Blue Ice Aviation

Exposing Real Alaska

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Photos of the Day — NOLS AKW 11 Hiking in the Talkeetnas

 

Most of these pictures were taken yesterday and they show the last of three re-rations supplied to this hiking team.  They are walking 180 miles through the Talkeetna mountains on this month long expedition (click the NOLS tab on the left side to see other similar NOLS stories).  My father-in-law Mike Meekin started hauling ice cream into the third and final re-ration of every course, years ago, and the tradition has stuck.  I have seen students cry at the sight of ice cream delivered to the tundra. Typically there is lots of screaming and laughing and thanking, before they set to the task of fairly divvying up the goods.  It’s one of the best parts of my job because the students are so excited for something so ordinary in our day to day life.  These guys and gals have about a week more of hiking before they walk back into civilization with scores of miles and stories behind them.

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Photo of the Day — Camped on the Edge

This is NOLS AK-23 camped out at 7000′ on a glacier in the Chugach. This course is intended for students 23 years of age and older. It is different from other NOLS courses because we haul the team both in, and out of the field with the Super Cubs. This allows these teams to maximize their time in the mountains, because AK-23 courses are 2 weeks shorter than a standard hike in hike out course.

We spent the majority of the day down here at 3000′ in the rain. These guys were in the heat of the sun at 7000′ enjoying a beautiful day. It’s always surprising when a course leader calls in from a satellite phone and declares the weather as beautiful and sunny, while we are experiencing marginal weather down below. It’s a fantastic feeling to pick your way up through the clouds to find a bright sun covered glacier with blue sky and heat when behind you is a gloomy rainy valley. Of course … the opposite is usually true when they are in the clouds and we are in the clear, but mountain weather never ceases to amaze me.

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Photos of the Day — NOLS AKW 7 — Hiking Through the Rainy Summer of 2010

OK, so here is another hearty group of NOLS students making their way through the Talkeetna Mts. The rain and fog has been on and off for the last several weeks, but I’m afraid it has favored the “on” side recently. Fortunately this group was up to the challenge, because I found them energetic and displaying huge smiles on their faces.

I spent approximately 40 minutes on the ground with them as they sorted through the groceries I had carried in. Even as we stood there the rain fall increased and the wind velocity strengthened, but nobody seemed to notice. They were just happy to have their fresh food and fuel. I think they were mostly excited about the extra ration of cheese, but I noticed the beef jerky was a big hit as well. We will see this team one more time before they complete the course in approximately 2 weeks after covering more than 150 miles on foot. (For more photos of NOLS courses click the “NOLS” tag on the left side of this page)

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Photo of the Day — Talkeetna Wilderness and Keeton’s Cookies

I enjoy showing photos of people enjoying the wilderness in our backyard.  These are photos of another NOLS course that is spending the month walking through the wilderness.  (You can see other NOLS courses here and here.)  The sunny photos were taken by me last Wednesday during their first re-supply.  The cold and damp looking images were taken today by my father-in-law, Mike Meekin, (Meekin’s Air Service) because I was busy making other flights.  Mike has flown hundreds of tons of supplies for NOLS over the past 30 years.  NOLS has been hiking through these hills for a long time and their, “leave no trace” policy is greatly appreciated by those of us who call this area home.

One of the course leaders of this team is a long-time friend, and it’s always great to see him out in the field thoroughly enjoying his summer season.  His Mother is a wonderful women who bakes amazing cookies and sends them in with the supplies.  On a number of occasions I have had the privilege of hijacking a cookie along the way, sometimes they are shared, other times I have taken “pilot privileges” and exercised the Leather man tool on a well duct-taped package.  During this particular resupply his Mother and Father are in Africa … so he has been nervously relying on his girlfriend to get the cookies baked and delivered in time.  The preplanning for the cookie drop began months ago and Keeton had meticulously coordinated several back-up plans if  “plan A” failed.  The most comical was “plan C” which involved me baking the cookies for him.  I assured him that this was as far-fetched as Obama’s health care plan.  Fortunately, for all of us, his girlfriend had an awesome follow-through, and the cookies made it in time.  You can tell by the HUGE smile on his face.

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Photo of the Day — NOLS AKW 2 Hiking Through the Talkeetnas

This is a NOLS course with students 16-21 years old, and three well-qualified instructors. They are currently walking through the Talkeetna Mountains … which is no small feat for anybody who knows Alaska. I have twice flown in fresh groceries consisting of powdered potatoes, pasta, hash-browns, grits, cheese, peanut butter and pilot bread. I also back-haul their trash, and mail, and anything else not needed in an attempt to lighten their load. Usually the envelopes holding these letters are taped together with ace bandages and the paper used to write on is torn from the back of a well used book.

I will see them once more before they complete the nearly month long adventure. They will cover approximately 160 miles and the only physical human contact they have is with me. The weather has been challenging lately as we have recieved LOTS of rain and low lying fog. Fortunately this course appears to be up for the challenge, because they were all smiles when I last saw them and they appeared to be working well together as a team … which is the key ingredient.

The snow has been a little deeper this year than past years so I know they have endured some wet feet and their fair share of post-holing. The World Cup and the NBA playoffs are a huge curiosity to them right now, and I always disappoint them with my lack of sports knowledge. NOLS is an excellent operation and we always enjoy working with them.

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Photos of the Day — NOLS Mountaineering

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.  

My father-in-law, Mike Meekin (Meekins Air Service) has been flying for them for nearly 30 years and they have always shown a high level of professionalism and care for the environment. This team (NAME 2) is still out there, and I just talked to their course leader 30 minutes ago by satellite phone.  They are currently sitting in the clouds at 8000′ in the Chugach Mountains.  If the weather allows I will see them again on the 8th of June.

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Photo of the Day — NOLS Camp

This is one of the NOLS courses currently camped out on the ice field 20 miles from our house. I took this at 9 pm on my way home the other night. You can see how the warm temperatures have begun to melt the snow. It has been so warm that it has not been freezing at night even though it’s nearly 10,000 feet! This weather cannot last forever but I guess we can enjoy it for the moment.

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Photos of the Day — Super Cub Carrier Landing

OK so today I am so sore from running down mountains chasing sheep that I can barely walk.  The biologist got 5 more lambs today so the project is well on its way.  If you are wondering what the heck I am talking about visit here.

Today was a pretty long day I started by flying 4 hours for Fish and Game, and then I moved a couple of bear hunters, a gold miner, a resident, and then 3 loads of freight to the glacier.  This photo shows only half the team that is currently headed out on a month long expedition.  I hauled more than 400 pounds of equipment and supplies onto this gravel pad for 15 climbers.  These are some tough guys and gals and they have a real challenge awaiting them as they lug their gear to the top of the Chugach range, and then all the way back out to the road system.  I will see them twice more during the month long expedition.

You can see my tracks on the gravel.  This strip is about 290 feet long unless you dive right and take your chances with the boulders.  I now those rocks don’t look like much, but when you are loaded up with freight, and braking hard, it’s not all that fun to hit watermelon sized rocks.  Even if it was fun, it’s doggone hard on equipment.  I consider this a high-stakes landing simply because of the aircraft-carrier characteristics.  The approach end is as vertical as the side viewed above.  You can’t land short and you really don’t want to go long.

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