I landed up on the glacier today for the first time this summer on tires. The snow is finally melting off the ice at lower elevations allowing decent access. It was a great day to be up on the ice. I love watching the hillsides come to life each June as the heart of summer quickly approaches.
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I took this photo last week on my way home from a late night flight. I was returning from a glacier flight and the clouds were building into towering cumulous all around. The clouds would occasionally fall from the sky in the form of slushy white rain. The weather had been deteriorating through the evening, and I struggled to get back down the glacier from 8000'. It was one of those nights where the fog was appearing out of thin air, while I watched... so I was anxious to get out of the mountains. As the vegetation of lower elevations came into view this hole formed in the clouds, and shown on the toe of the glacier. It was strikingly beautiful because it was like flying down a dark tunnel towards the light at the end. I wish I could have captured the feel, but I guess this picture will have to do.
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We flew out and hiked around on the glacier today. It took a couple of Cub loads to get us all out to the ice, but it was well worth it. If you have never stood on the edge of a crevasse and thrown a rock down into the abyss then you need to put it on your bucket list. People always think that it's super dangerous to walk on glaciers. Truth is, it's only dangerous if the ice is covered with snow and therefor possibly hiding crevasses. When we go out hiking on the glaciers we stay on the ice so that the crevasses are obvious holes that need to be avoided. We carried my 2 month old daughter all over the glacier today and we took no risks. It was a great walk but the hot dogs at the end were my favorite part. Then we cooked some of those HUGE marshmallows and made S'mores.... it was a good day. For More info go here.
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OK, so we have returned from our stay down in Halibut Cove, and we are back up at Sheep Mountain. Our friends are still in town, and we flew out for a couple of different hikes today in the surrounding mountains. It was windy, cold, and damp at the house, but at the toe of this glacier the air was calm and warm. We hiked for quite awhile and the view was awesome. We saw a bunch of sheep, and had a great time just exploring surrounding area. I love Alaska in the summer.
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This is one of several teams of mountaineers currently climbing in the Chugach Mountains near by. Most of these teams will be totally isolated in the extreme wilderness for 4 weeks. The only contact with civilization during this time is when I bring them groceries in my 1962 Super Cub. These climbers are with an organization called NOLS (National Outdoor Leadership School). NOLS does an excellent job of training young people to be leaders while experiencing the rewards of the wilderness. These month long trips test the endurance of all those who participate and they are some of our favorite clients. I have done hundreds of flights for NOLS and I am always impressed by the goals they accomplish.
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This picture is 2 hours old. I took it while en-route to check a landing site tonight. The turquoise water struck my eye as I was flying by, and the dense cloud cover seemed to enhance the colors. I love the reflection of the blue water in the window. I think this picture makes me happy, thanks for looking at it.
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I took my dad out on the glacier this weekend. We landed up at 8500' and it was still more than 40 degrees. It was an awesome day to be up on the snow. We landed above a huge 2000' ice fall on a glacial shelf. Often the cold air makes up for the high altitude in terms of flight characteristics, and density altitude, but with 40 + temperatures the poor old bird was really feeling it. When we were done with the job on the glacier we said good-bye to the mountaineers and crawled into the cub. There was a little bit of wind blowing down glacier, plus we were pretty heavily loaded, in slushy snow at 8500' elevation. The climbers reminded me that I only had a little bit of smooth snow before the huge crevasses trailed into a 2000' vertical drop of broken snow and ice.
The Cub very slowly accelerated and after several hundred feet the tail came up and we began gaining speed. We lifted without a problem, and seconds later huge crevasses were passing just 15 feet below the skis. As I carefully accelerated and began bleeding off the flaps I allowed the Super Cub to loose a couple hundred feet as we came over the shelf because the terrain was falling away quickly and there was a bit of a downdraft with the falling air. After we had been airborne for about 2 minutes, a concerned voice came over the radio inquiring as to whether or not we were airborne. I laughed and said, "all was well" when the leader responded on the radio we heard a loud cheer from the team on the ground. My Dad and I busted out laughing not realizing the dramatic view the mountaineering team had experienced as we had disappeared toward the icefall with our skis still plowing slush as we doggishly accelerated down a one way slope. We got a good laugh over this, and then flew back to the house for hamburgers and steaks with the family.Comments [0]
The weather is so fickle in this area that we will often make caches for mountaineering courses passing through. By making the cache we ensure that the teams will get their groceries on time. I first dig a hole and then put the 350 pounds of groceries into it. After that I pile snow on top so that nothing is exposed. This is important because the ravens will peck holes in the bags and scatter the supplies, even at 10,000'. If a storm rolls in, this tiny mound and the wands will disappear in mere hours so I always get a good Lat/Long to ensure that it will be found.
I took this picture on Sunday, and it was perfectly calm and warm. There is nothing like standing in a spot like this totally alone...I love it, and would like to show you.Comments [0]
I flew up to the Alaska Range today with 400 pounds of groceries for a mountaineering team. This photo only shows the blue sky, but immediately behind loomed dark clouds brought by a hot afternoon and unstable air. This is an annual trip for me, and in the past I have been able to do this on wheel skis. This year the snow was so thin in the Alaska Range, that I was easily able to do it on tires. I only flew 6.5 hours today so it was nice to have some time off this evening to hang out with my girls, do maintenance on the plane, and eat a big steak.
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This is 8000' near Marcus Baker. I flew this group in for a week of skiing, and they started the trip off right with some awesome weather. There was a 20 mph breeze blowing down glacier, but the air was warm, and the sky was blue, so nobody was complaining. This area is known for it's wind and weather, but this group was well prepared for the it. They are gonna have a good time.
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My name is Matthew Keller. I am an Alaskan Bush Pilot. I own a small air-taxi in Alaska named Blue Ice Aviation (BlueIceAviation.com). I transport people into the Alaskan Wilderness.
Get lost for a month, or an afternoon in my backyard of Waterfalls, Granite Peaks, High Meadow Lakes, and Glaciers. Guided, or un-guided it will change your life.
