These guys were headed into the Chugach in the middle of September for a climbing trip. When clients want to go into the high mountain country this late in the season we often warn them that they could be stuck for several days. They might even get the opportunity to shovel-out the airstrip so that we can land. You can see in this pic that it was spitting snow. The elevation here is about 5000′ and we were able to pick them up with no problems.
I remember that the forecast was horrible but they went anyway without hesitating. This shows real Alaskan maturity because, if you try to plan excursions by looking at a forecast extending beyond the next 12 hours … you are likely wasting your time. The National Weather Service does a great job, but Alaska’s weather is fickle, it does what it wants, so most Alaskans do the same.