I’ve always thought the Super Cub in this picture sort of sneaks up on you. People have accused me of cutting and pasting the super cub into this image. I cannot remember the name of the client that took this image, but he was an instructor at Alaska Pacific University in Anchorage. If I remember correctly they were only in here skiing for 24 hours because the snow conditions were so unstable that it was sketchy do any skiing, so they called on the sat-phone for an early pickup.
It was an awesome little spot on the glacier where I landed them. Right up on the this little knob in the sunshine. Without some light from the sun the glacier can be a horribly deceiving place to land. Many a pilot has wrecked their plane on short final when their brain becomes confused by the lack of information from the ground. The white snow is totally non-de-script and a pilot relies heavily on peripheral vision when determining where the ground is at in relation to the tires/skis. The ground will simply disappear into a blanket of nothing as the airplane gets nearer the snow. Often the landing is being made on a steep slope so the ground is rising to smite thee and yet it is invisible. It is an awfully weird sensation that leaves you feeling awfully helpless. There are tricks to overcome these sensations and we do it safely hundreds of times each year. You can see the shadow on the left side of the image. You can land in the shade but it’s more difficult so I always look for the sunshine. And this spot was perfect.