Good Air Day at Denali

[sardog1]

Some have been, some want to go in the future, many more might like to just gaze upon it. Today's a good opportunity to see a live web cam shot of Denali from Wonder lake.

YMMV on your chances of seeing The Mountain. Many folks have traveled into the park and never seen it -- it makes its own weather. And then sometimes it's visible from Anchorage, a distance of about 130 miles.

 

[Jay H]

If you go to the Eielson Center, they have a telescope fixed on Denali (and a calander where they mark the weather and views) and on the cloudy days, the people there tape a little postcard of Denali on the window...

I had one clear morning of Denali where it was mostly visible when we were camping at Wonder Lake.

Also, in my last trip to Anchorage, it was also visible from Flattop Mt (most hiked mt in Alaska!)

Jay

 

[sapblatt]

That is really cool...looks like a piece of cake to climb today!

 

[sardog1]

The camera was apparently at Eielson and moved to Wonder Lake during reconstruction of the center.

Eielson holds a very special place in my heart. I once stood on the deck and watched as my first-ever brown/grizzly bear marched a couple miles straight across the valley to munch on a particular patch of vegetation a few yards from the center. For the first fifteen minutes of the march, I was the only one who knew it was coming. At the end, the railing was elbow-to-elbow with gawkers, and I counted myself extremely fortunate to be among them.

 

[Pat T]

I've seen Denali from Anchorage and I've seen it from 35,000 feet looking down. But the day my sons and I took a ride in a small plane out of Talkeetna, the mountain was totally socked in. We went anyway, landed on a glacier and the plane's skis got stuck in 18" of new, wet snow. My kids got to help push the plane out so the pilot could take off and do a couple of touch and go landings to pack down the snow. When he flew off the first time, we stood there in absolute silence as the ceiling began to lower and it started to snow. What an unbelievable, awesome experience! Of course, he returned, hustled us into the plane, and got out of there before the visibility was too low to fly.

Thanks for posting that link! Now I can look at Denali every day.

Pat T

 

[Shewolf]

Denali holds a special place in my heart and I was fortuanate to have seen her during both of my trips to Alaska. I saw her twice while in the park and once during a hike up Flattop Mt... I'm hoping we make it three for three on our next trip...

Jay H,

How bad was the traffic on your last hike up Flattop? In 2000, I went early and there was only one other person on the summit...by the time I left, it felt like I was on Marcy on a summer holiday weekend...Sheesh, they weren't kidding it's the most hiked mt. in alaska...

 

[Jay H]

I would say hiking Flattop was possibly similar to hiking Algonguin on a nice summer weekend when starting moderately early. The parking lot for it is fairly big and they have groups that go there with vans and buses and then they climb up or setup camp around there. I was there last year after returning from Wrangell St. Elias and before heading back to Boise, ID.

Jay

 

[Danielle]

That is a gorgeous shot of the mountain today!

Trailbiscuit and I were lucky enough to see Denali while we were out in Alaska a few years ago visiting my sister, who was living in Juneau at the time. We took a few days and camped in the park, and were able to see Denali on multiple days, during a few hikes closer the park entrance and while spending our last nights out at Wonder Lake.

As others have said, Denali definitely holds a special spot in our hearts and minds, and it is nice to know we can now look at it more often! Thanks for sharing the link

 

[sardog1]

In addition to being "most climbed" (and partly because of that status), Flattop unfortunately kills and injures people on a regular basis. This "little" mountain (3550') has been the scene of many falls, avalanches, etc. over the years.

And no, it's not just the inexperienced or the unfit that fall prey on this extremely accessible mountain. Several well-experienced backcountry types have had serious, even fatal, accidents on it. If you've read Jill Fredston's Snowstruck you might recall one of them that ended in paraplegia and nearly death for the person involved.