TALKEETNA, AK - - Talkeetna is the gateway to Denali for those serious about mountain climbing. We met eight individuals, two teams of four, at the hostel we were staying in. They hadn't planned another night in Talkeetna, but the weather at base camp - - about 120 miles away by plane - - wasn't cooperating. Snow and poor visibility combined to dampen the hopes of setting out for many. In the photo above, taken on Monday morning as we left for Denali, the group from Colorado loads us in preparation for good news from flight operations. I went over to wish the guys good luck and said that "if you're loading up the weather must be breaking." "Maybe" came the reply. "We did this twice on Sunday and actually took off once before the weather changed and we had to scrub the flight." He didn't sound optimistic. I didn't get to ask how much it costs to do the climb. A few years ago guides on Mt. Everest were asking and getting $60,000+CLICK on the pic to blow it up and see the skis on the wheels. The plane lands on a glacier so they can off load.
If we can find another hot spot tonight I'll blog about the team from Holland i met and just how serious an undertaking the climbing of 20,320' Denali is.
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