andrejmatyas.blogspot.com: Flying The Alaska

First. Try to imagine you are in Alaska. Space big as Europe with population less than 1 million people. 2 bigger towns and couple of roads. Nature far away around you. In remote areas there are no people, no roads, no houses, nothing created by human. It is one of the last places on earth you can find pure natural environment in vast surfaces. For hiking and trekking there are basically no trails. Now you are not in Alps, Tatras or Scandinavia. You are there and you want to explore more. During the adventures in forests, coastal areas and tundra you are exploring the land from close distance. You can meet animals, study the plants and feel the majesty of big open space. You feel you are the part of system and that you are small, very small. You don t mean a lot out there. Comparing to glaciers, big mountains, river corridors or tundra with horizon far away you are just one little spot. However, you can hardly imagine the bird perspective of country even after couple days spent in backcountry. Of course, after nice trip you try to realize it is just the small part of land you just hiked. You know it must be much more wider. More glaciers, more peaks, more lakes, more streams, more animals. You just can not see it from the ground. So let s go UP THERE! Flying a small heli or plane is a very emotional activity for people loving the nature. Places you have discovered by hiking or paddling are opening their new faces. You wouldn t say it is so different. Specially places like Alaska with hardly accessible places. Air is sometimes the only one way how to get deeper. During the flight in Girdwood area you are moving in very diversified country. You take off in a rain forest, elevation zero, and during 10 minutes you are in pure alpine country with rocks and ice everywhere. Valley you hiked just few days before is changing as you don t understand. Where were these lakes, these grass fields, these cliffs, waterfalls before? Flying deeper to Chugach Mountains you realize this is something else than you are living down during the backcountry trip. You feel very comfortable, save and thou are just a few minutes from civilization. Furthest place we flew, near the big glacier lake we were approximately 25 minutes from town Girdwood. We didn t have a strong machine, just a small 2 seated Robinson with the same horsepower as your car.

But, this distance means in Alaska s mountains maybe 3 days of trekking! With no big climbing, just valley trekking with a few stream crossings. You don t have to crash there to have a little adventure. It can be a little problem with weather and clouds can just close you there.

Flying in Alaska is a very responsible job and it has a lot of features you don’t realize as an ordinary customer. Pilot told me there are a lot of crashes during the season, there are also a lot of people who were lost, who tried to land in a wrong place etc. Actually you can read it quite often in local newspaper. These cases are mostly caused by locals with private machines or by the utility flying in hard conditions. Pilots carrying heavy loads with heli sometimes have to fly just few meters from cliffs, between trees or in high altitudes where the efficiency of rotor is very low. The ordinary customer flightseeing is basically save activity and you can be sure pilot is flying with smile on face.

If it would be dangerous, you would t probably sit inside the cockpit. Heli is awesome aircraft. You can stop wherever you want, you can fly slow and low if you need it and you can land wherever you want. Yes it is clear for everybody, but I realized it for 100% right in the Chugach Mountains. Heli was carrying our kayaks, droped us off in the backcountry. We were watching to glaciers while hanging in air or having fun by flying lower over the trees and following the river. Even when Chugach Mountains are not a part of National Park, you can feel the real pure nature. It really does not matter wheter it is an official preserve area or not.

Specially in Alaska it is not rule that only NPs are good places for visiting. Further regions in the west coast or up in north don t have to be National Parks to offer the same as Denali or Wrangells do. My another flying experience was made in Alaska Range from Talkeetna airport. Respect- that the only one proper word I got for these mountains. I didn t see anything stronger and bigger that those peaks and glaciers. And I didn t fly with better pilot before. Small Cessna aircraft with strong engine is the right toy for flying the Denali NP peaks and valleys. First moment I was afraid, the weather was nasty, fog and clouds, snow and rain. I was sure we re gonna turn it back to airport when we reached the range. But pilot is looking for some windows which allow us to go deeper. Suicide! I thought. Clouds everywhere around, you fly just couple meters between peaks and up are just another clouds. He knew what he is doing and I didn t understand how he can be so oriented in that environment. Finally we were flying over biggest valley-glaciers of America. Those ice fields are kilometers long, more than 40km. Wide more than 2 kilometers.

We flew in area of the Mt.McKinley basecamp and places where climbers start their ascent. Strongest experience for me was when the pilot flew to wrong valley which was closed by clouds. Aircraft was quite low above the snow. You know the situation with white darkness when you are skiing? Pilot turned very sharp and start pulling the curve because in front of our way were clouds and walls of mountain. I felt the G force very well. The interesting thing for me was, that I really didn t know how high we are. It could be 20m and also 300m above the ground. It was completely white around and moreover foggy. A bit scared, hope pilot knew it better than me. One of the benefit of flying in nature is that you can easily find and observe wildlife. We saw a nice big Grizzly feeding on grassy slopes. Our guide was really surprised, because he didn t see last summer many bears in this area. On the way back we followed the glacier till its end. Vegetation, even bigger trees are growing right on the ice. The colour of lakes on the top of the ice is the most beautiful blue I have ever seen.

Last pictures are made from ordinary flight with Boeing 737 from Fairbanks to Anchorage. During the flight you are crossing the Alaska Range. Look at the flatland and the mix of colours and form of the lakes. Any graphic, fashion designer or artist would be inspired. Finally one tip for adventure. The Wrangell St.Elias NP is very remote area without any good trails. Hardly accessible. However, there are a lot of airstrips and cabins. For exploring the area choose the airtaxi from McCarthy and spend few days in mountains alone. It is not expensive. World seems different from the sky. Be a pilot and enjoy it more often.