Kahiltna base camp looking east
The flight in was amazing. About 45 minutes of jaw dropping mountains. At one point you fly what seems like hundreds of feet above ice capped ridges. You land on snow, with a ski plane. The base camp manager greets you, and gives you the stove fuel you bought. You move all your junk to a location away from the airstrip, then prepare a cache with things you’ll leave here for the return. A couple of 12-packs PBR, for example, but also 5 days worth of food in case the weather strands you.
It’s about 8:00 PM, we’ll nap for a while so the snow can firm up, then travel at night. The idea is to not be miserable in the heat, but also to not fall into a crevasse through a softened snowbridge.
Filling fuel bottles
WildSnow.com publisher emeritus and founder Lou (Louis Dawson) has a 50+ years career in climbing, backcountry skiing and ski mountaineering. He was the first person in history to ski down all 54 Colorado 14,000-foot peaks, has authored numerous books about about backcountry skiing, and has skied from the summit of Denali in Alaska, North America’s highest mountain.