culinary creative streak, very tasty meals can be made up from scratch with only a minimum of additional effort. Items such as quick brown rice, quick or instant white rice, bulgur, instant precooked or dried beans, dehydrated vegetables, packaged or bulk sauce mixes, smoked salmon, exotic cheeses and whatever spices and herbs you like or want to experiment with can be combined for tasty meals.

You will need 7 dinners for your course. Many guides bring soup packets, like instant miso soup, for each meal (unless the meal is already soup-based). These make great pre-dinner hot drinks and help us hydrated. Don’t forget your hot drinks!

Dinner Ideas
– 1 packet instant ramen noodle soup + sweet and spicy jerky (shredded) + parmesan cheese + dehydrated vegetables
– 1 pre-pouched Indian Meal (we like Tasty Bites) + boil in the bag rice + coconut oil (vegetarian/vegan depending on meal choice)
– 1 box mac and cheese + sundried tomatoes + tuna packet + red pepper flakes
– 1 box cous cous + sundried tomatoes + pine nuts + chunks of salami

Don’t forget your 2 days of emergency rations!

On the Mountain

Nights 1-7 at Camp(s)

Sleeping arrangements: Tents
Bathroom: Waste Kits
Cell coverage: Some camps receive limited cell service, however climbers should be prepared to be out of service for the duration of the course.

Leave No Trace

Alpine Ascents International practices Leave No Trace principles on all expeditions. We believe that given the proper information most people will do all they can to help protect and maintain the environment. Before your climb, please become familiar with Leave No Trace:

7 Principles of Leave No Trace

As guides, we spend time teaching the environmentally appropriate Leave No Trace principles and practices. There is nothing more rewarding than working hard to get high into the mountains, reaching a pristine campsite, witnessing incredible views, and having the feeling that no one has been there before.

Conversely, there is nothing more disheartening than working hard to climb a mountain, reaching a site and encountering trash, food waste, and toilet paper. Please read the seven LNT principles, and call the office if you have any questions about what you can do to plan ahead.

Tipping

Guides are permitted to accept and greatly appreciate tips. Your guide team is composed of two guides. They will pool all tips received. An average tip for the full guide team is $200-$325.

Please be aware that we are unable to process tips by card. You are welcome to tip your guides with cash or via mobile payment such as Venmo or PayPal.